All In A Weekend's work - Whale Watching to Beaches

When you have to spend your weekend working, what better way than to go whale watching and walk beaches.  Sometimes life is just so hard. :-)

The weekend started with a ferry ride from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend. In the busy summer months it is advisable to make ferry reservations on some of the routes, the Port Townsend route being one of them, luckily we did. As we departed the ferry in Port Townsend, we zoomed over to 101 and headed west to Port Angeles. It was a sunny afternoon but there was no time to dawdle, we had a whale watching boat waiting for us to service its sound system. 

When we reached Port Angeles, we checked into the hotel and hit FRUGLES on the way to the marina. I found them on Yelp and when you pull up and cars are lined up in the street you know you found something good. Frugals is a drive-up Hamburger joint, the service was quick (considering the long line of cars) and the food was delicious.

Our service call on the boat turned out to be quick, thank goodness. Before we knew it, the sound system was operational once again. To make sure though, we stuck to the original schedule and boarded the Island Explorer 4 the next morning to go out whale watching. Like I said, "It is such hard work." We had just barely left the dock when we found our first sign of wildlife – Harbor Seals enjoying a morning on the beach and a brand new pup just born minutes before our departure.

We enjoyed a beautiful morning out on the water, saw three humpback whales, found a collection of sea lions, and meandered by the Lighthouse and through the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.

As for the sound system – it worked perfectly, doing its job well throughout the trip. After a morning at sea, it was time to return to Port and disembark. We stopped for a bite of lunch, then decided a trip to Rialto Beach was next on the day's agenda, after all it was a 'working' weekend. :-) 

Rialto Beach was a destination that had been beckoning us for years, our timing was off in regards for waiting for that 'typical' Rialto Beach photograph, that may have to wait for another time, but it was a nice day for a drive and a walk on the beach.

We ended our work day with dinner in La Push with a view of First Beach. As we were leaving the sun started its decent. Light rays sparkled like diamonds on the water and local fishing vessels returned to their home port after a day of hard work. It was a pleasant way to end a work day.

The next day, our work day called us to Hurricane Ridge. But first we needed substance to get us started. Again, thanks to Yelp, we found a restaurant for breakfast. First Street Haven tempted us because of the images and reviews on Yelp and they were definitely worth every star and more. Breakfast was amazing. We had Shrimp Benedict and a strawberry waffle that melted in your mouth. They are known for their cinnamon roll so we got one to go, our tastebuds craved more when we were done. Don't let the size of the place fool you, it made it cozy and intimate, and the service was entertaining and quick.

After breakfast we headed to Hurricane Ridge only to find a backup of cars that was at least 10 miles, the view at the top was going to have to wait for another day. Instead we headed back to Port Townsend to catch our Ferry, but first we detoured to Dungeness Spit in Sequim. This was another destination on our to-do list of places to visit and it seemed like a good chance to complete that task.

Dungeness Spit is a National Wildlife Refuge and park. We were greeted by friendly volunteers at the head of the trail, they provide a map and answered questions. The cost is $5.00 per group and goes to help fund the park. We took the primitive trail, enjoying the meandering through nature. We stopped at the bluff, before heading down to the Spit. We did not have time to take the 5 mile walk out to the Lighthouse, maybe next time. We strolled the beach, listened to the waves, enjoyed the warmth of the sun, and relaxed after a weekend of  hard work. :-)

Who needs to play when you can work weekends like this.

Island Adventures Whale Watching Tours
Spend a morning, or evening in the summers, enjoying the best the Pacific Northwest has to offer, with a tour of wildlife and beautiful scenery, with the best boats and crews in the area.

Island Adventures Whale Watching