When I previously wrote about Port Angeles at http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/wash... it was August of 1999. Almost five years have passed, but the article is still up-to-date; I updated links for your pleasure. The town still surprises me with every return visit. It's an awesome place, the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula.
Since we moved to eastern Washington we drive Interstate 90 west to Highway 18, then follow it to Interstate 5. We then head south to the Hood Canal on Highway 16; it eventually connects to Highway 101 which takes you into Port Angeles. If you prefer to take a Washington State ferry, stay on Interstate 90 and it will take you to downtown Seattle and eventually the Seattle/Winslow ferry dock. After leaving the ferry follow the signs to the Hood Canal Bridge, then on to Port Angeles.
Nearing Port Angeles it's always a pleasure to pass the big red barn that houses the Olympic Cellars Winery, a woman-owned enterprise. The barn has been there over a hundred years. It's a beautiful place, but I can't speak for the wine - haven't tasted it. The winery gets its grapes from Eastern Washington, so the wine must be good. The winery site is http://www.olympiccellars.com/ . It's just east of town.
In town when the sun is shining there's no prettier place to be than at water's edge off Highway 101. Port Angeles, a Highway 101 destination, is on the waterfront across from Victoria, B.C., Canada. I always get excited and nostalgic every visit.
We stayed at the Port Angeles Inn, http://www.portangelesinn.com , and had a front row view of the town over the rooftops and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from our room. It was breathtaking, the sunshine-swept view of freighters, the ferry to Canada, Mt. Baker, Victoria, Ediz Hook and beyond. It's worth a trip there just to enjoy that. The Inn is nice, too. It's an older motel that has been refurbished. It's also no smoking, no pets.
As I mentioned in my earlier article, if you don't have a view motel, then go to the top of the wooden stairs right next door to this inn and the Uptown Motel and see for yourself. It's unbelievable. I used to ride my bike from home and walk down the stairs to town. It's been there a long time. There's a beautiful garden and fountain below.
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