Port Townsend: the final report

there is nothing that stood out to me about this place intially except the massive amounts of old hippies that wandered around, clearly confused about everyhing but Obama and the immediate location of their lighters. No big deal, I like old hippies mostly, at least Im starting to alot more than I used to. In fact I hung out with some later in the trip, but thats later in the tale....

OK so at the Native goods store looking to buy something for my brother I couldnt help but notice the operator and a customer speaking in hushed tones...I wondered if it was about the Women in Black who were staging their silent protest outside a few doors down. I asked the owner later after her guest had left about the women in black and whether they were local or not and she bristled and said absolutely then demanded to know what I knew of them so I told her about the Jewish Fed Shooting a few years back and how I was there immediately afterwards, in time to see the victims carted out, this sort of thing. I went on to detail the 3 guys who were also there that were making everyone nervous in their head wraps and incessant pacing, muttering ect ect....I recounted being angry at these men who were seeemed anxious yet pleased and were certainly freaking everybody the hell out with thier attititudes. They would linger at the scene until enough people gave em enough looks that they took off.
About an hour later a buddy and I ended up at Westlake Center and the very same guys were there, dancing and singing the praises of allah's being done, celebrating the shootings, I couldnt believe this was my city. In the middle of all this sat the men and women of silence....waving thier anti Israel signs and rallying (quietly, as is their fashion) for Palestine.
A man and woman asked them out of respect for the victims of the shootings that they disband for the moment and respect the dead (nobody knew who/how/if many had died yet) They refused, to the delight of the celebrators and thusly gave tacit approval to the entire scene. My buddy and I left enraged at the callous nature of humanity, left for our own good that night. Everytime I see the demonstrators for this group I am reminded of that time. (one of the women in the group knew the men, they were chatting back and forth quietly off and on, hence the affiliation in my mind)
The owner of the store looked at me and said " well its understandable, sometimes things like that have to happen for people to get it". She went on and said something about violence breeding peace but I dont recall her exact words, I was blown away by her first statement. I asked her what was understandable, she said the shooting. If I had a clear mind in this moment I would have pulled the star of david from behind my shirt so she could see it, but I didnt think. I left, I left fast. FAST AS HELL. I was pissed, what the hell is wrong with people!
racism is bullshit, i hate it. Racism pisses me off so bad, I dont get it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking around and asking all the art douches how to get to Port Angeles, since I was irritable and it seemed to antagonize everyone when you said the name above.

We decided the place to be was by the sea, so off to the Coast to shed the heavy mood of the above experience. Kids: racism is bullshit and doesnt make you cool.



this is the shady ass liquor/movie store where I asked about a certain bottle on display that I have never seen and the woman at the counter told me to "fuck off, she didnt know what the fuck it was and didnt give a fuck either, but it might be some shit from Norway"

I laughed my ass off and it made her laugh, our spirits were lifted, we got our bottle and left happily, with faith in the world anew.




getting raped by an elk......the wildlife get more and more aggro the further you get from Port Townsend; this elk is clearly voting for Palin

Spent the night at Sekiu and hung out at the local diner with the waitress/cook who seemed eager for news from her new freinds from Seattle. We bullshitted her for some time and ate homemade pie before heading into the digs to watch the coastal rains drench the beach, accompanied by the ever present vodka. It was a night fit for an old man, or an aspiring one at least.
Next morning broke wet, with about 4 inches of water in the back of my truck so we took off in search of a hot plate, which we found in short order. In the diner our waitress poured coffee for us in between sighting her new gun and the old timers bullshitted the Indians about who was the best handyman around. Another good spot, another good meal and another round of good people who arent afraid to live thier lives regardless whats in the news. Kind and caring, unapologetic and relentless. It almost doesnt make sense, its a beautiful thing regardless. Could I ever live this way???? I dont know, for me half the fun of the places I go and people I enjoy, is getting the hell back home in one piece, comforted in this case by Alki waters.....and a distant yet close Seattle. Im a filthy tourist in the lives of rednecks and strangers, voeyerism perhaps?

We stopped in Port Angeles to see what Port Townsend had it so bad for....and we found it soon enough. P.A. is a roughneck town, lots of salty dogs and the women they love running around doing what they do, no matter if its 11 in the morning or not. We stopped at an antique mall and I found the treasure of my lifetime: the mighty wheel you see below! I had seen em all week for $800 and higher, a little bigger than this one. I almost got one in fact, at full price cuz I wanted it so bad.....good thing I held out cuz this one was only $20! Its the real deal too. I couldnt believe it, I was freaked out that I was dreaming....at the counter I acted like I might change my mind about buying it so he wouldnt see the hard on I had for it.....whatta deal!

Now the wheel is mine and you cant have it.


the last two shots are in Port Townsend. They need no explanation.



We decided to go back there and try the town again, I had seen a bar the day before that I liked and I wanted to eat there so we ambled back in.....unsure what to expect. I parked 6 blocks from the bar to ensure maximum exposure to the locals in case I was wrong from yesterday....and it turns out I wasnt. All the art scene snubbed us as we slowly marched towards Water st, we must not have looked like we had any $$ to spend. Hmm bummer.

Arrived at Water Street and entered the joint.I wish I woulda taken pictures, the place is beautiful, old west meets today. I loved it. Check it out here: http://www.waterstreetbrewing.com/
Sat at the bar, ordered our usuals and proceeded to check out the scene. Everything looked in place so we ordered the bruschetta since I refuse to pay over 10 for my treasured burgers (not many of those kind left under 10) Im proud Ive never paid 10 for a burger and if I have my way I never will.

The bar was half full at 1pm, by 3pm it was full and 2 waves of people had already come and gone, every one of them we talked to and had fun with. I told one guy about the anti semite and he told me everyone in town knew she was a twat and not to think twice about her. I laughed hard, like I havent laughed since I saw Captain Jerry gargling with voka when he though no one was looking.
(That was last week sure.....but whatever I like to laugh. )

We had a blast there: the bar is prefect, I WILL go back to Townsend just to get hammered there, and I will do it soon. It changed my entire opinion of the town and I gotta tell you to go there and get lost with the old hippies/shipwrights at Water Street. They played Neil Young on repeat and poured their drinks with soul. Im really glad we went back there to make sure I wasnt wrong...it turns out I was, and it was a shitload of fun figuring it out.




precious beloved wheel, one more time:

Port Townsend gets my vote, we should organize a party to go there and drink. Theres a place you can rent a 5bd. suite for 275/night just down the street from Water St.
Whose in?