Red Goose Shoe Store - Port Angeles, USA

On Our recent trip to Port Angeles we joined a Heritage Tour of the town led by Don Perry. Don has an extensive knowledge of the history of Port Angeles and his tour of the city both above ground and below is a fascinating way to spend a few hours and see bits of the living history of the city impossible to discover on one's own. Above is a heritage building for many years occupied by the Red Goose Shoe Store. Formerly it was a saw store catering to the important lumbering industry. That's the main floor of the building. A separate entrance led to the upstairs part of the building. The upper floor was divided up into about 18 tiny rooms where young women would provide brief, private entertainments for men visiting the city, primarily loggers and sailors since, in addition to the extensive forest industry in the hinterland, the city's deep water port was home to the Pacific Fleet. To the left is one of the larger rooms available, partially restored. Most of the rooms were barely large enough to hold a double bed.

Day Trip - Port Angeles, Washington, USA

Though I've traveled around the world a couple of times there are still places within a day's journey from Victoria that I've never visited. One of these places is the lovely little city of Port Angeles, Washington. My brother and I boarded the MV Coho yesterday morning for the 90 minute crossing to Port Angeles. We arrived at noon and walked from the terminal up into the town for lunch. In the afternoon we experienced some of the unusual history of Port Angeles under the guidance of Mr. Don Perry, a local historian who has done much to collect and preserve the city's history. He led us on a tour that took us beneath the city and then above its shops and storefronts and exposed some of the fascinating history that is embodied in the heritage buildings of Port Angeles. I'll share a little more about this city over the next few days.