by newgirl on September 29, 2009
I woke up Saturday at my old house on the other side of the water, having headed back there to gather a few things, given that I moved here the week before with nothing but what my children and I could fit in the car with us, and it hit me that I already missed my new town. I was scheduled to be away from Port Townsend until Sunday evening, but it just wasn’t going to happen. So, along about 11:30 Saturday morning or so, I decided to just go get a U-Haul trailer and hook it up to my car, get it loaded, and get myself home. Four hours of madcap packing later, I was on the road again.
Just a few more hours after that, there I was, passing through that sweet serenade of all my favorite landmarks, towing a 12-foot U-Haul trailer, after packing for something like 4 hours and driving for another 3. As I came into town, one of the friends who was due to help me unload sent a text message: “Outdoor movie at 7:30…maybe you ought to take a break and unload in the morning!”
On the one hand, I thought “No! I’m so close,” but on the other, I’d already found my thoughts of arriving home consisting of vaguely fantasizing how delicious it would be to do nothing so much as collapse in the grass in the yard and just lie there a while. And so, I opted for what turned out to be part of the Port Townsend Film Festival—an event I now know is not to be missed.
A two-story screen, a truck full of digital projection and sound equipment, scads of straw bales, and voilá! The street in front of the Rose Theater had become a theater in it’s own right. The movie choice was sublime—The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, a somewhat surrealist, intricately choreographed live-action children’s movie conceived of & written by Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Suess back in 1953.
Despite the ever-dancing Port Townsend winds, there was a great turn out. People of all ages and families of all shapes and sizes were there, and despite the fact that the movie we were about to watch was 56 years old, the atmosphere was as festive as any world premier. The evening began with the usual emceeing and thanking of the benefactors (my own personal thanks to all those who donated to or worked on producing that event!), followed by a Seussian costume contest with the Grinch, A Suzie-Lou Who, A couple Cats-in-the-Hats, a Bartholomew Cullins (not Cubbins–the one with the hand on his head, not the 500 hats), and a most curious interpretation of the Lorax.
Then came the movie. My only wish is that, in retrospect, I’d have somehow already known what a great event this is and had the chance to invite a few friends and loved ones out for it. If you didn’t make it this year, consider yourself warned, and mark the Port Townsend Film Festival on your calendar. I meant it when I said it’s not to be missed.
Do you know about something or somewhere the New Girl ought to check out? Drop her a line at: newgirl@pugettown.com
by newgirl on September 28, 2009
I’m actually really coming to love the drive up the peninsula from the Kingston ferry dock. There’s one place where the road is lined with the most lovely pine trees and makes a sweeping uphill curve off to the right. You know the one; it’s just after the Hood Canal Bridge. Just after that, off to the right is kind of a lowland with a bunch of dead trees. I can only assume it must have been flooded at some point. Then there’s the dreamy valley off to the left. I always seem to be making the drive home in the evening, and so I know that valley’s off to the west because the sun is always shining on me (ok, ok, completely blinding me) from the hills beyond.
I have to mention “Egg and I” Road. That name just cracks me up; there’s clearly a story to be had there. Then, of course, there’s the big, blue “Welcome to Port Townsend” sign and the hotdog stand that looks like a coffee hut across the street. I never am quite ready for the first breath-stealing glimpse of the sea. Then Boat Haven, Water Street and its attractions, and finally, on around the point, past various and sundry fascinating and creative homes, and down the S-curves. Home.
With each of these landmarks, I feel my pulse quicken and my breath move deeper. The anticipation tickles my fingertips on the steering wheel. This place moves me. I can’t say just how or why just yet, but it does. I can feel it. I’ve come home, even though I’d never been here before. I know I’m not the only one. This place is just like that.
Is Port Townsend like that for you? Send in your stories, as well as suggestions of places, people, and events for The New Girl in Town to check out to newgirl@pugettown.com.
by newgirl on September 25, 2009
Yup, it was that quick. Two weeks ago, I visited Port Townsend for the very first time ever, and now I live here. Like so many others, I hear, I was looking for a place to start over. As if the charming topography and the lovely maritime architecture were not enough, the winds absolutely beguiled me. I stood on the porch of the home where I was visiting, and I simply reveled in their dance. They never seemed to still, swirling and shifting, bringing different smells moment by moment. Maybe the commonality with the wanderlust in my own bones is what sealed the deal, I don’t know, but I was hooked.
A most statistically improbable string of events immediately followed, and now, here I am, mostly-settled into my new home, my children settled into their amazing new school. It’s a new life for all of us, a new beginning. And as one must do when beginning at the beginning, I’ll be scouting things out and getting the lay of the land. Even in the midst of packing back on the other side of the water and moving and unpacking out here, I’ve managed to explore a bit, and I’ve already found some gems. This town is clearly full of them. I look forward to sharing them with you, as I come across them.
xoxo,
The New Girl in Town
If you know of a place, a person, or an event in or around Port Townsend that you think The New Girl in Town ought to check out, please send your suggestion to newgirl@pugettown.com.
