Our Book Club (yes, that’s it’s name, just Book Club) has been together since 1986- 27 years. Our numbers have dwindled from 13 to 9 (They dropped out…I’m afraid we drove them crazy.) But the eight of us that remain are a tight group. We’ve grown up -and middle-aged- together. We’ve married, divorced, had kids, lost parents, faced cancer. And through it all, every month we’ve read a book (Well, that’s the goal), had a delicious dinner and solved the world’s problems, large and small.

So when Sally built her vacation house, in the beautiful, cool Pacific Northwest, we were thrilled. And we may have possibly… somehow… invited ourselves for a long weekend.

What  else could Sally do?

A few days ago, five of us Book Clubbers (Catherine, Peggy and Perry couldn’t make it), plus a brave childhood friend of Sally’s, hopped on a plane to SeaTac and made the trek west to Port Townsend, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.

A quaint Victorian seaport, PT sits perched on a hillside, peering out over the entrance to Puget Sound. It’s as far as you can get from Texas- in every way imaginable- and still be in the “Lower 48.” For example, during summer, you can: 1) sleep with the windows open to the scent of Douglas firs, snuggling under a heavy blanket, 2) hike glaciers in the morning and sail in the afternoon,  3) eat salmon at every meal. Plus you never have to dye your hair! Could it get more perfect?

Well, yes, it can.

First, Port Townsend is nice-sized, picturesque town which hugs the harbor, its main street lined with boutiques, restaurants and wine shops,

You can’t escape the sea or its importance to the area which makes for beautiful beach walks. Ruth found the house she wants to buy. There’s a problem, though. I want it, too.

At 5 pm on Fridays, the cruise ships leave Seattle and Puget Sound for Alaska.

Everyone in town seems to have their own boat. The men on the right are salmon fishing. No doubt some of their catch will be on their plates tonight. Could it get any fresher?

Which brings up my point. Yes, Port Townsend gets even better –because of the food. And I’m not talking about food on the table. It’s everywhere! The whole region is a garden, its bounty ready to be picked and eaten -fish, oysters and mussels from the sea; wild cherries in front of Sally’s house and strawberries behind. Blackberries I’ve never seen before (logan and marion) grow wild in thick hedges in town.  And on Saturdays, a thriving local Farmers Market brings the local produce to everyone.

With all this abundance, the local wild life looks fat and happy. And the not-so-wildlife also enjoyed their meals in Port Townsend:

More about the delicious food and restaurants in Port Townsend in the next couple of days…