We had a couple of hours to kill before our flight home. My wife loves gardens so we came out to…read morethe discovery gardens. Empty parking lot on a Sunday. Apparently, few people come here. A couple of nice volunteers greeted us and told us about the gardens. They're maintained by "master gardeners" all volunteers. There are 20+ immaculate gardens of all types to enjoy. We wandered through the gardens and thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely a hidden gem in Mt Vernon.

While attending the Greenbank Organic Farm School on Whidbey Island, we went on a couple trips to…read morethe WSU Extension. I've been to the Small Grains Field Day, a tomato grafting class, a tour of the facilities, and a community discussion on the Slow Food movement (all different occassions). Anyways, this place is great. Such an amazing place to learn and get connected with the local farming community. You can walk through beautiful gardens, have a picnic on the lawn, attend interesting classes. All-around fun place for the academic, or the family.

**THE PORT TOWNSEND HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA DEPARTMENT** is as…read moreReal as it gets....... About this time last year, I ran into a young woman selling student-produced postcards at the Saturday morning Port Townsend Farmer's Market. She was from the high school's drama club. I bought a few cards and had a nice chat with her . "You are from SAN FRANCISCO??? You are sooo lucky....." I promised that I'd come to the high school play in May 2010. And I did. "OLIVER TWIST YOU CAN'T DO THIS, SO WHAT"S THE USE OF TRYING???" You just haven't seen a great London play until you've seen "OLIVER!" *performed live... *by high schoolers... * in a high school auditorium... *in Port Townsend,WA... * overlooking the mountains, Victorian houses, clipper ships, and forests of the Olympic Peninsula. Trust me on this, you just can't do it....so what's the use of trying???? "Oliver!" was performed by graduating seniors Mikaela Euro and Paul Krabill. (They should be well on their way through college, even as I write this. ) Raven Pope made a convincingly puckish Artful Dodger, and Kellyn Traenkenschuh (who also was a graduating senior) choreographed many of the numbers in the show. It was stupendous. The parents, staff and kids of Port Townsend High are to be commended for putting together a show that I might have paid mega-bucks for had it been in London. Or in San Francisco, my home turf. $5.00 for admission. I'm a senior citizen. (It would have been $10 for the rest of you.) Should you be within voting distance of the Port Townsend School District, go ahead and bite the bullet...Give 'em your vote! If you are farther away, give 'em a hand! Or at least give your jewelry a jingle... And if you are in London or San Francisco (and you know who you are.).......give the kids a look-see when they get to your stage. And do save Fagin, The Artful Dodger and the "Boys of the Thieves Den" the trouble....just turn over your wallets at the door. These actors will put your money to good use. These kids are good...really good. They deserve your money and your time. Whistling as she exits stage left...."You've got to pick a pocket or two......"..........

I just completed Woodworking for Women at Port Townsend School of Woodworking. The class was…read moreFABULOUS. I have done a few things at home, worked with a few tools, mostly self-taught or instruction by husband/uncles. This class reinforced the skills I already had and I learned several new power tools, hand tools, and multiple techniques for completing a step. The instructors were wonderful. Martha Collins has 40+ years experience so has vast knowledge, skill and use of power tools. Her assistant was younger so had less experience but newer and different techniques and also was more inclined to use hand tools. So the balance of the two of them was perfect, you get different ideas and techniques and they were always available and helpful. The only bad thing is this class is only offered once a year I believe. It is well worth traveling to Port Townsend for this class and I imagine any other class also. I will be taking the wood finishing class in November and looking forward to that.

Port Townsend school of woodworking is a school that offers classes with both local and visiting…read moreteachers. There are some well-known teachers that offer instruction - some include project classes - as well as local staff you've probably never heard of. The one draw-back to the design of the school is that they close the doors at the end of the day's instruction, and since most of us travel to this town to take the class (as is the case with many schools of woodworking) there is no chance to further practice what is being taught at night. This is a major drawback and is not the case in most other schools where I've taken classes. The staff are very helpful and friendly (with one exception) and the facilities and town are quite nice. Port Townsend is a beautiful place with very temperate weather, especially in the summer, and offers a variety of great restaurants and stunning views of Puget Sound. The one exception I'd offer to the staff is one of the managers of the school, Tim Lawson. Tim is the person who arranged the classes, payments, and introductions to the visiting instructor. Several of the students, I learned during a meet-up for dinner one night, found him to be unavailable, curt, and rude. "Full of himself," as one person put it, and "condescending," said another. I realize it's unfair to quote actual names here but I'm only repeating what I found to be the case. Several mentioned that Tim also encouraged them to not bring their own stock to the class so that they'd be charged (they thought, as did I) for the exorbitant fees asked for the minimal material provided. Further, an additional fee was tacked on after taking the class. This fee, it was described, was reimbursement for the person who prepared the stock. Honestly, it appeared we used about $10 in material but were charged more than $75. This school offers, as its main draw, the area. The classes can be had in many places. The writer would encourage you to shop around; opinions and your mileage may vary. I've spoken with many who absolutely loved the school and some that would not go back.

Oak Harbor Intermediate School has a lovely field open to the public during non-school hours. The…read morefield is grass and has a gravel walking/running path/track around it. The shape of the path is not exactly an oval, more curved rectangular in shape. There are also a few areas open for play/that contain different exercise equipment. I would guess these are used in physical education (P.E.) classes as part of the school's offerings and potentially are available for use in home-schooling physical education curriculums based in the area. In my experience coming here, I have yet to find the field and track in heavy usage on a given visit. Personally, I like less traffic when walking/running a path/track. So, in that sense this is a perfect place to come early in the morning and get some distance in.

This school is amazing I went there the first year of its service I loved it the gym and music…read moreteacher is amazing and I suggest to join marimba band if you got the time I miss this school and I'm in 8th grade as of 2021-2022

Our child attended Sunshine Preschool during 2025-2026 and has just graduated! Our only regret is…read morethat we did not find this school sooner! Both teachers have been teaching together for 10+ years and work together to create an incredible classroom environment for the children that fosters respect, independence, and the ability to enter Kindergarten prepared. Our child learned so many vital skills that are vital to her safety. Through the teachers clear expectations, we felt very safe with our child there that every stone was not left unturned due to their significant experience. Thank you very much to Sunshine for creating such a wonderful foundation for our child in learning.

We absolutely love Sunshine! The teachers are incredibly kind, patient, and truly care about each…read morechild's development. Our child has grown so much--socially, emotionally, and academically--since starting here. The classrooms are bright and clean, and the curriculum is engaging. We couldn't be happier. Highly recommend!

It's not the best school And it's r hard for some students but it's the school I go to and I will…read morestand by it until I move

Tbh this far the best and easy school I ever went to all these reviews are from students who just…read morewanna do whatever they want and get told nothing. They wanna act like adults but they are in their teen stage , rebellions but like i said if you just go and do your work and do whatever they say you will be fine.

I have worked for the Coupeville School District for the past seven years as the school district's…read moreonly Speech Language Pathologist, serving the communication needs of children and students ages 2;9 to 21. This has been an exceptional school district and school community to work in, with conscientious, intelligent, highly skilled, well educated, and caring teachers, specialists, para-educators, administrators, and staff. Our school district does an exceptional job caring for the unique learning needs and special needs of each and every student to support their optimal learning trajectory and social-emotional well-being. I appreciate the collaboration, communication, and partnership within our professional teams and with our students and families in the Coupeville school community. This is a unique and exceptional school district that cares for the students and families in their community.