July, 2025
Today, again, I started out intending to walk from my campsite, around the marina, and then into the downtown area of historic Port Townsend. But this time I did it! I made it! I didn’t get sidetracked. 🙂
The main street (Water Street) of old Port Townsend runs right along the waterfront, not surprisingly. But the folks who planned this town did not run that street right NEXT to the water as many towns do … they left room on the water side of that street for shops, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses, right along the water. That has paid off. There are a number of hotels on that water side of Water Street that have rooms overlooking the water and the islands, the rising sun and the setting sun, all the boats cruising past, etc, as well as restaurants over there with outside seating, and lots of public areas with outside seating and beach access. I still like my campsite best, but staying in one of those hotel rooms would be pretty great. 🙂
Ok, let me show you a bit of downtown historic Port Townsend. First off, here’s the view from the very back end of my trailer, looking south across the marina, and then into the north end of Port Townsend. It is that close!
Here (below) is a bird’s eye view that I snagged off the internet. The historic downtown area is comprised of the reddish brick buildings that run right along the water in the bottom/left side of the photo below. It is not a large downtown area. It used to be larger back when Port Townsend was the largest city in Washington State because ocean ships docked here. But, when the railroad arrived in this state, the railroad didn’t come all the way over here … too far. The railroad stopped in Tacoma, Seattle, and other points on the east side of Puget Sound. Since Port Townsend was on the west side of Puget Sound, and at the very northern end of it no less, the railroad company didn’t want to spend the money to build a railway line WAY over here, way out here. So then ocean ships bypassed Port Townsend and headed to those other ports that had railroads. So the downtown area of Port Townsend diminished, and almost disappeared at one point, until the tourist industry brought it back to life and many of the downtown buildings (and homes up the hill) were restored.
From the marina, I walked into the northern parts of Port Townsend. The photo below shows the old City Hall building, built in 1892. It now houses the Jefferson County Art & History Museum. It also has a restored courtroom and a jail cell, for show only. 🙂
But just before that building, on the right hand side of that street, was this rock below.
Actually, all I saw was a HUGE growth of weeds, and the very top two inches of that rock. I got curious and scrabbled around in those weeds. When I saw the top edge of that sign on that rock, well then I went to town (as it were) and pulled and cut weeds to my heart’s content and uncovered the entire sign. Wow, how cool is that? Why wouldn’t the town of Port Townsend keep this memorial clear for all to see? Rest assured, I emailed them!
And, rest assured, the history that’s reported on this sign is accurate. Captain George Vancouver did land here in 1792 and named this site “Port Townsend”.
But let us move on to some of the really fun stuff here in Port Townsend today, businesses that still use those original old buildings.
The Hotel above ……
The Wine Seller below …
Actually, the owner and founder of that wine shop above is a friend of mine, Joe Euro. He and his wife own an old 1947 Matthews cruising sedan similar to the boat I used to own. His wine is lovely, his boat is gorgeous, he has excellent taste. And, he is a professional solo guitar player and has several CD’s out. I have all of them. 🙂
There are so many extraordinary shops in Port Townsend. The yarn shop above is just one. There’s also Whistle Stop Toys, Wynwoods Gallery & Bead Store, Celtic Crossroads clothing store, Wildwoods Coffee Lounge, A Stitch in Time Quilt Shop, The Bag Ladies (wearable art from local artists), and so much more! Ice cream parlors, gardening stores with local plants, all manner of clothing shops, book stores, etc.
Besides those shops (all in old buildings), there are a number of amazingly huge old buildings here. Below is the Hastings Building, built in 1890, that still has most of its original gorgeous interior wood, extremely intricate door hinges, and original fire places that still function safely although the building now enjoys fully electric heat and lights. I was told it is in the process of being restored.
Another is already-restored Monarch Hotel (below), with 24×7 front desk service and rooms with views of the water and the Olympic Mountains. It was built in 1889 at a cost of $25,000.
Both of the large, old buildings above are right on Water Street and easily seen while walking in downtown Port Townsend.
I walked south along one side of Water Street, taking photos, making notes, and eventually turned around and headed back north also taking photos and making notes. Eventually, back at the very north end, I was happy to see the “Northwest Maritime Center” building … along with the native nation’s totem pole.
