This weekend, I’m packing up the family and escaping my nine-to-five with a well-deserved trip with our travel trailer. We’re heading to the northwestern-most point of the contiguous USA. Our first stop on the way is the quaint Victorian town of Port Townsend with a perfect RV site at the Point Hudson Marina & RV Park.
Trip Planning
The Northwestern-Most Point Of The Contiguous USA
It’s five o’clock on a Friday before a long four day weekend and I’m clocking out. “Have a great road trip, Monica!” my colleagues tell me as I happily walk towards the front door with a spring in my step and a grin on my face. They have witnessed countless times my cocoon to butterfly-like transformation when I turn from a nine-to-five workaholic into a weekend RVing warrior.
Located adjacent to the Point Hudson Marina, the RV park offers 46 full hookup sites with a majority of them enjoying splendid views of the bay. There is a beautiful beach here, a marina, a couple of restaurants and the location can’t be beat as the park is located within walking distance to downtown Port Townsend.
I make breakfast in my silver kitchen and bring out coffee and hot cocoa, beach side. The sun is shining and it feels like summer during this perfectly perfect Pacific Northwest kind of day. We sit and enjoy the views. Hubby and B, our son, decide to go and explore the beach while I stay put at the picnic table to take this all in. I absorb the scenery, the pleasant breeze, the sun on my face — and finally, I am able to decompress.
When the boys come back, they are full of ideas on what to explore first. Naturally, Hubby is drawn to the marina and wants to analyze the different boats while B wants nothing more than to go into town. We take a vote and B and I win. Into town we go!
The heart of downtown Port Townsend is literally steps from the RV park. My heart skips a beat when I see all the darling boutiques, one after the other — I could spend all day here. There are also plenty of fabulous restaurants and book stores as well. We take our time and explore to our hearts’ content. Even Hubby enjoyed himself and that’s something to be said since window-shopping is not his forte.
We finally decide that it’s time to head back. The boys are hungry so I whip up a quick appetizer for them − raisin rosemary crackers with creamy Gorgonzola cheese and prosciutto sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. We enjoy the tasty snack and after, I join the boys for more beach time explorations.
The next day we hitch up and continue on with our road trip. Our next destination is Neah Bay which is located on the Makah Indian Reservation. Our campsite awaits us at the Hobuck Beach Resort. Upon checking in, we purchase our recreation permit for $10.00 (which is required for Neah Bay activities i.e., camping, hiking, etc.) and place it in our truck’s window.
It is here where a sandy, shell lined beach is only steps away from our RV. Sweeping views of the ocean and idyllic surroundings take our breath away. We can’t believe the beauty of it here! B can hardly contain himself when he sees the beach. Exploring is this boy’s favorite thing to do.
While Hubby gets our camp set up and B is exploring the beach, I begin to cook dinner inside my silver kitchen. Fresh caught salmon from Seattle’s Pike Place Market is on the menu for tonight.
Soon there is a knock on the door, its Hubby, “Honey, you have to come out and see the incredible sky! You should take a picture!”
We both marvel at the sight before our eyes and I snap a picture with my camera (I actually take many pictures, I couldn’t resist).
I return to my silver kitchen and continue on with cooking. I can hear the waves outside and I am completely in love with the moment. I remove the thin salmon bones with my handy dandy fish bone tweezers. Not sure why I waited so long to buy this little $5.00 gadget but what a difference it makes. The bones pull out with ease and the fish stays nicely intact. I then slice the fish and generously apply a Cajun rub, sear it in my cast iron skillet and then finish it off with a glorious orange lime glaze. A side of caramelized pineapple and oranges are the perfect complement.
The next morning we awake to a beautiful light dusting of snow! B and I dressed warmly and went outside to have ourselves a look.
For breakfast we enjoyed warm cinnamon rolls from the oven. Hubby poured me a cup of coffee and I made B a cup of hot cocoa.
After breakfast, we decided to get crafty creating treasured keepsakes that would always remind us of this beautiful trip.
Soon it was time to take a hike. We decided to hike the Cape Flattery Trail as it would take us to the Northwestern-most point of the contiguous USA. As we hiked through the rainforest, we had peek-a-boo views of the ocean here and there until all at once everything opened up before our eyes. The beauty of the rugged coastline and the jade colored ocean is incredibly awe inspiring.
As we stood at the end of the trail at the Northwestern-most point of the contiguous USA, B proclaims with arms in the air, “Mommy, this is SO cool! I’m on the edge of the USA!” I couldn’t help but smile.
We continued to explore the area and just take things easy. Eventually as the sun began to set, we decided to head back to our camp site at the beach.
I made a quick and easy Tropical Shrimp Salad for dinner. Let me let you in on a little secret here — one taste and you’ll be making this again and again. The hardest part was cutting the mango. It was absolutely mouthwatering and full of fresh bright flavors.
Tropical Shrimp Parfait
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, cooked, and cut into medium dice
- 1 large avocado, cut into medium dice
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup cucumber, cut into medium dice
- 1 mango, cut into medium dice
- 1 large orange
- 1 lime
- drizzle of olive oil
- drizzle of honey
Steps
1. Layer ingredients in two glasses at a time – shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, mango – Repeat. 2. Squeeze orange and lime over both parfaits. 3. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and honey on top to your liking.
As we enjoyed our salad and the golden sunset, we reflected back on our day. How grateful we are for our RVing lifestyle. The places we have been leave us with happy memories we treasure and this trip will be no exception.
Finding our AWAY through the RVing lifestyle is a treasure in and of itself. New discoveries, new friends, new places, new culinary creations and best of all are the times spent together. Our little family unit bonds stronger and stronger with each new adventure.
What about you? What’s your idea of AWAY?
CAJUN ORANGE SALMON with Pineapple
Ingredients
- 3, 1” slices of pineapple
- 3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Cajun spice
- 3 boneless salmon fillets (about six ounces each)
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- Salt and Pepper
Preparations
1. Rub your salmon fillets with the Cajun spice (if your Cajun spice rub lacks salt, add a sprinkling of salt to the top of the fish). 2. Caramelize Pineapple: Rub pineapple slices with brown sugar. Heat a sauté pan to medium high, add a pat of butter and cook on both sides until caramelized. Remove pineapple and set aside. 3. In a small bowl, mix together the marmalade and lime juice 4. Over medium high heat, add your olive oil and butter to a sauté pan. Place the fish into the pan and cook for two minutes, flip and cook for another two minutes. Fish is done when it begins to flake with the test of a fork. 5. Blend marmalade and lime juice and pour into your pan allowing it to melt. With a spoon, glaze the tops of your fish. 6. Serve with caramelized pineapple and sliced oranges. Drizzle with two tablespoons of lime juice (or more to your liking) Bon Appetit! PS I used a cast iron skillet to cook my fish. I cooked the fish for two minutes on one side, flipped and cooked for another minute and turned the heat off. This resulted in very flaky and tender fish with a medium-well center. A cast iron skillet is key for this method as it retains heat and continues to slowly cook the fish.
