Submarines and Cabooses
 |
| M Beside the Lavender Caboose on Track 5-- Our Home for the Next Two Nights |
We were sad to leave our house in Gig Harbor this morning, as it was probably the nicest and most upscale house we rented during the entire trip so far, but we were also excited for the next phase of our adventure-- the Washington and Oregon Coasts.
Our destination tonight was Sequim, WA which is north west of Gig Harbor almost to the top of the State on its North Coast. To get there, we retraced the route to Bremerton we had taken on Monday, and then made a stop in Keyport, WA (about 20 minutes from Bremerton) to see the Naval Undersea Museum. The museum is one of the 10 Navy museums that are operated by the Naval History & Heritage Command.
 |
| Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, WA |
The exhibits touched on naval warfare from a number of different perspectives.
There was a large exhibit devoted to submarines, including several which were displayed intact on the museum grounds.
This one is the Trieste II, the sister sub to the original Trieste which reached depths of 35,500 feet in 1960.
 |
| Trieste II Submarine |
There were also replicas of a submarine bridge with periscopes you could peer through. One of them was attached to a video camera that scanned the parking lot as you rotated it--a really fun idea. We could see M from the exhibit, but it took a minute to figure out it was due to a camera and not to the periscope actually protruding from the roof of the museum.
We also got to crawl through a bulkhead door--or Bob crawled through it (he still can't get enough!), and I just peered:
 |
| Bob & Lisa Through the Bulkhead Door |
And outside the museum, Bob stood next to the giant conning tower.
 |
| It Takes a Conning Tower to Make Bob Look Short |
Also on display were a wide variety of missiles from various vintages, and exhibits on scuba diving-- which were more of a Bob thing. But, my favorite exhibit was the newly installed Marine Mammal section which happened to open today.
They had film of sea lions and dolphins working as bomb detectors and salvage locators to assist their naval trainers. They were truly a sight! Not only are the animals clearly smart, scientists have yet to develop sonar more effective than a dolphin's.
Here are models from the exhibit:
 |
| Model of Dolphin and Sea Lion at Work |
And here are Bob and I standing with a model dolphin:
 |
| Selfie with Model Dolphin |
Though my very, very favorite portion of the exhibit was the sign below:
 |
Exhibit Informational Sign that Felt the Need to Define "Slide Rule"
(Bob has a book from Tech on how to use one, I've only heard rumors) |
After the museum we spent a few hours in Poulsbo, WA-- which was pretty much a little tourist enclave with galleries, bookstores, bakeries, and restaurants. We stopped in quite a few of them, but our only real purchase was cookies at the really good Scandinavian bakery in town. (The town's roots are Scandinavian, and you can see vestiges of that everywhere-- from Viking statues to Lutefisk on every menu.)
We stopped at a chocolate shop/cafe for lunch outside of the tourist district. While my chicken was fine, Bob got the winning combo deal--chocolate milk, soup, a half pizza, and a truffle for dessert.
After that, we headed about an hour up the road to Sequim (pronounced Skwim) where our caboose awaited our arrival. Yes, we really are staying in the yellow caboose pictured at the beginning of the post-- for two days. Apparently the father of the guy who runs the resort of 10 cabooses (plus a dining car for breakfast) collected these rail car from all over the country. After his father retired, his son took over this little "resort" just outside town.
 |
| Red Caboose Getaway |
 |
| Lisa at the Wheel of Our Caboose |
We have Track 5, the "Lavender Caboose" which is why everything you see inside is purple. The only drawback to this one (which we did not know before we arrived) is that it has only a jetted tub-- no shower. That is why in the picture below, which looks into the bathroom, you only see the purple mural and not a shower stall. (Don't worry there is a door to the commode piece of the bathroom (unlike our Montana Train cabin from the start of the trip).
 |
| The Inside of the Lavender Caboose |
One of our favorite features is the two seats in the caboose cupola, pictured below:
 |
| Cupola, on a raised platform in the caboose |
 |
| View of the Dining Car from the Cupola Window |
 |
| Bob Sits in The Cupola |
It should make for an interesting couple of days-- but one thing we proved with this trip is that we are up for anything. Though, I am a bit concerned that immediately after we got here Bob started researching other places in the US where we could stay in train cars. He has an eye on one near Sacramento.
Comments
Post a Comment