As a former owner of an old wood boat (1939 Matthews 41-foot power cruiser), I couldn’t help but take an afternoon and visit this maritime center. I’ll show that to you in the next blog post.
Speaking of old wood boats … in last week’s blog post, reader Joe wrote a comment asking about my boat and whether it would fit in the Point Hudson Marina and whether I’d ever taken that boat to that marina. Well, it does fit and I have had the boat in there. Here are just two photos from one of the times that I stayed at that marina with my boat. The photos are from my boat trip here in 2015. Friends (on their boat) and I (on my boat) were heading up into the San Juan Islands for a week or two, and stopped off here for one night on our way north.
For the photo above, taken long before I knew I would be here with my RV … for the photo above, I had walked up on shore and was standing pretty much where my trailer was on THIS trip today in 2025.
To take the photo below, I was standing over on the south side of the marina, on that dock that runs right along the northern edge of Port Townsend. Notice the two folks in their chairs, out by the rocks, sitting there looking out over the water and Whidbey Island (and the Cascade mountains in the distance). Well, little did I know when I was here in 2015 with this boat, that THAT is exactly where I would sit in MY chair in 2025 and look out over that same gorgeous view, while camped in my trailer almost directly in front of where my boat had been moored in 2015.
The flags on the boat … on the bow, way up front, is the “C” for Classic Yacht Association, the international wooden boat club I belonged to for so many years. The USA flag is on the stern. The roof of the main cabin on the boat has a “flag mast” on it (it’s not a mast for a sail, just for flags). The yellow flag on the left is the Lion Rampant of Scotland … I’m of Scottish descent, and the designer/builder of this boat was Scott Matthews, born in Scotland and moved as a child with his parents to the Great Lakes area where he then started building wood boats, and made a tremendously successful career of that for many decades, including building this boat, Pied Piper, that I enjoyed for many years. The white flag on the right side of that mast is an “M” which stands for the Matthews Boat Club, still in existence today, all members are owners of boats built by Scott Matthews or his sons. The dark blue flag, with a white anchor on it, at the very top of the mast is designation that I am a Past Commodore of the Classic Yacht Association. All prim and proper! 🙂 While out cruising, as soon as our boats crossed the dotted line on the map and entered Canadian water, the white “M” flag was taken down from that starboard halyard just below the spreader, and the Canadian flag was raised in its place. “O Canada!”
Great memories. Sigh. I sure enjoyed all of my friends and all of our adventures. And I sure loved that boat.
AND … last but certainly not least, here is an excellent video that I found on the internet that talks all about Port Townsend.
The video show-cases so many things I’ve seen and done here. Great memories. If any of YOU folks are ever anywhere near Port Townsend, or have the time to travel to Port Townsend, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Take a warm summer day and relax and have a great time.
Thank you Ann, your boat is beautiful! Did it look like that in 1939 when it was built? Wow, it’s gorgeous. What a coincidence, or not, that you parked the boat in 2015 pretty much right next to where you’d be camping ten years later. I hope you’ll show us more of your boat adventures one of these days.
Hi Joe. Great questions. 🙂 On the outside, when new, the boat did look almost exactly as it does today, I’ve added radar and a couple of other things. On the inside, it still looks pretty much like it did back in 1939, except I installed a full size fridge-freezer and two 110-amp baseboard heaters and a good sized gasoline generator for 110 power when I’m anchored and a MUCH larger fuel tank and more batteries, etc. But basically, even inside, it still looks almost identical to what it did back in 1939. I’ve kept it original on purpose, hidden the stuff I’ve added as much as possible.
I’ve had a number of readers ask for more information about this boat and my cruising adventures. Maybe I’ll start adding a blog post about the boat every once in awhile in between camping trips? I owned her for 18 years … I have lots of photos from lots of cruises. She’s still close to my heart. Thanks Joe.
I’ve always wondered why you gave up life on the boat. Im glad to see a picture of it. It looks really nice, but I can see it’s a small space.
