Day 9 - All day in Seattle and Brainbridge Island - 15,000 Steps

On two of our vacations in the past we fully intended to visit Seattle. The first time, in the early 1980s when our vacations were more limited by employment, we simply ran out of time and had to return home. The second time, which happened to be our very first RV trip together in 2013, we simply decided that we wanted to see more trees and free-running streams, and less traffic congestion and hustle-bustle, and so we opted to bypass Seattle in favor of Glacier National Park in Montana.

But the third time was the charm and we finally made it. Or at least we made it as far into the city proper as we were prepared to take our 32-foot home on wheels. We ended up staying at the KOA in Kent, Washington, which is conveniently located on a major bus line to take adventurous RVers into the "big city."

A word about the KOA in Kent if you plan on staying someday. First the negatives: it's a pretty crowded park with rigs parked about every twelve feet or so from each other; the lanes between rows are somewhat narrow if you have a really big rig, though I did see a few; the laundry room is okay, but not containing very up-to-date machines.

On the positive side: the proximity to the bus line is terrific as it stops right outside the camp entrance and the buses run really late should you want to have dinner in Seattle one night; it's pretty easy to find off the north/south freeway, and the avenues are wide as you approach; and the grocery and supplies store is pretty well stocked for all your needs, both essentials and knickknacks.

So, since the bus line was right at our door, we took advantage, along with another older couple from the park, and rode into a transportation center called "SeaTac." At SeaTac you can leave your bus and board the light rail for a trip north into the heart of Seattle. The train was very nice, looked pretty darn clean, and the passengers were friendly and helpful if you needed directions. We disembarked at the stop called "Pioneer Station" and were able to walk about two blocks and be right on the waterfront where the ferries load for transportation to points west like Vashon, Bainbridge, and Bremerton.

From where we were standing, you could not get a ferry to Vashon, our original destination, because the ferry only ran on weekdays. But we could have gone to either Bainbridge or Bremerton. We chose Bainbridge, and so for the princely sum of $3.00 each we were treated to a 45-minute, smooth-as-glass ride across the bay to our destination, as well as the ride back to the mainland at the end of the day.

As we walked from the light rail station to the docks area, we stumbled on the perfect lunch stop in the form of Luigi's Italian Eatery and Cantina. We were a tad early, so ended up having the entire restaurant -- and Beth, our waitress -- to ourselves. The address was 621 First Street and is just a short distance north of your direct path from light rail entrance to the nearby ferry piers. Beth really rolled out the red carpet for us, served a truly heavenly dish of gnocci and shrimp in an alfredo sauce, and furnished us with a couple of very nice salads. Concetta had some Pinot Grigio, but I stuck with the ice tea, as I didn't want to get too relaxed and forget how to get back to our home base later on.

Now it's possible that if we had disembarked from the light rail two or three stops before we did, we might have been able to catch another ferry for Vashon Island, even though it was Sunday, but I have not done any research on that. As it was, we were perfectly thrilled with our choice of islands. We spent the whole day, which thankfully was sunny and warm, walking all around the commercial district, and waterfront.

The small museum on Bainbridge is quite interesting, and specializes in displays surrounding the topic of the effects of World War II on the Japanese who lived on the island at that time. Concetta and I both thought the displays and the accompanying video were well done. As an added feature, depending on the day you arrive, a couple of the museum docents are actually current Bainbridge residents of Japanese descent who personally spent some time in the Manzanar Relocation Camp in the Owens Valley of California.

Naturally, we spent a big part of the 15,000 steps we accumulated on the island looking around for a neat place to have dinner. We had a couple of recommendations, one of which was Doc's Marina Grill on the bay. We ended up choosing Doc's. I had the fish and chips and thought the food was okay, but Concetta was a little harder to please and didn't think her fish was as good as it could be.

The other place recommended to us was right on Winslow Street and was called Nona's, if I remember correctly. If we were to go back, we'd probably choose Nona's. Still, I will put in a good word for Doc's. The flan was very nice and light, and our perky teenage waitress was nice as pie, and gave us great service.

About 4:00 p.m., as we were headed down Madison Street to check out Doc's, we stumbled over a quintet of musicians on the "Village Green" and sat and listened to them for a good half hour or more. They were a little rough, but they obviously had played together in the past and appeared to know all the songs. Their music wandered anywhere from blue grass to blues, and turned out to be one of the high points of the day.

When we finally reached the yacht harbor next to Doc's Marina Grill, I was overjoyed to see that the waning sun was doing some marvelous things to the boats in the harbor. Ever since I served as a crewman on a sixty-foot yacht back in summers of 1973 and 1974, I've been pretty enamored with shooting any kind of boat. And yacht harbors and docks full of those glistening craft, not to mention the ambient smells of all things nautical, really brings back some fond memories for me. At one point I even wandered into the adjacent chandler's shop just to hang out with their stock of sailing books, nylon lines, stainless-steel hardware, and captain's hats that said "Old Salt" on them.

With dinner over we retraced our steps back to the ferry just in time to board for the return trip. The ferry was not at all full for the 6:30 trip, so we could sit pretty much anywhere we wanted. We chose to cruise back on the top observation deck and enjoy the sea breezes. The wind got a little stiff at one point, but the view, both of the boats going by in the bay, and the ever nearer skyscrapers of Seattle, was not to be missed.

If you happen to repeat our sojourn from the Kent KOA to one of the islands and back, be sure to leave yourself enough time for each leg of the journey. Going out it's not so important, but coming back you could run quite late if you're not careful. We left Bainbridge Island around 6:30 and didn't arrive back at our RV until almost 9:00 p.m.

And now a word of explanation. Since we got back so late there simply wasn't time for doing the blog. I apologize, but it just couldn't be helped. So if you're reading this now, keep in mind it's for Sunday, May 20th. Today we had some great times of an unusual nature, but that's for the next day's blog, which is today, and I intend to get right to work on. So until next time, we wish you exciting destinations and memorable travels from the Davises, the Happy Wanderers.