Since my senior year started, my schedule has completely changed. Tackling a full school day, along with the AP workload, studying for classes, a workout in the evening, dinner, and my independent work like promoting events for businesses, people, and music groups keeps me busy. This doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you come to face it, you wonder where the time went as you stare at your empty clock.

I need to schedule my weekends in order to manage time well and get assignments done on time. I know myself well enough to recognize that if I don’t give myself proper breaks from school or work, the end result of my essays and projects aren’t nearly my best works, and I always want to be proud of something I put my name on.

One of my favorite rewards for an especially hard week is to get out of town for an afternoon and the perfect place to do this isn’t far from Sequim. A short drive and I’ll be in the beautiful, Victorian town of Port Townsend. I love Port Townsend’s vibe, its hippie yet artisan, populated with elders yet still feels young enough for a friend and I to spend the afternoon there. Whenever I go you can usually find me at any one of these places.

Chetzmoka Park

I have visited this park since I was little, so it has some strong sentimental ties to it. Something that fills me with immense happiness and nostalgia is swinging on their enormous swings. Something about being on a swing brings back such fond memories of being weightless in your worries. So the next time you’re at a park and there happens to be an open swing, hop on and it’ll melt away your worries of tomorrow.

Waterfront Pizza

A block away you can smell the savory sourdough bread cooking in their ovens and, as you get closer, it becomes very apparent as to where this angelic smell is coming from because there is a large congregation of people around it’s store front waiting to snag a slice. Even though I am a very health conscious person, I am more than okay with treating myself every once and a while, especially with a slice or two from Waterfront Pizza.

The Rose Theater

9 times out of 10, you walk into a movie theater and its grimy or there’s loud and obnoxious people seated near you and that gives you a bitter experience where you don’t feel so comfortable. Not at The Rose, this three-screened theater brings back the comfort and appeal that all moviegoers deserve to feel when walking into an experience where your focus should only be on the movie, not conditions that are out of your control. Whenever I go to The Rose I feel like people have class and respect for one-another’s time at the movies. But your experience is like no other; the ambiance of the murals in the theaters relaxes you and, the best part, before the lights dim, one of the employees comes out to introduce the film, share thoughts and facts from the director.

Port Townsend will always have a little piece of my heart because of its character and cute little neighborhoods. As I prepare to move on in my life, Port Townsend is one of those places that will be tough to leave behind.

Hello, I’m Emma Eekhoff. I’m a 17-year-old that would rather be networking for business than at a party with my high school friends. I’m not afraid to share my stance on something, whether it is an art form like music or recent events in the world. I’ve been writing in a journalist setting for only a few years, through my high school’s online newspaper, The Growl Online or for a music blog. I love to connect and network with new people in the worlds of business and music, travel to new places and eat new interesting foods. 

Follow & connect with me on Social Media: Instagram / Twitter / eekhoffemma@gmail.com

View all of Emma's posts here.