Ah “life on the boat”, what a great time I’ve had on both of my boats. Wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world, Dawn. I never did live on either of the boats full-time, tho I had a friend who lived on her 24-footer, and two friends who lived on their 40-footer, and a friend who still lives on his 36-footer. The inside of my trailer is 17 feet by 7 feet, that’s a bit snug for living in full-time. That 40-foot 1939 Matthews boat was/is about 34 feet by 12 feet inside, and it has an additional really nice semi-covered “patio” on the back with storage there too. It isn’t small. Maybe the photos are deceptive? When I stood on that back “patio” area (called a cockpit) under the roof there, the roof was more than seven feet above the floor/deck of the boat. So don’t you be thinking I was suffering from being in a small space. Especially when I was out cruising, all those windows all around the “living room” made me feel like the whole world was mine, what gorgeous views I had, sunsets, sunrises, birds, islands, all manner of beauty. The boat had a full bathroom, a full kitchen, the forward stateroom had either two over-size twin berths or a California King bed if a center board was added. I still wonder if maybe I would have been happier (and wealthier) if I had lived on board and not had the expense of a home. But, the value of my home appreciated, and the boat did not! So there’s that to consider. Space … what one needs or feels comfortable in … sometimes a huge home ain’t it! 🙂 Thanks Dawn … you gave me an opportunity to share a bit more about that boat.
What a full, fun day indeed! And I thought un-covering the historical marker was the high adventure…. what history Port Townsend and your lovely boats, and now Towhee have enjoyed.
Will you let us know if you hear back from the city?
Ps: I loved the two lamps you can see thru the windows of your dear boat. So cozy.
Oh tunano, I did not hear back from the city, didn’t think I would, but one can always hope. Next time I’m in Port Townsend I will bring my hedge trimmer cutters to cut back the weeds around that sign/monument.
I added those two lamps … yes, cozy. 🙂
Oh my word, your boat is beautiful! I bet most people here don’t have a clue what it means to maintain a large old wood boat, with old engines. I am so impressed! Take a 40-foot long wooden house and put it in the water and see how long it lasts. Yes, I’m with Joe, more boat adventures please. 🙂
I took my folks to Port Townsend maybe 20 years ago, when restorations were still being done, but it was a great down with great energy even back then. Guess I better go again.
Oh my gosh, thank you Rob. Wow, what a compliment … to me (and the former owners of the boat) for the work done to maintain the boat … but mostly a compliment to the builders of that boat, and to her, to Pied Piper. I’m sure she heard your compliment. 🙂
What a great old town. I wish I lived closer, but I’m not really that far away, just in Idaho, not in Massachusetts! 🙂 I guess I need to hitch up and head west to where you are. Great old buildings, but with new businesses but still they rely on local artists, they rely on the people who live there, not on humongous companies that ship stuff in for sale. I can hope to snag YOUR campsite, Ann, 🙂 or another one close by.
Hitch up, head west! Let me know when you’re coming and I’d be happy to help you find stuff to go see or places to camp. And if you and I are competing for that one campsite, well, you can have it. 🙂 Happy to share, Susan.
So good to see Pied Piper again. Brings back fond memories!!
Good times, eh? 🙂
I’m living in a home that is 32-feet by 15 feet, one bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen, large living room enough for me with an alcove for my computer, etc, and I’m comfortable. I’m still researching buying a travel trailer to live in surely smaller than my home. A boat that’s 40 feet long and probably 12 feet wide is huge to me! How do you handle that boat, how do you park it by yourself? How do you “run” the boat AND get off the boat and tie it to the dock by yourself. I’m impressed!
And, it’s really a gorgeous boat, so pretty. And I love the name Pied Piper. I’d follow her anywhere. 🙂
Oh, I loved Port Townsend too. What a fun town! Sorry, I got so amazed by the boat that I forgot the town. Fun town. 🙂
Ahhh, good question. How does ONE person on a boat drive/run/control the boat AND get off the boat at a dock when the water current is flowing one direction and the wind is blowing another direction etc? Well, you plan everything ahead of time. Any time I was approaching a dock to moor there, I always had fenders out on both sides of the boat, and lines out ready to grab on both sides of the boat. I purposefully bought a boat where I could simply walk back from the helm without going up or down stairs (tripping!) and where I could simply step over the side of the boat at the back of the boat and then step onto the dock, with a line in hand, so I could tie that one line to a cleat on the dock so the boat was safe, and THEN figure out exactly what other lines to tie to the dock. With two engines, I could “walk” the boat sideways, so she was parallel to the dock and moving towards the dock when I got off. That took some practice, but it sure paid off in safety. I taught other boaters too.
