Port Angeles - The Center Of It All

A great new opportunity for 2010, The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to present you with “Make the Most of Your Membership” learn more bout the Chamber: how to be involved and make your membership valuable to you business and in turn support our business community in general. It will be the first Wednesday of every month and is Open to new and current members!   This month guest speaker will be Kathy Charlton, Olympic Cellars, 2010 Chamber President’s Award Recipient. The first meeting will be held at the Port Angeles Visitor’s Center (121 E. Railroad Ave.) February 3rd, 7:00-8:30 p.m. For more information please contact Betsy Reed Schultz 360-460-7848 / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    

Sadly it looks like Hurricane Ridge Road is expected to be closed for an estimated six weeks.  Access is cut off to the Heart O’ the Hills campground as well as to Hurricane Ridge. The roadway is blocked to all traffic, including pedestrians, and bicycles. Heavy rains triggered the slid on Monday the 18th and destroyed both travel lanes along a 100-foot long section of road.

I have yet to see all of the Olympic Peninsula since moving here in Aug. but one of my favorite places I have been is Cape Flattery. It is the most northwest point of the contiguous United States and WOW what a view! The cape is just a 2 hour drive from Port Angeles WA. And well worth it. There are plenty of places along the way that you can pull over to enjoy the amazing views of the sea stacks and take a nice walk along the beaches. Once you get to the trail head for Cape Flattery it is a nice 20-30 min hike most of witch is gravel and boardwalk. It make’s for a great day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you have been what did you think? DIRECTIONS: If you take Highway 101 west to Highway 12, follow 112 for…

At the Chamber Lunch meeting on Monday the chamber was happy to announce the selection for the President’s Award and The Member Extraordinaire. The results are kept a secret from the membership and of course the individuals receiving the awards so it was a great surprise for Kathy Charlton who received the presidential award and also Leslie and Howard Fisher the member extraordinaire. Thank you Kathy, Leslie and Howard for getting involved and being a great part of this community.

It is time once again to ring in a New Year! If you have not yet made plans for tonight here are a few Ideas. Port Townsend is having First Night a fun filled night for the family. They will have games, songs and storytelling 6pm-9pm. At 9 p.m., which is midnight in New York City, Port Townsend will usher in 2010 with the raising of the illuminated anchor created by sculptor Thaddeus Jurczynski, followed by fireworks launched from Memorial Field. Admission is by donation. A $5 donation is suggested. Proceeds will benefit the Jefferson County Historical Society, which organized the event sponsored by First Federal. SEQUIM — The third annual New Year’s Eve Bash will be held at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St., at 8 p.m. tonight. PORT ANGELES — The Elks Naval Lodge is hosting a public party that is a fundraiser for…

I just heard about the Peninsula Home Fund, What a great organization! If you are like me and had not heard of this it’s an organization that helps to provide hot meals for seniors, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for the low income, needed prescription drugs, dental work, safe drug-free temporary housing and the list goes on and on. From Jan. 1 through Dec. 18, the Peninsula Home Fund has served 1,921 families, comprising about 3,643 individuals. And all of this is through Fundraising; I just wanted to tell every one involved to keep up the great work! If you would like to help out or have any questions about the fund, contact John Brewer, Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500.

All you shopping deal-seekers know that the truly huge discounts come just after Christmas. But this year it may pay to wait a few extra days. I just read about how many stores have gotten wise to the fact that consumers like to redeem gift cards a day or two directly after the holidays, so many stores have pushed off steeper discounts until later this week to maximize their profits. So I would wait for the real deals at the tail-end of the week when the stores want to rid their shelves of unsold holiday merchandise and make way for the New Year’s replacements. Remember we have some great local store that also have good discounts after the holidays so don’t get stuck in just the big stores. Good luck and happy shopping!

We are all looking forward to sitting a round the table with our family and friends to enjoy a nice holiday meal. Unfortunately there will be many families that can’t afford that meal. So when you are out shopping for your big dinner pick up a few extra cans of food to donate to the food bank your area. Locally In one month the Port Angeles Food Bank served over 13,093 and this number continues to rise, so they really appreciate the help. Don’t forget pets are family too, so go out and make a donation to your local Humane Society. Thank you for your help and Happy Holidays!

It was so nice to go downtown on Monday night to do some last minute shopping and see the twinkling lights that line the streets, the huge tree in the fountain plaza covered with hundreds of lights and all the store fronts decorated. It really got me in the Christmas spirit. I wanted to say thank you to the downtown association and all the shop owners for making the downtown so beautiful for the holiday season.

OK all you Twilight fan if you live in Forks, Port Angeles, or La Push and want to be on a reality TV show this is your chance!  A Los Angeles-bases production company is going to be in Forks today (Dec.22) and tomorrow (Dec.23) to cast for a reality series set in forks. They are looking for someone that has an outgoing personality is TV friendly and lives in or works in Forks, Port Angeles or La Push. The casting sessions are today from 12:00pm-4:00pm and tomorrow from 11:00am-1:00pm @ “The Twilight Lounge” at Dazzled by Twilight 81 N. Forks Avenue, Forks, WA For more information, call 310-450-5860 or go to www.redvarden.com. Good luck!  If you try out I would love to here how it went!

