Port Townsend: Fort Worden

Day 63

Unlimited data: Yes. Unlimited signal: No.
There's just something about us visiting places with no signal that fits our mantra. This whole trip is about living off the grid. Maybe it's a little too far out there sometimes. Now, in the effort of full disclosure I probably could have typed something up on day 61. We spent the day cruising through Port Townsend and eyeballing a place to sleep.

The town of 10,000 people has quite a bit to offer it's local residents and tourists. The downtown was bustling with activity and it still retained it's seaport charm. Heading over to Vintage Hardware & Lighting store revealed this little gem to us. The only art deco light museum in the world.

As useless as it sounds there is actually something to appreciate here. This time period ranged from the 1920's to the beginning of WW2 in  1939. Between those years the world suffered through the great depression. The fact that these lights remain in existence today is actually quite astonishing. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the downton streets looking at the buildings that were looming over us. 
This actually turned out to be one of the few downtown's we have been to that remains historic. Typically you hear about "the great fire of xxxx" that destroyed a town. Not here. On the ocean and built of brick. Fire be damned.

Our nightly parking spot was a new experience. Katie popped open google and did a quick search for 24 hour street parking. We found a spot big enough, and more important level enough (RV fridges need to be level) to call home for the night. There was some trepidation sleeping on the street in an unknown town. Safety wasn't really a factor here. The dozen or so homeless people we saw were on the other side of town and I always carry a knife with me. No, it was the uneasiness of whether or not we would get booted off the street by the local authorities in the middle of the night. RV street parking is typically frowned upon by many communities. There are tons of older, broken jalopy RV's cruising around that give the rest of us a bad name. Like this this guy for example. You don't want this outside your house.

This homemade piece of crap was spotted at the local hardware store

We made it through the night unscathed and headed for Fort Worden State park. A sprawling 433 acre park that consisted of concrete fortifications and original buidings on campus. By far the coolest part was that they let people climb in and around the old concrete structures. No safety railings, no ropes, no signs. Just make sure you're not stupid and have fun. Built in the early 1900's before the onset of WW1 this complex hosted a massive array of 41 artillery guns. The largest would launch a 12 inch projectile that weighed 1,000 pounds a staggering 8 miles.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent looking for our next home of the night. Fifteen miles up the road lay this little slice of rock beach on the sound. Unfortunately there were no parking/no camping signs telling us to get our crap and leave. At least we took in a few hours of beach time before the next travel session.

Where to go, where to go.... How about a casino? Yeah, they usually have free parking. Another 15 miles and we land at seven cedars casino in Blyn, WA. This awesome place let us park for 3 days, and even provided us with a 30 amp hookup for the RV. Rock on.

Things you don't expect to be woken up by at a casino.

Chickens. We were woken up by a rooster and chickens. Katie's always energetic Sgt. Tibbs keeping an eye on things

​​We took full advantage of it and left home base to explore the Dungeness Spit yesterday. Unfortunately upon our arrival there were the ominous signs of hate and racism. NO PETS. Time to turn tail and find something else we can do with pooch today. Another beach? Sure. Katie likes beaches. Myself on the other hand requires some sort of entertainment to keep my attention. It just so happens I packed a metal detector and really haven't had a chance to use it yet. The next couple of hours were all about finding treasure. Instead all I found was a bunch of rusty trash. Don't care. Still fun.

So now we're all caught up again. Its Thursday 8.31.17 and we are going back to the dungeness spit sans dog. It's the longest natural sand finger in the world that has a lighthouse at the end. It will be a nice 5.2 mile walk in the sand, one way. I'll let you know how it goes.