The Olympic Peninsula beckons with its captivating blend of lavender-scented fields, historic coastal towns, and magical gardens just waiting to be discovered. Join us, The ROAMies, as we unpack our adventures through this Pacific Northwest gem, starting in Sequim—North America's lavender capital—where purple fields and blueberry farms inspired a special tea blend bearing the town's name.
Sequim proved the perfect launch point for our peninsula explorations. The quaint town buzzes with lavender culture, featuring shops like Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farm where everything from culinary seasonings to home goods carries the signature scent. Though we missed the Olympic Game Farm's drive-through safari experience, we'll definitely return for close encounters with bison, bears, and llamas.
Our wanderings took us to the stunning Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, where a rugged trail stretches 11 miles round-trip to a distant lighthouse. We ventured to Port Townsend, a Victorian seaport brimming with maritime charm, art galleries, and the starting point of the ambitious Olympic Discovery Trail—a 130-mile pathway being built along a former railroad corridor connecting communities across the peninsula.
The most unexpected adventure came during our cross-border journey to Victoria, British Columbia. A forgotten passport meant one of us explored alone while the other uncovered Port Angeles's hidden gems. Victoria's crown jewel, Butchart Gardens, revealed its century-old splendor through the Sunken Garden (transformed from an abandoned quarry), the star-shaped pond originally designed for ornamental ducks, and meticulously maintained Japanese, Italian, and Rose gardens.
• Sequim serves as the perfect home base with its relaxing atmosphere and status as North America's lavender capital
• Lavender and blueberry fields inspired a special tea blend named "Sequim"
• Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farm offers everything lavender from seasonings to home goods
• The Olympic Game Farm provides drive-through wildlife viewing opportunities for families
• Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge features an 11-mile round trip beach walk to a lighthouse
• Port Townsend charms with Victorian architecture, art galleries, and maritime history
• The Olympic Discovery Trail spans from Port Townsend to La Push along a former railroad corridor: https://olympicdiscoverytrail.org/
• Victoria's Butchart Gardens showcases stunning themed gardens including the Sunken Garden, Japanese Garden, and Star Pond
• Travel mishaps can lead to unexpected adventures, as when one forgot their passport for Canada
Whether you're chasing Twilight filming locations, seeking tranquil lavender rows, or craving coastal hikes, the Olympic Peninsula grounds you in Pacific Northwest beauty while feeding your wanderlust. Ready to experience this perfect blend of floral, coastal, and forest mystery for yourself? Subscribe now to join our next adventure to Belize!
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Alexa and Rory
The ROAMies
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory, and together we are the
Romies.
We are married To each other.
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And we hope, to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, all Our month with you exploring the Olympic
Peninsula is fueled by Larissa'sKitchen LK, and we couldn't be
more excited.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Even me as a vegetarian.
I'm excited to share this brandwith you because they make
clean, portable meat snacks withzero sugar.
They are certified top nineallergen free and they focus on
real ingredients you canactually pronounce and recognize
.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Yeah, like meat, real meat.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
If you're going to eat meat, it needs to be a clean
, good meat, and I approve ofthis one.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
From our road trips to trail days.
Larissa's Kitchen helps keep upmy energy without all the junk.
Things like grass-fed beef,free-range poultry,
paleo-friendly, gluten-free youknow all the good stuff.
That's what they got.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yep, and we have even more good stuff for you today
as we continue our episodeseries on the Olympic Peninsula
and beyond, as we highlight thecities of Sequim, a cross-border
detour to the stunning BouchardGardens and a little jaunt to
the coastal vibes of PortTownsend.
So stay tuned for some brightgardens, salty breezes and a
(01:38):
little surprise or two along theway.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Let's start in Sequim .
Let's do AKA, the lavendercapital of North America, which
is due to the unique climate andhigh concentration of lavender
farms in the area.
They have a lavender festival,which is a must-see if you're
visiting in July, but evenoff-season which is when we
visited Squim has a wonderfulvibe slow, calm and easy to fall
(02:03):
in love with.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And I think Squim turned out to be such a great
home base for our whole tripbecause it gave us easy access
to all the day trips that wewanted to take around the
Olympic Peninsula, so everythingfelt within reach and it made
planning so much smoother.
One of the biggest things thatI remember about Squim was
driving through the differentlavender fields.
We kept passing signs forblueberry fields too, like this
(02:25):
organic blueberry farm, and sothat combination just stuck with
me and inspired me to create atea flavor called Squim, and
it's a blueberry lavender blend.
I love it so much, and so I justfelt like that was the perfect
way to capture the essence ofthe area.
And then I also visited a verycool lavender shop called
Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farmand they had everything lavender
(02:45):
you could ever think of.
