Originally named “Port Townshend” for the Marquis of Townshend by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, it was also called the “City of Dreams” with the thought that it would be the largest harbour on the US west coast. Officially settled in 1851, many of the homes and buildings reflect the Victorian times of the city’s heyday. By the late 1890’s, the boom was over, due to the railroad not being brought to the town. The economy went into a rapid decline and lost many inhabitants to other cities.
The development of Fort Worden, which began in 1897, and industries such as a paper mill in the 1920s, managed to keep the town afloat, but most of the Victorian buildings were left, instead of being torn down and built over, like in other, more affluent cities. As a result, the city’s Victorian look and feel was preserved and it ended up being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
Since the 1970s, many new residents have moved to the area, and it has become a tourist destination, with it’s quaint Victorian town and marina that lays right along the waterfront.
I had called ahead a few days before the weekend and managed to get the very last spot at the Point Hudson Marina and RV Park. It’s a rustic RV park, right down on the point of the waterfront, just steps to town and the marina, and right on the beach. Pretty much all the spots have a water view, though they are pretty tightly tucked in beside each other. If I were to book well enough in advance (they take reservations up to 1 year in advance) I’d book one of the nice waterfront spots, of which there are quite a few, percentage wise. However, even tucked in between two other RVs, we had a wonderful water view from the front and rear of our RV.
Our RV spot, and the view at the back of the RV.
The view from our front windows. Even when the spots were filled in over there, we had enough space between us and them that we retained a beautiful water view.
Like most waterfront ports, mornings are typically foggy and grey, but it blows off by mid-morning.
We had the most amazing breakfast here at the Point Hudson Cafe. It’s pricey and we had a 30 minute wait for a table – like any other breakfast restaurant on a Sunday morning – but it was so worth it. There are two other restaurants at the point, Doc’s Marina Grill, and the Shanghai Restaurant. We didn’t try either.
We spent much of our time beach combing and searching for Pokemon. The main street has a ton of Pokestops. There is one corner that has three Pokestops and a large amount of trainers are drawn to the area. We wandered back and forth through town following the lures others put out on docks and sidewalks. On our last night, at the three Pokestop corner, someone kept putting out lures on all three stops, and even though the temperature had gone way down and I hadn’t brought my hoody, I didn’t want to leave. I sat there shivering far longer than my body liked.
“Please – just one more!”
“Okay, as soon as this lure wears off!”
“Oh no, someone put out 3 more lures! We have to stay!”
I felt kinda like a kid being called home from out in the neighbourhood on a summer evening. Eventually though, as when my parents got really fed up with me as a child, I had to give in and go home.
Overnight spot: Point Hudson Marina and RV Park
Price: $40 per night – can be booked up to 1 year in advance
Includes: 30 Amp Electrical, water and sewer
Cell & Wifi: Verizon – 4 bars of 4G LTE
Pokemon: a ton of Pokestops, one in the RV park, and one around the corner and those lead you right into town, where they are very plentiful!
Notes: We stayed two nights. They have 3 restaurants right beside the park and the town is steps away.
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