For a few nights anyway! Here’s a fun fact I didn’t know: Washington State is home to more than 450 islands, and we were lucky enough to find ourselves staying on one of them, tucked away in our own little space with sweeping views of the Salish Sea and Whidbey Island. I know we’ve told you this before, but Hipcamp is such a great way to find places that are unique from the usual State or National Parks or other spots where RVs are lined up like little sardines in a roll-top can. The hosts of our Marrowstone Island stop were gracious and friendly. Everything was absolutely perfect!
We weren’t a long drive from Fort Flagler Historical State Park, so we decided to make the trek so we could throw a crab pot over the dock to see if we could catch some dinner! I was already starting to feel cursed when it came to crabbing this season what with losing my pot on the first toss, but after pulling up Barnacle Bill with a missing front claw to getting a warning citation for leaving our pot in the water overnight, I was really starting to think my curse suspicions were right!
Our crab dinner plans were foiled again when we came up empty handed (empty potted, haha), so we decided to find someone else to cook for us that night. We found an interesting restaurant in Port Hadlock called Spirits Bar and Grill at The Old Alcohol Plant. The menu was diverse and delicious. We didn’t get crab, but we were able to get some seafood – almond crusted shrimp, calamari, brussels sprouts, and Harry even had a squid ink martini! Great food and great views. We highly recommend grabbing a bite there.
Still feeling a little dejected from our earlier crabless crabbing adventure, we decided to stop into a local dive bar called the Valley Tavern. We ended up walking in on a rousing game of Bacon Bingo! It was free to play, so we decided to grab a card and a beer and a lot of laughs because it seemed my luck had turned around. I won so we went home with a pound of bacon! Another fun dive bar we stopped at one night was the Crazy Otter. They had a fun arcade table with tons of vintage games. Harry took the Pac-Man crown, and I enjoyed the whiskey.
As I mentioned in another blog post, we love going to different cities and discovering what buildings or spots might have a haunted past. Turns out, the city of Port Townsend has its fair share of spooky tales. The Manresa Castle, which is now a hotel, sits just southwest of downtown on Port Townsend Bay. So, of course, we had to pay a visit to the castle for lunch in its quaint Rook Cafe. It was here where we got to hear a first-hand tale of spookiness. The bartender told us a story of how he had walked outside after work one night though a skinny breezeway that employees used to go in and out from the back to empty garbage and such. Since he was leaving for the night, he locked the door behind him and no one had left in front of him since he was the one who was closing for the evening. He said he was just sitting outside having a quick smoke before heading home and looked back and saw a cardboard box move down the stairs. It wasn’t windy and he was still alone. We definitely got the creepy vibes after hearing his ghostly account.
Now it might be because I had just gotten the heebie jeebies from the story we’d just heard, but I did have my own short, weird experience in the Castle as well when we were heading out. I wanted to use the bathroom before we left, so I popped into the ladies’ room. There was no one in there except for me and the door was heavy and squeaky behind me, and I never heard it again while I was in the stall. Do I know 100% that no one came in after me? No, but I am pretty confident I was alone in there. Suddenly, the lights turned off. I tried not to freak out, thinking maybe they were just motion sensor lights and they had timed out. So, as soon as I finished up and washed my hands, I had to check out the light switch. Not only was it NOT affected by motion, the switch was in the off position. I hurried out of there as fast as I could! If you’d like to read more about the Manresa Castle hauntings, you can check out the stories over on Spookt!
Thankfully, we made it back to our campsite with no ghosts following us, so we decided to take in the view while having some snacks and playing a game of cribbage before venturing inside to make dinner. Harry and I both love to cook, and it’s been its own adventure managing the kitchen in the trailer. We definitely make it work and have enjoyed keeping meals creative so we don’t tire of the fun yet simple hot dogs over a fire.
If you are ever in the Port Townsend area, a great breakfast spot is The Spruce Goose Cafe. It’s an adorable little cafe that sits at the edge of the Jefferson County International Airport. You can enjoy your eggs and toast while watching small airplanes take-off and land.
Our little adventure buddy also got to explore with us a little, but he is always ready to dive back inside. Which is funny seeing as how he made a grand escape from his travel carrier. Thankfully we still had an Amazon box lying around, so I attempted to subvert his Houdini tricks, even if it was only temporary!
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