So they had like seasonings foryour food, pillows, kitchen
items, candles, lotions, like,if you can think of it, they did
it in lavender and it was a funshop to visit.
I ended up getting like seasalt herb de Provence blend,
which I thought would be yummy.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Turns out we actually didn't like it too much.
But hey, maybe someone whostays at our Airbnb can try it
and see what they think.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, I'm still going to cook with it again and like
experiment a little bit, becauseit sounds so fun and we we may
have just used too much and Ithink maybe that's part of it,
but anyway, that's what I endedup buying and bringing home and
then I bought like a gift for mymom as well and then, like the
store also lets you walk aroundthe grounds and explore the farm
and gardens, which is lovely.
Now, one thing we didn't do inSequim, which I wish we had, was
(03:30):
visit the wildlife park.
It seems so cool.
We drove by it like everysingle day, but we had all of
these other things on our agendaand I wish we had made time to
drive through.
It's like this little safariwildlife thing.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, the Olympic Game Farm.
It's a drive-through safariwhere you can see animals like
yaks, bison, brown bears andllamas from the comfort of your
own or llamas, yeah, llama,llamas, as we say from the
comfort of your own vehicle.
It's been delighting visitorsfor over 50 years with
Self-Guided Tours, offering afun and educational day out for
(04:05):
families and tourists such asourselves.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes, and next time when we go.
So we also had a fun hike andswim.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It was at the end of a day trip, so we didn't have a
whole lot of daylight,unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But I wanted to spend the whole day just walking
around that cool trail.
And then on another day we wentto Dungeness and we walked
there too, and I wanted to goall the way to the ending point,
but Rory said we could only goto the middle.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, it's a long ways out.
The Dungeness Trail is so coolbecause you can walk out.
It's like a little peninsulaand you can have water on both
sides, like La Push Beach.
There were quite a few rocksand tree limbs that gathered in
the middle of this DungenessTrail.
I mean so much you would haveto climb to get from one side to
the other.
It's called the DungenessNational Wildlife Refuge.
(04:49):
The trail continues down asteep hill to the spit and
becomes a rugged five-mile beachwalk to the lighthouse.
See what I'm saying.
The total distance from theparking area to the lighthouse
is approximately 11 miles roundtrip, which we did not make.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I wanted to go all the way at least to the wildlife
refuge there, which isdifferent from the wildlife park
that we were talking about justa minute ago, but ideally.
And then I also want to go tothe lighthouse at the very end,
but Rory said it was going to bedark so I didn't get to see the
wildlife and I missed out thereas well.
But it's going to be a prioritynext time.
Just plan on a big long oldwalk.
(05:23):
So anyway, squim had such agreat vibe.
It felt like such a nicecommunity and town and a place
you'd want to belong to.
On another day I also went toJohn Wayne's Waterfront at Pitch
Ship Point and I really enjoyedseeing the view of Squim Bay
and the Strait of Juan de Fucathere.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Plus it's called John Wayne's Waterfront, so that's
just great Right?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I just yeah, I had a cool name, so I had to go.
Now, another place I visitedwas Port Townsend.
It's a historic seaport withserious character, so think like
Victorian-era buildings, quirkybookshops, maritime history and
artists everywhere, and you canwander down to the waterfront,
stop into a gallery or just sitat a coffee shop and people
watch.
So it's the kind of place thatmakes you want to write a novel
(06:05):
or at least a few postcards.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
On this Olympic Peninsula trip, I wanted some
time to focus on writing and Iwanted it to be a relaxing trip
where we could have fun together, see all the twilight stops and
just enjoy the area.
I also really wanted some timeaway and a beautiful place to
work on my book and honestly,that turned out to be kind of
(06:28):
our rhythm for this trip.
Most days we tried to carve outtime for me to stay home at the
Airbnb and squim and writewhile she took off on little day
trips and solo adventures.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, one of those days I went to the Ho Rainforest
outside of Forks which we talkabout in the first episode of
our Olympic Peninsula series.
So check that out if youhaven't yet.
But on another morning I hadheard about a cute restaurant
that might possibly beinterested in carrying my tea to
serve to their customers.
So I thought, hey, that's agood excuse for a little outing.
So I headed out to check outwhat all of that was and I
(06:57):
haven't followed up with thatrestaurant yet, but it was still
worth the stop and therestaurant was adorable.
So the restaurant was in PortTownsend, so that gave me a
specific destination to kind oflike kick things off, and I'm
super glad I went.
