Port Townsend, Washington
May 2026
What a fun month! We celebrated my husband's 74th birthday, and my mom's 93rd. No photos, but we went out for a nice dinner. And there was cake (twice), too. My mom has been doing her PT for her hip, and her recovery has gone very well. So well that Rod and I decided to take an RV trip up to Port Townsend and the surrounding areas. Two of my brothers came to visit my mom while we were away, tag-teaming their time so she wasn't alone for too many days. Rod and I enjoyed our R&R, reading, walking, sitting in the sun, etc. Our good friends joined us in Nehalem for the last three nights, which was also fun. The weather cooperated for the most part, especially in Port Townsend, which made for enjoyable walks into town, as well as watching two eagles and a half dozen blue heron fishing on the spit. I even spotted a otter scampering down the sidewalk in front of our RV! He looked like he knew exactly where he was going.
You would have thought I'd get a lot of reading in, but I gave up on two books, and only finished one while on our trip. I'm about a quarter of the way in on my current read, and while I'm enjoying it, it's taken me over a week to read 150 pages. I'm hoping to make more progress today between folding laundry. I did manage to get a lot of reading in before our trip, and finished six books for the month. My favorite was Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, which is excellent!
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (4.5/5)
Kate & Frida by Kim Fay (3/5)
Wreck by Catherine Newman (4/5)
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett (4/5)
Heart the Lover by Lily King (4/5)
Clear by Carys Davies (3.5/5)
Gave up on:
The Wild Beneath by Kelly Anderson
Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
Movies & TV Series:
Remarkably Bright Creatures - This is the rare case in which the movie is better than the book. My husband and I both got choked up at the ending.
The Nordic Murders - Meh. Not great, but not terrible. Not sure if we'll watch any more of this series.
Ted Lasso (Season One) - I know I'm late to the party, but I'm so glad I decided to give this another try. We watched the first episode several years ago and weren't impressed. This past month, I watched the first season by myself and loved it. Lots of laughing out loud, which is always great.
Detective Hole (Season One) - I haven't read any of Nesbo's books, but this series was quite good. Very gritty and dark, but very good.
Travel:
Nehalem Bay State Park, OR
Quinault River, WA
Point Hudson, Port Hudson, WA
Quinault River, WA
Neahkahnie Mountain
(looking toward Manzanita, OR)
What a great post! Belated birthday wishes for your Mom and your husband! Smooth sailing is wished for them both. Your photos are gorgeous! That first one, at the state park in Oregon? That is like a painting.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kay! Thanks for stopping by and the birthday wishes for my family. And thanks for the kind words about my photos. The one you mention was taken from inside our RV and the image is a little distorted due to the window screen. It does look a bit like a painting! Nice observation! I hope all is well with you and that you're not suffering from too much hot weather. Take good care.
DeleteGorgeous, gorgeous pictures! Loved them and thanks for sharing. Yes, belated B-day wishes to Rod and Andi. So glad you guys got to step away a bit and enjoy some nice walks, etc.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay! It was a very restful trip with mostly perfect weather. Just a couple of days of rain, which is to be expected.
DeleteBeautiful trip and pics - great for Rod's bday! So nice you got to Port Townsend and the peninsula. Must have been great to get away for a while. And I agree with you about Remarkably Bright Creatures ... I liked the movie a bit better than the book (!) ... the character of Cameron drove me a bit crazy in the book ... the characters seemed more endearing in the movie. Sally Field did an excellent job as Tova. You had a good mix of reads and it seems Lacuna is a winner. Happy June.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. It was a lovely trip with lots of moments to just sit and watch the world. Yes, The Lacuna is a winner. Highly recommend that one!
DeleteI love your monthly recap posts, they are so newsy and always give me good ideas for boks and shows. Happy birthday to Rod and your mom. Cake twice is a win in my book, lol.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are so pretty and looks like a relaxing trip. It's good to get away and unplug for a bit. Seeing blue herons, eagles and an otter must have been great. I still get excited seeing any wildlife, it never gets old.
We recently watched Ted Lasso again as it had been a few years and loved it, noticed some things, especially in season 3, that we had not picked up on before. Recently we tried Wallander on Peacock streaming and abandoned it. Then we finished season 5 of For All Mankind.
I'd like to see Rematkably Bright Creatures. I remember Sally Field as far back as The Flying Nun! GREAT post !
Tina, I appreciate your enthusiasm for my monthly summaries. Thank you! I know what you mean about seeing wildlife. It's still thrilling to see the whales from our bluff. There was a pod of Orcas in Depoe Bay last week. I didn't see them, but social media had a lot of photos from the whale watching boats. How lucky for those tourists!
DeleteI'm now into Season 3 of Ted Lasso. Such a good show! I'm also rewatching Season 3 of Downton Abbey. Trying to catch up and start watching some of the seasons that I missed before watching the movie.
You had a fantastic month of reading, watching, and travel. Yay! I'd forgotten that Remarkably Bright Creatures is now a movie. I'll get my mom to watch it with me as I think she'd like it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good month, Helen! Hope you and your mom enjoy Remarkably Bright Creatures. It's a feel-good movie.
DeleteI had to look up Port Townsend to be sure where it was! At least I found out that my vague memory was correct when I located it. We stayed in Port Angeles, just a bit down the road, our first night or two when we visited Olympic National Park. I remember it as being very drizzly and cloudy. Probably not unusual in October in that part of the world. Your pictures are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYay for Ted Lasso! I'm not sure what to think about another season. They wrapped it up pretty nicely so another one feels unnecessary. I hope they stick to the heart of the show and don't sell it out for money.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Remarkably Bright Creatures. Movies based on books are so often disappointing. I really liked that book so I'll probably get around to watching it one day (I hate crying).
Happy birthday to your mom and husband!
Jen, we haven't spent much time in Port Angeles other than to catch the ferry over to Victoria. Yes, October is typically when the rainy season begins. We like to go up there in late spring or late summer when it's not too damp or cold.
DeleteI need to get back to Ted Lasso. I've been reading in the evening, so TV shows have fallen by the way side.
Thanks for the birthday wishes to my family. Good to hear from you and see your recent post!
I'm glad your mom is doing so well that you were able to get away for a bit. Thanks for the recommendations. I'm curious about The Road to Tender Hearts and The Lacuna. I may add those to my summer reading list if I can find a copy.
ReplyDeleteThank so much, Deb. It was good to have a little vacation. I added a few birds to my life list while we were traveling, which was lots of fun. New hobby!
DeleteBeautiful photos. ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. It was a beautiful trip!
DeleteGorgeous photos of one of my favorite places. I just love Port Townsend and the surrounding area so much.
ReplyDeleteI started the Remarkably Bright Creatures book last year and abandoned it--figured I wasn't in the mood. Interesting that the movie is better--doesn't often happen. Glad you gave Ted Lasso another try--we enjoyed it so much.
Happy bday to husband and mother. Great way to celebrate their special days.
Thank you, Jane. We love Port Townsend, too! You can skip reading Remarkably Bright Creatures, but I do recommend the movie.
DeleteBTW, I just posted and noticed that Google isn't recognizing me...so I guess I am now persona non grata. JaneGS from Reading, Writing, Working, Playing :)
ReplyDeleteJane, thanks for letting me know. :)
DeleteGreat books, birthday celebrations, AND Port Townsend ... definitely a good month! Very belated birthday wishes to Rod and your mom!
ReplyDelete