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Story of the Week

Velkommen til Poulsbo

With a new set of wheels, Rachel wasted no time in planning her next adventure, a trip to a nearby tourist town, Poulsbo, Washington (aka Little Norway). While she has driven past the Poulsbo exit on many adventures, she only recently learned of the tourist attraction right under her nose. Poulsbo is a European-styled village designed for tourists with no shortage of Scandinavian heritage.

Pictured Above: Who doesn’t love an old-time phone booth? Rachel didn’t even look to see if there was an actual phone inside. Probably not.

Pictured Above: A rainy morning in Poulsbo (pronounced Paulsbo) overlooking Liberty Bay and The Muriel Iverson Williams Waterfront Park.

Wandering through Little Norway, one can find plenty of souvenirs to choose from. Oh, and European goodies to tempt any palate. The European chocolate was Rachel’s focus. She was very careful to only purchase a small amount, as her recent increased chocolate intake would be out of control if she had too much European chocolate on hand. Rachel found the Marina Market to be full of a variety of options.

Rachel is no stranger to the superiority of European chocolate. Years ago, many, many years ago, Rachel and her family hosted foreign exchange students. If you are a long-time reader, you may remember Rachel’s son Alec’s trip to Norway to visit one of their students, Trine. Trine had been the one to introduce them to European chocolate and other sweets.

The day Rachel visited Poulsbo, it was overcast and drizzling, which she doesn’t mind at all. She wrote this story while enjoying a coffee and croissant with a view of Liberty Bay from the local coffeehouse, Poulsbohemian Coffeehouse, that is said to have one of the best views in the state. Rachel isn’t able to provide a photo of the view right now, as all tables against the beautiful, large windows are taken by others. She is however being entertained by a couple on a first date sitting at one of these tables, which is slightly distracting to the writing process, as her interest is definitely on this couple at the moment.

Here is the skinny… they met on Match.com. They are 59 and 60 respectively and seem to be a perfect match for sure. Both are potty mouths in a room full of strangers and are currently showing each other pictures of themselves with their ex-significant others. No, thank you. Additionally, they don’t seem to have any idea of how loud they are talking. Excitement does things to a person.

Having become recently single, Rachel is glad that she is witnessing what a conversation with a stranger looks like in the post 50 dating world. She’s vowing right now that 2025 will be the year of NO. Mortified by their conversation, and slightly embarrassed for them both (due to things they are saying), she has zero interest in becoming one of these people. Okay, back to Poulsbo…

With the holiday season upon us, Rachel had the opportunity to watch the locals decorate their town for the upcoming festive season. Little Norway is host to several events throughout the year. This is good news for Rachel, as she enjoys a good event, and Poulsbo is under an hour from her home in Tacoma.

On her journey around Little Norway, Rachel found plenty of art to admire, along with a few fun signs. She is always a sucker for the fun signs.

There is a new development with the daters… the female seems to be losing interest in the male. It is obvious by her body language (she is no longer leaning in), and by her responses (she is no longer asking questions but giving short answers to his). Maybe she has an upset stomach?? Seriously, who wants to excuse themselves from a first date to hit the toilet? If she is still into him, they better not kiss in public. Gross. Back to Poulsbo…

There are museums galore in Little Norway. Rachel didn’t visit any of them but will likely do so on a future visit. PAUSE… no kissing but they are continuing to date elsewhere, a bar, it fits for this duo. Maybe she IS still into him. Rachel would not be a good judge of these things. UNPAUSE… Wait! Not an unpause. Before they left, it got worse. He asked her if she was into sex. Yes, that is what he said, “Are you into sex?” Rachel almost lost it and couldn’t believe that came out of his mouth. The couple next to her is now giggling uncontrollably (they didn’t have the self-restraint that Rachel had in the moment).

Don’t worry, Rachel wouldn’t leave you hanging… her answer to the question… “oh, yes.” A few additional and far more quiet words were exchanged before they awkwardly shook hands. Was a deal just struck? Wow, just wow. Okay, back to Poulsbo again…

At this point, Rachel doesn’t feel that she can continue to talk about Poulsbo and will wrap up her story here. She may have just had a scathingly brilliant idea for a new blog segment… find couples on first dates and eavesdrop. Sounds promising, right? Yep, she is now on the hunt for first daters. Until next time, be well.

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