So, like on the way to therestaurant I found this really
cool co-op health food grocerystore and I spent a good bit of
(07:19):
time there because they had aton of tea options from local
and national brands and it wasjust super fun to browse their
huge tea selection and see whatkind of things they had.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Not that you're into tea or anything, no.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And then I also grabbed a few groceries for us
while I was there, but honestly,I just love visiting grocery
stores when I travel because itgives me a real glimpse into the
daily life of a community ornew place, and if it's a health
food store, well then I'm intriple heaven.
So that was definitely like ahighlight for me.
But another fun surprise wasthe shipyard.
So the restaurant that Ivisited was like right there at
(07:48):
the shipyard, and there werethese massive ships being worked
on.
Like a whole section of PortTownsend was just filled with
these giant ships up on the landbeing repaired and restored or
maybe just waiting for theirnext adventure.
But it was really cool to see,and so it was super windy that
day, though, so I wasn't in themood to spend too much time
outdoors.
(08:08):
I didn't take like additionalferries Cause, like I had
briefly considered taking theWashington State ferry to
Whidbey Island, but because ofthe wind I was like, so I
started to head back towardsSquim instead, and that's when I
stumbled upon the Fort WordenState Park, which is like so
cool and this is again still inPort Townsend so it's like this
(08:31):
preserved historic army basewhere you can really get a feel
for how the soldiers and theirfamilies lived.
Rory would have been so jealousif I'd shown him the pictures
right then, and he'll get to seethem later on the social post
this week.
I didn't want to depress him, soI didn't show him, to him no
thanks, I appreciate that, butit was definitely worth the stop
and I was able to explore agood amount in a short time and
(08:51):
still head back to spend theafternoon with Rory, so we could
do some exploring together.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Now, one really neat thing about Port Townsend is
that it's actually the startingpoint of the Olympic Discovery
Trail.
It begins at the waterfrontboatyard just south of town and
stretches for about 27 milesfrom Puget Sound to the
community of Blinn at thesouthern tip of Squim Bay.
If you listened to our natureepisode from Mineral Wells, you
might remember us talking aboutthe whole rails to trails
(09:20):
concept.
Well, this is another one ofthose.
The Olympic Discovery Trail isbeing built on an old railroad
corridor Cool and the idea forit came about in the mid 1980s
after the last train left theOlympic Peninsula.
Yeah, so while that was said,they had a vision to turn the
old railroad route into amulti-use trail that spans the
(09:41):
entire peninsula, from historicPort Townsend all the way out to
La Push.
How cool is that.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Super cool.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
There are four main sections, each with gorgeous
scenic views, and a lot of it'salready completed, especially
around Port Townsend and Sequim.
The whole thing's just such anexciting, beautiful project and
it's still expanding.
Currently, the OlympicDiscovery Trail extends from
Port Townsend to the beach in LaPush, covering over roughly 90
miles, while the entire 130-mileroute is planned of the trails
(10:13):
now using a combination ofexisting roadways and designated
non-motorized paths, and youcan check it all out at
olympicdiscoverytrailorg.
Olympicdiscoverytrailorg, it'sa world-class multi-use pathway
that connects the communitiesacross the North Olympic
Peninsula.
It offers recreation, activetransportation and it even
(10:35):
boosts the local economy so cool.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, now, another unexpected solo trip that I took
, which wasn't supposed to be asolo trip, was to the Butchart
Gardens in Victoria, canada.
So let's back up and start fromthe beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Without me.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
If you've listened to our Port Angeles story then you
already know a little part ofthis about how we were minded by
our Airbnb host the nightbefore about having our
passports.
And that's when Rory decided toswitch to a lighter day pack
and he didn't realize he lefthis passport in the other
backpack.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, it was so lame.
We had planned this whole tripknowing that while we were in
the Olympic Peninsula we'd takeone day and pop over to Canada.
It was really important to youknow her Like.
From day one.
Before we even left home, weknew we were bringing our
passports and planning that daytrip to Canada.
So that morning we wereliterally talking to our Airbnb
host and she brings up thepassports and how strict they
(11:32):
are at the border because wewere going to Canada.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I hear that, and then , on the drive halfway between
Sequim and Port Angeles, Isuddenly realize uh, my
passport's in my other backpack.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And y'all.
This was the only day we hadleft to our entire trip.
We were flying out the next day, so this was our very last
chance to go, and there was onlyone ferry that could get us
there and back in the same day,so that was like the only option
.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
We thought maybe I could get by with my real ID, so
we didn't turn back.
If we had, we both would havemissed the ferry anyway.
So we tried.
We went and they would not letme on.
We were very sad, we said ourgoodbyes and Alexa went on ahead
and got on the ferry to Canadawithout me.
She was determined to go and atleast one of us got to
(12:23):
experience Canada.
