Hidden Gem: The Hood Canal, Washington USA

We finally visited the Pacific Northwest last month and I'm in love. My favorite spot was along peaceful shores of the Hood Canal - a fjord located on the Olympic Peninsula about an hour outside of Seattle.  We spent four tranquil days kayaking through smooth waters, eating massive oysters washed ashore on our backyard beach, hiking in the rainforest, and watching our toddler search for otters, seals, heron and bears (of the wooden variety).   

Team B at the Hood Canal

I feel a little guilty writing about the Hood Canal because it's truly a hidden gem. Most people we met were local and when we told them we were from Boston, they responded, surprised, and asked us how we heard about the canal all the way "out east".  

The truth is I had never heard of the Hood Canal until last year, when guest blogger Elizabeth raved about her family vacation there.  After reading her story, Chris and I immediately added it to our 2016 travel list.  

We rented a fantastic house on VRBO called Once Upon a Tide. This house had everything - a private beach with endless amounts of oysters, a kayak, SUP, a lovely deck, fire pit, BBQ, cozy living room overlooking the canal, comfortable beds and even a boat house with a ping pong table. The owners even left us a bottle of the local wine to enjoy. 

 We enjoyed grilled Hamma Hamma Oysters and Washington State wine on our deck while watching the seals play in the canal. So relaxing! 

 My son LOVED the little details of the house like this little wooden bear that he hugged every time he stepped through the front door.  There was a also a mimi moose chair inside that he hugged about 10x a day and ample games and toys in the living room closet.
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Unlike east coast beach houses in places like Cape Cod, the Hood Canal is much more reasonably priced and there are no crazy crowds (at least when we were there during Labor Day week). It was the quietest, most peaceful place I've ever been in the USA.  

Sunset on our stretch of the canal.
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Every day incorporated a different adventure - hiking in Olympic National park, lunch at the stunning Alderbrook Resort (the only really nice resort along the canal), or oysters al fresco at Hamma Hamma (they sell their oysters to Island Creek Oysters in Boston - one of our nicer seafood restaurants). 

We hiked the easier trails along the Staircase area of Olympic National Park.  We are huge Osprey backpack fans. We used them for our trip around the world and they are still in amazing condition so we purchased the Osprey baby pack and LOVE it. 

I've added this to a the list of tall people problems:) 

Beautiful Lake Cushman

Alderbrook Resort - the only fancy resort in the area.  Beautiful property and friendly staff.  This would be a great  spot for a destination wedding. 

Painting en plein air at the Alderbrook Resort. I could spend a week (or more) doing this every single day.

B and I taking  a spin in the kayak at our home rental (Once Upon a Tide) .  The house provided adults sized life vests, we brought B's life vest from home. The were barely any waves and I stayed in the shallow water near the shore while B was in the kayak. He loved it. 

This was the perfect family getaway because of the beautiful destination, cozy house rental (ideal for a toddler who wants to run around and explore), outdoor activities, animals (we watched seals playing from our dining room) and delicious food from the market.  The other special thing about the Hood Canal was it's tranquility. It was so quiet, which was incredibly welcome after a chaotic summer of work and events. Not only was this place tranquil but it was also  very spiritual. It's hard to explain - maybe it was a combo of the beauty and silence - but I felt closer to nature and myself here.  I haven't felt this way since biking through the mountains of Yangshuo China or stargazing on Heron Island, Australia. If you seek a quiet destination, quality family time and variety of outdoor activities, definitely check out the Hood Canal!