🙂 Thanks for the comment about the boat’s name, Pied Piper. Many people don’t know the old story of the pied piper of Hamlin and how he led the children away from town, how they followed him. This 1939 boat Pied Piper surely led me away too, and I’ve always loved it. In fact, the name “Pied Piper” was given to the boat by the Matthews Company when they built her. It has never changed. I would follow her anywhere too, Emily. 🙂
We love Port Townsend. It’s a great destination for a day trip or for a few days. There are many more things to see in the areas around Port Townsend as well. It’s one of our favourite close-to-home get-aways. We haven’t been south of the border (Canada-USA) since Covid hit, guess it’s time! 🙂 Hey, Jim, hitch up, let’s go!
Janey
Ah, yes, there are tons of things to see around Port Townsend too. Good of you to mention that Janey. It’s a gorgeous area with lots of history and nature to enjoy. Hmmm, yes covid. I haven’t been north since then either. Let’s both hitch up and go! 🙂
Our nephew has still not moved to Washington State. He keeps saying they are moving, but they don’t move. I shared this blog post with him, Ann, and he loved it. Gotta get him off his duff so that the wife and I can go visit him in Washington and see all the things you show us. Montana is great, we love it here, well maybe not so much the winters, but this is home. We have history here too, but Port Townsend would be a great place to visit. And your boat is magnificent! Keep on! 🙂
Get that guy off his rear end! 🙂 And then you folks come and visit. Whenever you do come visit, if you can … let me know and I’m happy to help with arrangements. Thank Tim, you are super.
Great video, thank you! Don’t know that I’ll ever make it to Port Townsend, but what a great historic town for all of us to enjoy in any way we can. Your boat is beautiful. Those old historic buildings are gorgeous. Your blog takes me to places I never knew about. Thank you!
You’re welcome Cindy. I bet you know places where I’ve never been. It’s great to learn new things, isn’t it? 🙂
I’d almost forgotten what Pied Piper looks like. She’s about the most beautiful boat I’ve ever seen.
Great video of Port Townsend. I’ve been in that wine shop, it’s excellent.
Say, I was just thinking … I liked that you do the right thing and fly a Canadian courtesy flag any time you’re in Canadian waters. But, maybe RV’ers should do the same when they cross the border. Goofy idea huh? 🙂 What do you think?
Oh Mark, thank you … and the Pied Piper thanks you. I don’t own her anymore but she’s certainly still in my heart and I know she hears you, absolutely.
Whoa, what an idea! A courtesy flag for RVers who are traveling from the USA to Canada. I like it. That would be cool. Either hang it off the radio antenna on the right side of your vehicle, or post it on the back of your RV, on the right side, but on the back wall of the RV. I might have to start doing that. Thank you! 🙂
I loved this one; great pictures!
Thanks Kristin. Port Townsend is a great place to visit! And … you and Russ have been on the boat a number of times … I remember the time when we were headed south in Puget Sound and a HUGE commercial ocean ship came screaming past us at full speed. I turned the boat 90 degrees to the right and put her on full steam to try to get away from that ship’s wake. That ship was obviously breaking the law, but what could we do? Eventually, I had to turn the boat around and head INTO the wake, but by then the wake was smaller. Still you and Russ … and the girls too were there (Ar&Ka) … everyone got down on the floor just in case there was a problem … but I just hung on with white knuckles and kept on steering and kept the engine at a small enough speed to allow me to steer. Water poured over the bow!! But we were safe. I also remember looking back at you four folks who were on the floor, and I noticed that YOU were actually up and looking out the window! You wild thing you. I’d bet the Pied Piper loved that from you, your trust in her. We came through that just fine, with stories to tell. 🙂