The ferry from Port Angelestakes you to Victoria, british
Columbia, and it actually turnedout to be this serendipitous
thing I ended up having thechance to really dive into Port
Angeles, which ended up being socool for our podcast.
We were able to do a wholeepisode on Port Angeles up being
so cool for our podcast, wewere able to do a whole episode
on Port Angeles.
(12:45):
We'll put a link to that in theshow notes for you.
Plus, it's part of the TwilightSaga.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So it was nice to have more time there.
So while he's exploring PortAngeles, I go on the ferry and
then, once I get to Victoria, Ihad been told I wouldn't need a
car, and that turned out to betotally true.
I wouldn't need a car, and thatturned out to be totally true.
I ended up catching a bus thatdrove me around Victoria and I
had seen this brochure aboutBoot Shark Gardens, which
sounded like perfect because Ilove botanical gardens, and I
decided that's where I'd spendmost of my day, and since I had
to get back in time to catch theferry, that's all I had time
(13:15):
for.
Basically, boot Shark Gardensand then seeing a bit of
Victoria coming and going there.
Now y'all, boot Shark Gardensis totally worth it.
You can actually walk around theport area in Victoria on foot
and there's so much to see rightthere.
It's like super charming.
It's a vibrant little city,little cool and interesting
things to take in just stepsfrom the ferry.
But then I hopped on the bus tothe gardens and they were very
(13:40):
memorable and spectacular.
So one of the best parts wasthe sunken garden.
It had this winding staircaseand a path that takes you down
through all of these floweringtrees and shrubs that grow way
down at the base of these tallrock walls and like this huge
rock mound, and from above youcan overlook the garden and even
see Corey Lake.
(14:01):
And at the far end is like thisbeautiful fountain.
Now they also have like a rosegarden, a Japanese garden and
this thing called the Star Pond.
It's literally a star-shapedpond, originally designed for Mr
Bouchard's ornamental ducks.
For Mr Bouchard's ornamentalducks, each point of the star
(14:24):
had a duck, like space, and it'ssurrounded by neatly trimmed
shrubs that outline the shape ofthe star, and in the middle of
it there's this cute frogfountain and it's all surrounded
by colorful annuals and it wasjust cheerful and fun.
And then there was the Italiangarden, which sits between two
arch entrances.
And then there was the ItalianGarden, which sits between two
arch entrances, and insidethere's this big bronze statue
and all of these plants andflowers.
Before 1926, that area wasactually the Bouchard's concrete
(14:48):
tennis court.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And the narrow building on the left side used
to house a two-lane bowlingalley.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Oh sweet.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Now it's just covered in gorgeous plants Maybe ivy or
strawberries, I couldn't quitetell but it's beautiful.
Then there's also a piazza withmore statues and a restaurant
and a greenhouse, and even theyhave like this Mediterranean
garden, and their gift shop wassuper cool, like actually full
of things you'd actually want tobuy, not just touristy stuff,
(15:16):
that was like tacky, it was likenice, fun stuff.
And so, of course, course, Ifound some tea that I really
liked and brought home as a funsouvenir, and I want to create
my own version someday for mytea line.
It really inspired me and it'ssuper yummy, so I hope I can
create a good one just like that.
So here's a fun bit of history.
The Bouchard Gardens actuallystarted way back in 1904 when
(15:39):
Jenny Bouchard took what used tobe an old, abandoned limestone
quarry and turned it into thisincredible garden.
So now it's known as the SunkenGarden, which I mentioned, and
it's part of this early 20thcentury beautification movement
and honestly, it's stillstunning today and the whole
place is laid out like anEdwardian estate, with these
beautiful separate areas is laidout like an Edwardian estate
with these beautiful separateareas, like I said, the Rose
(16:01):
Garden, the Japanese Garden, theItalian Garden and, of course,
the Star Pond.
So each section has its own vibeand you can tell how much
thought went into the design ofeach.
What's cooler is that it'sstill run by the Bouchard family
and they've kept the originalVictorian-style flower displays
and there's this amazing senseof continuity.
The whole span sites over fivehectares and even includes the
(16:26):
old Bouchard residence, whichwas redesigned by architect
Samuel McClure.
It's wild to think that itstarted as a private estate and
now it's this internationallyrenowned destination.
All in all, it was a really,really great experience Without
me.
I would have been better withhim, of course, but it was this
lovely solo adventure and, eventhough it didn't go how we
(16:49):
originally planned, I'm reallyglad I went.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
As we wind down our stories about the Olympic
Peninsula.
Whether you're a Twilight fanor a fan of wandering through
rows of lavender, or wanderinggarden pads across the border
over Canada or old streets bythe sea, this corner of the
Pacific Northwest has a way ofgrounding you.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So if you're looking for a getaway that's equal parts
floral, coastal, rainforest,mystery and chill this one's for
you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Thanks for roaming with us.
