Tag Archives: Fort Worden State Park

Travel and Words: An Excellent Conference

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I’ve gone to the Travel & Words Conference for the past two years. Not only is it set in an appealing Northwest location every time, but the opportunities to speak with local Convention & Visitor Bureau representatives, other writers and editors makes it so worthwhile. Writers need to leave their desks once in awhile and socialize. If you’re already a travel writer or would like to dip your toe into this genre, I urge you to consider attending.

Here are the details:  Pacific Northwest Travel Writers Conference runs from April 29-30, at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center in historic Port Townsend, Washington. This year’s theme is “Go! Pitch. Write. Publish.” Some of my colleagues will be speaking on topics that will help all of us with our travel writing.

 

JASON BRICK, of Portland, Oregon, will share his strategies for writing full time as well as being a house-dad and using his experience from the business world as a springboard for gaining paying gigs online and in print

MICHAEL FAGIN, from Redmond, Wash., writes, blogs and forecast the weather. He will disclose tips on how to cast a wider net with your freelancing endeavors.

SUE FRAUSE, who lives on Whidbey Island, writes, blogs, posts on Facebook and Twitter, hosts a culinary theatre show and also is on the road constantly. You must ask her what her time management secrets are. She reveals what the travel writing lifestyle entails.

KAREN GILB, of Vancouver, Wash., writes fiction as well as travel and blogs. She’ll share her new strategy for expanding her Northwest writer’s brand in 2012-13.

MARTY WINGATE, from Seattle, writes mysteries (“The Garden Plot” and the “Potting Shed Mystery” series) and about gardens plus develops garden tours.  Her topic for the conference will be how she’s marketing her writing and traveling interests.

CARRIE UFFINDELL, who lives in Portland, blogs, writes fiction and specializes in writing about family travel in the Northwest and in the country of Wales.

See the Event Schedule, Travel and Tourism Exhibitors, and Registration details. I hope to see you April 29-30 in Port Townsend!

Visit Fort Worden for a Host of Fun

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An appetizer courtesy of Bon Appetit

Fort Worden, in Port Townsend, along with Fort Flagler and Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, once guarded the nautical entrance to Puget Sound. Established in the late 1890s, these posts became the first line of defense designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching targets like Bremerton and Seattle. As an aside, I remember my dad talking about Fort Worden where he was stationed for awhile during WWII.

But these forts were never challenged and Fort Worden closed down in 1953. Eventually all three became state parks. The dedication for Fort Worden State Park took place in 1973.

Fort Worden, a 434-acre state park has 80 campsites, 60 picnic sites and holds a place on the list of State and National Register of Historic Places. The old barracks now serve as dorms and the hospital offers meeting space.

Besides offering public recreation, conference facilities, performing arts venues, vacation housing and historic and educational interpretive programs, it’s a darn cool place to visit.

The old Guardhouse has become a Gift Shop and Information Center filled with mementos like shirts, caps, coffee mugs, key chains, magnets, tasteful lighthouse gifts and of course, friendly volunteers. All proceeds from the gift shop go to improve the Park.

If you’re coming to the Fort for a conference or taking a class through Centrum, opt for the meals at Fort Worden Commons. Besides being a bargain at $34 for three meals, you’ll have numerous choices and from the sampling I tasted, the food is off the charts. You can thank Bon Appétit and Chef Jay Payne for the quality and freshness of the food.

Touch tank at Marine Science Center

Visitors can begin at the Guardhouse Gift Shop and navigate a walking trail with interpretive signs through the Fort’s history, which includes bunkers, tunnels and gun emplacements. Kids love to take flashlights inside the bunkers and tunnels and play.

On the beach, you won’t want to miss the Port Townsend Marine Science Center with its large touch tanks and creative geologic history and coastal wildlife displays. You can get up close and personal with a live octopus and an endangered pinto abalone. Hydrophones allow you to hear the sounds Orca Whales emit underwater. The Marine Science Center offers bird migration cruises, summer science camps for kids, nature walks, public programs and lectures. To check for days and times for events, visit www.ptmsc.org.

Alexander's Castle is a one-bedroom vacation rental and the oldest buiding at Fort Worden

You can rent the Officer Row homes for your vacation or even as a place to have Thanksgiving dinner if your family is large. Two of the units have been designated pet-friendly. www.fortworden.org

Enjoy your visit.