• Olympic Peninsula

    Spotlight: Fort Worden — Got a flashlight?

    Did you bring your flashlight? A headlamp, maybe? Good. In Port Townsend, Wash., Fort Worden’s grey-concrete gun batteries once provided shelter to soldiers on the lookout for saboteurs, spies and submarines trying to enter the Puget Sound. Today, the batteries provide shriek-filled echo chambers full of childish delight. Play flashlight tag through windowless, unlit corridors and the barren, pitch-black rooms. Wear sturdy shoes and make sure your tetanus shots are up to date – broken glass and water are everywhere. The dank walls seem to reach out and touch you first, urging you to keep your coat on. Pick up a map at the visitors’ center, right inside the fort’s…

  • Olympic Peninsula

    15 Things to Do with Kids in Port Townsend

    Many Northwest adults remember Port Townsend, Wash., as a romantic getaway, full of proper architecture and fine dining. But you’ll be cheered to discover that Port Townsend loves traveling families, too. You won’t even need a stroller, because Port Townsend’s downtown core is an eminently walkable seven-block spread. How’s that for kid-friendly? One of only three Victorian Seaports in the United States and located 40 miles northwest of Seattle, Port Townsend’s a weekend escape. If you have a few extra days, it makes an excellent base for daytrips to Port Angeles and the Olympic Peninsula. Port Townsend is divided into two sections. “Uptown” is stocked with Victorian Houses and Euro-style bakeries;…