We'll link fairy info, gardenpasses and our favorite spots in
the show notes, as well aslinks to LK, of course,
larissa's Kitchen, who we wantto thank again for sponsoring
not only this episode but ourentire series on Washington
State's Olympic Peninsula andoffering seriously clean,
(17:39):
travel-friendly meat snacks.
Today's flavor shout-out goesto the Smoke Show Beef Stick and
Jerky.
My favorite is a jerky Reallygood.
Both the stick and the jerkyare 100% grass-fed beef, no
preservatives and packed withreal smoky flavor Real good
smoky flavor.
It's the perfect clean proteinfor adventure days.
(18:01):
And if you haven't yetsubscribed or followed our
podcast, please do so so thatyou don't miss our next upcoming
series on Belize.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yes, Until next time.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
friends or you know whomever?
And please like and follow uson Instagram, youtube and
Facebook.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
We're also on X and on all social platforms.
We are at TheRomies, that'sT-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S, and our
main hub is our website.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
At wwwtheromyscom, that's right, that's.
D-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-scom.
We'll be there until next time,yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Bye.
Hi, I'm Alexa and I'm Rory, and together we are the
Romies.
We are married To each other.
Right?
We are a touring musical duo.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
And we hope, to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, all Our month with you exploring the Olympic
Peninsula is fueled by Larissa'sKitchen LK, and we couldn't be
more excited.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Even me as a vegetarian.
I'm excited to share this brandwith you because they make
clean, portable meat snacks withzero sugar.
They are certified top nineallergen free and they focus on
real ingredients you canactually pronounce and recognize
.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Yeah, like meat, real meat.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
If you're going to eat meat, it needs to be a clean
, good meat, and I approve ofthis one.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
From our road trips to trail days.
Larissa's Kitchen helps keep upmy energy without all the junk.
Things like grass-fed beef,free-range poultry,
paleo-friendly, gluten-free youknow all the good stuff.
That's what they got.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yep, and we have even more good stuff for you today
as we continue our episodeseries on the Olympic Peninsula
and beyond, as we highlight thecities of Sequim, a cross-border
detour to the stunning BouchardGardens and a little jaunt to
the coastal vibes of PortTownsend.
So stay tuned for some brightgardens, salty breezes and a
(01:38):
little surprise or two along theway.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Let's start in Sequim .
Let's do AKA, the lavendercapital of North America, which
is due to the unique climate andhigh concentration of lavender
farms in the area.
They have a lavender festival,which is a must-see if you're
visiting in July, but evenoff-season which is when we
visited Squim has a wonderfulvibe slow, calm and easy to fall
(02:03):
in love with.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And I think Squim turned out to be such a great
home base for our whole tripbecause it gave us easy access
to all the day trips that wewanted to take around the
Olympic Peninsula, so everythingfelt within reach and it made
planning so much smoother.
One of the biggest things thatI remember about Squim was
driving through the differentlavender fields.
We kept passing signs forblueberry fields too, like this
(02:25):
organic blueberry farm, and sothat combination just stuck with
me and inspired me to create atea flavor called Squim, and
it's a blueberry lavender blend.
I love it so much, and so I justfelt like that was the perfect
way to capture the essence ofthe area.
And then I also visited a verycool lavender shop called
Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farmand they had everything lavender
(02:45):
you could ever think of.
So they had like seasonings foryour food, pillows, kitchen
items, candles, lotions, like,if you can think of it, they did
it in lavender and it was a funshop to visit.
I ended up getting like seasalt herb de Provence blend,
which I thought would be yummy.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Turns out we actually didn't like it too much.
But hey, maybe someone whostays at our Airbnb can try it
and see what they think.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, I'm still going to cook with it again and like
experiment a little bit, becauseit sounds so fun and we we may
have just used too much and Ithink maybe that's part of it,
but anyway, that's what I endedup buying and bringing home and
then I bought like a gift for mymom as well and then, like the
store also lets you walk aroundthe grounds and explore the farm
and gardens, which is lovely.
Now, one thing we didn't do inSequim, which I wish we had, was
(03:30):
visit the wildlife park.
It seems so cool.
We drove by it like everysingle day, but we had all of
these other things on our agendaand I wish we had made time to
drive through.
It's like this little safariwildlife thing.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Yeah, the Olympic Game Farm.
It's a drive-through safariwhere you can see animals like
yaks, bison, brown bears andllamas from the comfort of your
own or llamas, yeah, llama,llamas, as we say from the
comfort of your own vehicle.
It's been delighting visitorsfor over 50 years with
Self-Guided Tours, offering afun and educational day out for
(04:05):
families and tourists such asourselves.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Yes, and next time when we go.
