Land ho!

I set my alarm this morning for 7 am.  It’s been a while since I’ve set my alarm (I’m on summer vacation, yo!) but we had places to be!

On the way to Port Townsend, we stopped at Deception Pass State Park.  First we pulled over to marvel at Pass Lake.  It was covered in a thick mist making it both gorgeous and eerie. 

We were the only ones around and it felt so peaceful.  Nature is a wonder. 

As if Pass Lake wasn’t therapeutic enough, we then came upon Deception Pass.

The Deception Pass Bridge connects Whidbey Island to the tiny Pass Island, and Pass Island to Fidalgo Island.  Of course, you couldn’t see either of those so early in the morning with all the fog. 

It was BREATHTAKING.  The dramatic way the light hit the fog, which had collected between the straight, was truly spectacular.

It’s called Deception Pass because back when sailors first came upon it, they thought it appeared to be a narrow bay instead of a strait.  I thought it was rather deceiving because you couldn’t see much of anything…until you were practically on top of the bridge.  We decided to come back later that afternoon to hike around the area, thus allowing for the fog to clear out. 

Onward ho…to the Keystone/Port Townsend Ferry. 

Foggy much?  And then suddenly it all cleared up and we saw Port Townsend from afar.

Land ho!  (Kyle said it once and immediately decided it would be his new nickname for me – endearing isn’t it?)

All I had eaten that morning was an apple, so it was definitely lunch time as soon as we hit land.

We had a few recommendations (thanks to my tweeps that hit me back with good dining places)…and we ultimately decided on Sirens Pub. 

Sirens Pub is on Water Street, which is basically the main street in the downtown area, and easily walk-able when you are coming directly off the Ferry.  Since we were starving and it was only a 5-10 minute stroll, it was an easy choice.  We entered on the street side, walked up a few flights of stairs, and at the top we were greeted with quite a view!

Talk about picturesque.

I got the Black Bean Burger, which the menu describes as a “Latin infused garden burger grilled topped with pepper jack and cheddar cheese, grilled red onions, jalapeños and orange chipotle mayo.” 

I nixed the cheese and mayo, and got a house salad on the side (in lieu of french fries). 

I can say with 100% certainty this burger was not made by Sirens.  And I can also say with 99.9% certainty it was this burger (what can I say, I know my Gardenburger varieties). 

It was great, though.  I enjoyed each and every bite…especially the grilled onions.  And I hate to say it (because I sound like a snob), but I was actually pretty surprised by the house salad.  I was expecting a sad lettuce & tomato afterthought, but the lettuce wasn’t your average blah mixed lettuce at all.  It was fresh and GOOD.  It also had a decent balsamic vinaigrette dressing, dried cranz, fresh oranges, and candied pecans. 

Kyle ordered the Steak Sandwich.

It had grilled and sliced tenderloin with sautéed onions and peppers topped with melted mozzarella cheese on a grilled baguette.  He also skipped the fries and got a salad instead. 

After lunch we wandered around town, and eventually hopped aboard the ferry back to the mainland.

Goodbye Port Townsend.

On our way back to the State Park we made a little detour.

Necessities.

A jolt of caffeine to the brain later and we were ready to hit the trails.

The trail started right off the parking lot next to Cranberry Lake.

We weren’t too sure of where we were going, but we just kept following the trail in the general direction around the lake. 

Banana slug.  :P  Nature at it’s finest something.

We stuck to the “West Beach” signs, which led us to the edge of the land (about the 1 mile mark on the above map).

And even though it still looked a bit foggy, it was way clearer than earlier.

His victorious pose is in celebration of making it to the rock’s edge in flip-flops without tripping, scraping his face up, or falling into the water.  He’s a bit of a klutz (so it’s important to acknowledge even the smallest successes).

A little bit further around the rocks and we finally saw the Deception Pass Bridge.  Right after we took this pic we saw a sign that said we only had only one mile further…it looked further than that, but I guess the sign wouldn’t be lying (?). 

The shadows kinda make us look like we are lepers, huh?  Either that or chimney sweeps.

The last 0.2 stretch was a pretty steep incline, which was only rough since I was in flip-flops and jeans…and carrying my purse.  Not quite professional hiker garb, eh?

But once we were on top of the bridge, it was kinda amazing.

Impressive views made the hike well worth it.

I actually didn’t walk all the way across because I’m a chicken, but seriously look at the railing.  It came up to my waist – barely!  Would you?

In the photo on the right, Kyle is hunched way over (so as you can see the rail is not high).

Rather than hike the same way back, we followed the highway back.  Way more direct.  Way more dangerous.  Not sure if that makes the route smarter or dumber (probably the latter since I just admitted to avoiding the bridge for less scary reasons). 

Anyways, the drive back seemed to go on foreverrrrrr.  I was so tired by the time we got home, the last thing I wanted to do was think about dinner. 

Oh praise the Lord.

Kyle’s mom won MVP for the day with this spread.  Honorable mention goes to Bellingham’s co-op (where she got all the vegan dishes). 

How badly do I wish I always came home to dinner on the table?

Brown rice with veggies and tofu…seasoned amazingly. 

Kale salad with wild rice.

Ganmodoki and falafel.

I couldn’t wait to dig in!  I took a bit of everything, and got down to b’ness.

Kyle’s mom had never even heard of falafel when I mentioned them earlier this week.  Madness I tell you!  Madness!  For that reason, she specifically sought these out to try.  I enjoyed them immensely, although they were not exactly as spicy or solid as I’m used to.  The inside was pretty bready, and despite them not being as dense as what I’m used to, they were really good.  Very light.  Very tasty.

The ganmodoki was a newbie for me as well as the rest of my dining companions.  In case you too are a ganmodoki virgin, it’s a fried tofu fritter (traditionally made with veggies, egg whites, and sesame seeds), but this vegan version contained firm tofu, edamame, hijiki, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, green onion, sesame oil, and sea salt.  And let me tell you, it was goooooood.  I think I’m going to have to try to make this for myself. 

As for the kale salad, well, the only thing you need to know is that I went back for second, third, and FOURTH helpings!  I think it’s safe to say I’ve got my Vitamin K levels nice and high.  Brendan Brazier would be very pleased with my body’s alkalinity after my past few leafy green filled days.

I think I’m going to have to try and make this tofu rice dish too since Kyle was.  I always get so excited when he finds vegan meals that he’s both enthusiastic about and finds hearty enough.  Sometimes vegan eats don’t keep him satisfied for very long.  I think it’s something your body has to adjust to – recalibrate itself if you will.  And since he doesn’t eat vegan all the time, his body just isn’t accustomed to running on purely meat/dairy free food.  Who knows.  The important part is that I can happily live off fruit and veggies.  Throw in some grains every once in a while and I’m happy as a clam sweet pea.