We've gone to the Olympic Peninsula almost every year we've lived in
Seattle, usually in July when the hiking is good. This year there was
still plenty of snow at the higher elevations, but a good time was still
had by both. We stayed at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles (PA), which
is a stone's throw away from the waterfront and downtown. Friday night
we had dinner at Bella Italia and saw many tourists taking pictures due
to the tie-in with the "Twilight" series of books and movies. The
service was a bit spacy.

Saturday we went up to Hurricane Hill and saw more critters than we'd
seen on previous trips. This may be because it was much cooler than on
our earlier trips. Deer and marmots were everywhere. We even were
within about 5 feet of a rather curious mountain goat. That night we
ate at Joy's Bistro, which is just east of downtown PA. We both had the
prix fixe menu of ling cod with a bacon-wrapped asparagus salad and
profiteroles (baby cream puffs). The cod was a little bland, but the
salad and dessert were outstanding.

Sunday we went hiking on the coast at Shi Shi Beach. There was a bit of
excitement before our arrival. A woman had fallen off the steep hill
going down to the beach and hurt her back. Fortunately, she was
airlifted to and treated at the hospital in PA and released. After the
hike, we stopped to pick up some smoked salmon at the Take Home Fish
shop in Neah Bay. The proprietor smokes salmon and halibut out of his
garage, and it is good stuff. We had dinner at a little restaurant in
town before we went back for the PA fireworks show.

Monday was Sequim (pronounced Skwim) day. Sequim is the lavender
capital of the NW. I picked up some culinary lavender, a cookbook, and
a couple of plants for the yard. We had lunch at a very nice Thai
restaurant in town. The SO had a fried rice dish, while I had the
ginger chicken. Most excellent. On our way out of PA we picked up
bagels at the Olympic Bagel Co, which makes the best bagels in western
WA. Every year we beg them to open a store in Seattle, but they haven't
done so yet. As Chicago Cubs fans have been saying for over 100 years,
wait'll next year...

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

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