So we also had a fun hike andswim.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
It was at the end of a day trip, so we didn't have a
whole lot of daylight,unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
But I wanted to spend the whole day just walking
around that cool trail.
And then on another day we wentto Dungeness and we walked
there too, and I wanted to goall the way to the ending point,
but Rory said we could only goto the middle.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, it's a long ways out.
The Dungeness Trail is so coolbecause you can walk out.
It's like a little peninsulaand you can have water on both
sides, like La Push Beach.
There were quite a few rocksand tree limbs that gathered in
the middle of this DungenessTrail.
I mean so much you would haveto climb to get from one side to
the other.
It's called the DungenessNational Wildlife Refuge.
(04:49):
The trail continues down asteep hill to the spit and
becomes a rugged five-mile beachwalk to the lighthouse.
See what I'm saying.
The total distance from theparking area to the lighthouse
is approximately 11 miles roundtrip, which we did not make.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I wanted to go all the way at least to the wildlife
refuge there, which isdifferent from the wildlife park
that we were talking about justa minute ago, but ideally.
And then I also want to go tothe lighthouse at the very end,
but Rory said it was going to bedark so I didn't get to see the
wildlife and I missed out thereas well.
But it's going to be a prioritynext time.
Just plan on a big long oldwalk.
(05:23):
So anyway, squim had such agreat vibe.
It felt like such a nicecommunity and town and a place
you'd want to belong to.
On another day I also went toJohn Wayne's Waterfront at Pitch
Ship Point and I really enjoyedseeing the view of Squim Bay
and the Strait of Juan de Fucathere.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Plus it's called John Wayne's Waterfront, so that's
just great Right?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
I just yeah, I had a cool name, so I had to go.
Now, another place I visitedwas Port Townsend.
It's a historic seaport withserious character, so think like
Victorian-era buildings, quirkybookshops, maritime history and
artists everywhere, and you canwander down to the waterfront,
stop into a gallery or just sitat a coffee shop and people
watch.
So it's the kind of place thatmakes you want to write a novel
(06:05):
or at least a few postcards.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
On this Olympic Peninsula trip, I wanted some
time to focus on writing and Iwanted it to be a relaxing trip
where we could have fun together, see all the twilight stops and
just enjoy the area.
I also really wanted some timeaway and a beautiful place to
work on my book and honestly,that turned out to be kind of
(06:28):
our rhythm for this trip.
Most days we tried to carve outtime for me to stay home at the
Airbnb and squim and writewhile she took off on little day
trips and solo adventures.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Yeah, one of those days I went to the Ho Rainforest
outside of Forks which we talkabout in the first episode of
our Olympic Peninsula series.
So check that out if youhaven't yet.
But on another morning I hadheard about a cute restaurant
that might possibly beinterested in carrying my tea to
serve to their customers.
So I thought, hey, that's agood excuse for a little outing.
So I headed out to check outwhat all of that was and I
(06:57):
haven't followed up with thatrestaurant yet, but it was still
worth the stop and therestaurant was adorable.
So the restaurant was in PortTownsend, so that gave me a
specific destination to kind oflike kick things off, and I'm
super glad I went.
So, like on the way to therestaurant I found this really
cool co-op health food grocerystore and I spent a good bit of
(07:19):
time there because they had aton of tea options from local
and national brands and it wasjust super fun to browse their
huge tea selection and see whatkind of things they had.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Not that you're into tea or anything, no.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And then I also grabbed a few groceries for us
while I was there, but honestly,I just love visiting grocery
stores when I travel because itgives me a real glimpse into the
daily life of a community ornew place, and if it's a health
food store, well then I'm intriple heaven.
So that was definitely like ahighlight for me.
But another fun surprise wasthe shipyard.
So the restaurant that Ivisited was like right there at
(07:48):
the shipyard, and there werethese massive ships being worked
on.
Like a whole section of PortTownsend was just filled with
these giant ships up on the landbeing repaired and restored or
maybe just waiting for theirnext adventure.
But it was really cool to see,and so it was super windy that
day, though, so I wasn't in themood to spend too much time
outdoors.
(08:08):
I didn't take like additionalferries Cause, like I had
briefly considered taking theWashington State ferry to
Whidbey Island, but because ofthe wind I was like, so I
started to head back towardsSquim instead, and that's when I
stumbled upon the Fort WordenState Park, which is like so
cool and this is again still inPort Townsend so it's like this
(08:31):
preserved historic army basewhere you can really get a feel
for how the soldiers and theirfamilies lived.
Rory would have been so jealousif I'd shown him the pictures
right then, and he'll get to seethem later on the social post
this week.