With the weather being so nice it is a perfect time to take a trip up to Hurricane Ridge for some fun winter activities like snowshoeing, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, and tubing for the kids eight years and younger. Being my first winter on the Olympic Peninsula I’m really excited to get up there and have some fun. I have been snowshoeing on the ridge before and had a blast it was my first time ever and what an amazing place to go for your first time. The views are absolutely breath taking; it was a clear day when I went so you could look out and see all the way to Victoria. I haven’t been cross country skiing before so I would like to try that this year. WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO GO FOR WINTER ACTIVITIES IN WASHINGTON?

Yes the time has come once again for a fun filled night of shopping. Tonight downtown shops and restaurants will be open late for the sixth annual “Shop ‘Til You Drop”. There will be sales, special discounts, drawings for door prizes and holiday candy at many of the stores for people who come in between 5pm and 8pm. Santa will be there too! He will be seated with one of his elves at The Toggery, 105 E. First St. so parents bring your cameras. Hot cider will be served from First Street Haven’s Christmas Room, which is next to The Toggery. It’s going to be a lot of fun so I hope to see you around town! HAPPY HOLIDAY’S!

I have driven by Lake Crescent a few times and have thought it was absolutely gorgeous but have not had the chance to walk around the lake till just the other day. I made a stop by Lake Crescent Lodge and walked along the shore line and through some of the forest area. It was such a nice place, I found out how much there is to do around this area whether it be kayaking/canoeing, or hiking/ biking. Needless to say I can’t wait to go back and next time I would like to hike to Marymere Falls I hear it’s beautiful. DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE MEMORIES ABOUT LAKE CRESCENT?

Over the weekend some friends and I took a drive west of Port Angeles to Madison Falls just a short drive off of Highway 101. We got there early enough that the field at the start of the trail was frosted over and looked like a field of diamonds it was beautiful. On the first part of the trail there are the remains of a huge old tree. It was amazing to see how big these trees can get, keep walking and look up at the cliff wall to your right filled with moss, ferns, and trees growing out of the face of the wall. A little further you can see the river to your left and start to here the falls you turn a corner and there’s this amazing falls that cascade down a hundred feet. There are benches for you to stay and enjoy the falls and everything…

National Geographic Traveler has a really great article “Around the Olympic peninsula” It takes you for a road trip stating in Seattle then going in a loop counterclockwise around the peninsula. Taking you through a few of the towns, beaches, lakes, and forests. It’s really well dune and worth taking the time to read. Check it out! After reading something like this I feel lucky to live in such an amazing place. We have so many natural beauties around us from places like Hurricane Ridge, Lake Crescent, Neah Bay, The Hoh Rain forest and so many more, and the best part is how close everything is. You can make it a day trip or however long you want to go adventure.

I grew up around a lot of mountains so moving to a place with the Olympic Mountains and water side by side is really cool to me. I’m always finding new thing I love to do here. One thing I have taken a liking to is walking the beach and looking for sea glass. It’s so calming, the smell of the salt and seaweed, the sound of crunching rocks and sand beneath your feet, the water lapping on the shore line then you look down at all the different colors of rock and shells but there is that one little something that catches your eye a peace of beach glass! It’s like you found a little treasure. I never knew that people are really in to looking for beach glass there are books and group and all kinds of things. I can see how it would get addicting. If you…

With the Holidays upon us our lives seem to get so hectic when we should really be taking a steep back and looking at all we have to be thankful for and all the amazing people that surround us. I moved to the area just a few months ago and it is always a little scary to go someplace you don’t know any one but the community has just been so welcoming. I would like to say thank you to everyone just for being nice to a stranger you never know how it may affect another person whether they are new in town like myself or just having a bad day. Keep up the good work and enjoy the holiday!

I’m so excited to say I was able to get a ticket and go to the 12:00am showing of New Moon last night. When the begging credit started rolling the theater went crazy. Through out the movie we laughed, cried, hooted, and hollered it was great. After the movie I talked to a few people and couldn’t find one that didn’t like it. I thought it was really good, entertaining and possibly even better then Twilight! What did you think of it? Let me know. Now all the Twihards can go to the Bella Luna fest that starts today and goes through Saturday there will be lot’s to do and see. Have Fun!

Only TWELVE more hours till the New Moon movie will be released at the Lincoln Theater in Port Angeles. The line is still growing even with the rain, wind, and frost. With this weather being just right for vampires you never know who you may be in line with. They might even be able to go to the Bella Luna fest that’s going on this weekend it sound’s like fun. It will be a little chilly for the Wolf Pack Six Pack Contest on Saturday but it will be so fun I don’t think anyone will mind. Click for the list of activities I can’t wait to here some of your stories about being in line or knowing someone in the line!

The line for the movie New Moon started yesterday and sadly I’m not in it due to having to work, but I hope to see the movie sometime this weekend. I give credit to everyone in line and I wish them good luck! So with the movie coming out I have this problem I still can’t decide what team I’m for. I have to say I’m really looking forward to the volturi. What can I say I like the darker side of the story too it makes things more interesting. So what Team are you for and why?