I didn't want to depress him, soI didn't show him, to him no
thanks, I appreciate that, butit was definitely worth the stop
and I was able to explore agood amount in a short time and
(08:51):
still head back to spend theafternoon with Rory, so we could
do some exploring together.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Now, one really neat thing about Port Townsend is
that it's actually the startingpoint of the Olympic Discovery
Trail.
It begins at the waterfrontboatyard just south of town and
stretches for about 27 milesfrom Puget Sound to the
community of Blinn at thesouthern tip of Squim Bay.
If you listened to our natureepisode from Mineral Wells, you
might remember us talking aboutthe whole rails to trails
(09:20):
concept.
Well, this is another one ofthose.
The Olympic Discovery Trail isbeing built on an old railroad
corridor Cool and the idea forit came about in the mid 1980s
after the last train left theOlympic Peninsula.
Yeah, so while that was said,they had a vision to turn the
old railroad route into amulti-use trail that spans the
(09:41):
entire peninsula, from historicPort Townsend all the way out to
La Push.
How cool is that.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Super cool.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
There are four main sections, each with gorgeous
scenic views, and a lot of it'salready completed, especially
around Port Townsend and Sequim.
The whole thing's just such anexciting, beautiful project and
it's still expanding.
Currently, the OlympicDiscovery Trail extends from
Port Townsend to the beach in LaPush, covering over roughly 90
miles, while the entire 130-mileroute is planned of the trails
(10:13):
now using a combination ofexisting roadways and designated
non-motorized paths, and youcan check it all out at
olympicdiscoverytrailorg.
Olympicdiscoverytrailorg, it'sa world-class multi-use pathway
that connects the communitiesacross the North Olympic
Peninsula.
It offers recreation, activetransportation and it even
(10:35):
boosts the local economy so cool.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yeah, now, another unexpected solo trip that I took
, which wasn't supposed to be asolo trip, was to the Butchart
Gardens in Victoria, canada.
So let's back up and start fromthe beginning.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Without me.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
If you've listened to our Port Angeles story then you
already know a little part ofthis about how we were minded by
our Airbnb host the nightbefore about having our
passports.
And that's when Rory decided toswitch to a lighter day pack
and he didn't realize he lefthis passport in the other
backpack.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
Yeah, it was so lame.
We had planned this whole tripknowing that while we were in
the Olympic Peninsula we'd takeone day and pop over to Canada.
It was really important to youknow her Like.
From day one.
Before we even left home, weknew we were bringing our
passports and planning that daytrip to Canada.
So that morning we wereliterally talking to our Airbnb
host and she brings up thepassports and how strict they
(11:32):
are at the border because wewere going to Canada.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I hear that, and then , on the drive halfway between
Sequim and Port Angeles, Isuddenly realize uh, my
passport's in my other backpack.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And y'all.
This was the only day we hadleft to our entire trip.
We were flying out the next day, so this was our very last
chance to go, and there was onlyone ferry that could get us
there and back in the same day,so that was like the only option
.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
We thought maybe I could get by with my real ID, so
we didn't turn back.
If we had, we both would havemissed the ferry anyway.
So we tried.
We went and they would not letme on.
We were very sad, we said ourgoodbyes and Alexa went on ahead
and got on the ferry to Canadawithout me.
She was determined to go and atleast one of us got to
(12:23):
experience Canada.
The ferry from Port Angelestakes you to Victoria, british
Columbia, and it actually turnedout to be this serendipitous
thing I ended up having thechance to really dive into Port
Angeles, which ended up being socool for our podcast.
We were able to do a wholeepisode on Port Angeles up being
so cool for our podcast, wewere able to do a whole episode
on Port Angeles.
(12:45):
We'll put a link to that in theshow notes for you.
Plus, it's part of the TwilightSaga.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So it was nice to have more time there.
So while he's exploring PortAngeles, I go on the ferry and
then, once I get to Victoria, Ihad been told I wouldn't need a
car, and that turned out to betotally true.
I wouldn't need a car, and thatturned out to be totally true.
I ended up catching a bus thatdrove me around Victoria and I
had seen this brochure aboutBoot Shark Gardens, which
sounded like perfect because Ilove botanical gardens, and I
decided that's where I'd spendmost of my day, and since I had
to get back in time to catch theferry, that's all I had time
(13:15):
for.
Basically, boot Shark Gardensand then seeing a bit of
Victoria coming and going there.
Now y'all, boot Shark Gardensis totally worth it.
You can actually walk around theport area in Victoria on foot
and there's so much to see rightthere.
It's like super charming.
It's a vibrant little city,little cool and interesting
things to take in just stepsfrom the ferry.
But then I hopped on the bus tothe gardens and they were very
(13:40):
memorable and spectacular.
So one of the best parts wasthe sunken garden.
It had this winding staircaseand a path that takes you down
through all of these floweringtrees and shrubs that grow way
down at the base of these tallrock walls and like this huge
rock mound, and from above youcan overlook the garden and even
see Corey Lake.
(14:01):
And at the far end is like thisbeautiful fountain.
Now they also have like a rosegarden, a Japanese garden and
this thing called the Star Pond.
It's literally a star-shapedpond, originally designed for Mr
Bouchard's ornamental ducks.
For Mr Bouchard's ornamentalducks, each point of the star
(14:24):
had a duck, like space, and it'ssurrounded by neatly trimmed
shrubs that outline the shape ofthe star, and in the middle of
it there's this cute frogfountain and it's all surrounded
by colorful annuals and it wasjust cheerful and fun.
And then there was the Italiangarden, which sits between two
arch entrances.
And then there was the ItalianGarden, which sits between two
arch entrances, and insidethere's this big bronze statue
and all of these plants andflowers.
Before 1926, that area wasactually the Bouchard's concrete
(14:48):
tennis court.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
And the narrow building on the left side used
to house a two-lane bowlingalley.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Oh sweet.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Now it's just covered in gorgeous plants Maybe ivy or
strawberries, I couldn't quitetell but it's beautiful.
Then there's also a piazza withmore statues and a restaurant
and a greenhouse, and even theyhave like this Mediterranean
garden, and their gift shop wassuper cool, like actually full
of things you'd actually want tobuy, not just touristy stuff,
(15:16):
that was like tacky, it was likenice, fun stuff.
And so, of course, course, Ifound some tea that I really
liked and brought home as a funsouvenir, and I want to create
my own version someday for mytea line.
It really inspired me and it'ssuper yummy, so I hope I can
create a good one just like that.
So here's a fun bit of history.
The Bouchard Gardens actuallystarted way back in 1904 when
(15:39):
Jenny Bouchard took what used tobe an old, abandoned limestone
quarry and turned it into thisincredible garden.
So now it's known as the SunkenGarden, which I mentioned, and
it's part of this early 20thcentury beautification movement
and honestly, it's stillstunning today and the whole
place is laid out like anEdwardian estate, with these
beautiful separate areas is laidout like an Edwardian estate
with these beautiful separateareas, like I said, the Rose
(16:01):
Garden, the Japanese Garden, theItalian Garden and, of course,
the Star Pond.
So each section has its own vibeand you can tell how much
thought went into the design ofeach.
What's cooler is that it'sstill run by the Bouchard family
and they've kept the originalVictorian-style flower displays
and there's this amazing senseof continuity.
The whole span sites over fivehectares and even includes the
(16:26):
old Bouchard residence, whichwas redesigned by architect
Samuel McClure.
It's wild to think that itstarted as a private estate and
now it's this internationallyrenowned destination.
All in all, it was a really,really great experience Without
me.
I would have been better withhim, of course, but it was this
lovely solo adventure and, eventhough it didn't go how we
(16:49):
originally planned, I'm reallyglad I went.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
As we wind down our stories about the Olympic
Peninsula.
Whether you're a Twilight fanor a fan of wandering through
rows of lavender, or wanderinggarden pads across the border
over Canada or old streets bythe sea, this corner of the
Pacific Northwest has a way ofgrounding you.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
So if you're looking for a getaway that's equal parts
floral, coastal, rainforest,mystery and chill this one's for
you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Thanks for roaming with us.
We'll link fairy info, gardenpasses and our favorite spots in
the show notes, as well aslinks to LK, of course,
larissa's Kitchen, who we wantto thank again for sponsoring
not only this episode but ourentire series on Washington
State's Olympic Peninsula andoffering seriously clean,
(17:39):
travel-friendly meat snacks.
Today's flavor shout-out goesto the Smoke Show Beef Stick and
Jerky.
My favorite is a jerky Reallygood.
Both the stick and the jerkyare 100% grass-fed beef, no
preservatives and packed withreal smoky flavor Real good
smoky flavor.
It's the perfect clean proteinfor adventure days.
(18:01):
And if you haven't yetsubscribed or followed our
podcast, please do so so thatyou don't miss our next upcoming
series on Belize.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Yes, Until next time.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your
friends or you know whomever?
And please like and follow uson Instagram, youtube and
Facebook.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
We're also on X and on all social platforms.
We are at TheRomies, that'sT-H-E-R-O-A-M-I-E-S, and our
main hub is our website.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
At wwwtheromyscom, that's right, that's.
D-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-scom.
We'll be there until next time,yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Bye.
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