Family Time and Fishing Boats

Friday i spent the day packing and getting ready for the weekend because my uncle Jay (my dad's brother) and Aunt Laura live in Tacoma and we planned on spending the weekend with them. My uncle has lived in Washington for some 20 years and so i rarely ever saw him growing up. I was really looking forward to spending time with him. They picked us up and we headed out of the city.

Inside the Bar in Georgetown

They took us to Georgetown for dinner, an area south of Seattle with really old buildings, most of which are brick. The bar we went to was one of the oldest bars around, i can't remember the name of it but i really like old things, so i was getting a kick out of it. The food was really delicious. I got a lamb burger but they are really known for their chicken fried steak, which i had a bite of and it is really like no other chicken fried steak. After dinner we went down to Tacoma. They drove us around Point Defiance Park which is a really lush park with a lot of trees, and a whole lot or raccoons. They sit by the road side and try to get people to throw food at them. They're pretty cute. After driving around we went to my aunt and uncles house. It had a great view of the sound. We spent the night drinking white russians and playing card games and dominos till it got pretty late. We started talking about music and i brought up how i had a steel string guitar at home but i would really love a classical guitar and Jay said "Really?", brought us upstairs, and pulled out an old classical guitar that used to belong to his and my dad's sister. He said "If you want it and can get it home, you can have it! I'd rather give it to you and keep it in the family" i was amazed and so thankful. It's a pretty nice little guitar; it just needed new strings. After that we went to bed. I had a hard time sleeping. I was wide awake at 5 in the morning, watching the reflection of the sun rising on the windows of all the houses out the window. It was a beautiful pink. 

Driving along the waterfront on our way to my aunt and uncle's house

The outside of their house

Some of the neighborhood

We got up around 7:20 and got ready. Jay made some really delicious bacon cheddar egg sandwiches on sourdough english muffins. We ate them, everyone drank their coffee, i had some tea, and we headed out to the ferry. My aunt and uncle have a house out on Anderson Island so we took the ferry across the sound. I had never been on a ferry before. It was pretty uneventful but very exciting and very pretty. We finally got onto the island and we drove over to their house. It's small, theres a guest room downstairs, as well as a bathroom, spare room, living area and kitchen, and then the upstairs is mainly their bedroom, a bathroom and a good amount of closet space. I think it's perfect. I feel like most vacation houses these days are way too big. Everyone wants bigger, better, more. But that just means more to maintain and keep up. I think the smaller the better. The less there is to do inside, the more it will get you outside, and when the outside is that beautiful, there is really no reason to stay in.

My aunt and uncle have been sprucing the place up a lot since they bought it. They redid most of the house, retiled the bathrooms, got hardwood floors on the first story, moved the wood burning stove over, got new decks, and got a really great garage for their boat, and a lot more. It's a wonderful little house in the woods. After we arrived they gave us the grand tour. Laura put some seed in the bird feeders and jay got the boat ready. They packed some drinks and chips and blankets in case it got cold, we all jumped in the car, and headed down to the dock.

Out the window of the ferry

My aunt Laura and my Uncle Jay

Nick and me

Approaching the ferry dock on Anderson Island

The beach as the Ferry arrived 

Most of the island looks like this

There are so many trees! What a landscape

Some of the local flowers and one of the locals!

Part of their lot on the island

Their quaint little cabin-like home 

It's super picturesque, and quite, and green and just wonderful

And of course FERNS! EVERYWHERE!

Nick was bored on the car ride to the dock so he started taking pictures of the scenery 

Down at the launch

Jay's fishing boat

While waiting patiently for the boat to get launched, i took a look around

Another Local

Love that shade of blue

out to the boat

Jay's waiting

And we're off!

 When we got down to the dock, we had to wait a bit for someone to get their boat out of the water. The guy driving the boat was older, gray with a white beard, and it kind of seemed like he was hungover. His first attempt to drive the boat onto the trailer ended with him going way too sideways, hitting the trailer, bouncing over it and then having to back up and try again. It was pretty comical. I took the free time to use the restroom, as did Nick, and then i walked around the shoreline, looked at the trees and water and the likes. We finally headed out on the water after a short time and off we went! We cruised around on the Sound for a bit, passing the golf course that the US Open will be held at this year, taking in the scenery, the beauty of the water and just how much we lucked out on the weather!

Looking back at the beach of Anderson Island

The golf course

Looking out over the sound

Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the distance from the dock.

A great big smile for all the folks back home. HI MOM!

Nick wearing Jay's sunglasses and looking like a total goober; on our way to Gib

So he took them off, but then it was too bright

We headed over to some docks near Day Island (which isn't actually an island) where Jay had some errands to run. From where we were we could see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We walked around and checked out one of the bars while we waited before we headed back out onto the water. We got on the boat, popped open some beers and headed up the Tacoma Narrow. We were heading towards Gig Harbor, and so from where we were we had to pass under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Now, for anyone interested in a history lesson, here's a fun one!

The now standing Tacoma Narrows Bridge is the second bridge built here. The first bridge was built between November 1938 and was opened to the public July 1, 1940, and is pretty famous. It was the third longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest in the country. Due to strong, prevalent winds through the Tacoma Narrow, the bridge would exhibit a wavelike motion and was named "Galloping Gertie". Engineers were hired to try and fix the problem but were unable to find a solution. Four months after opening, the bridge collapsed. The bridge was built without the wind in mind, and so when the wind blew in just the right way, the bridge swayed until it broke.

Video taken of the bridge's collapse 

Luckily, no one was killed, except for a dog that was left trapped in a car that was abandoned on the bridge. Even though they wanted to immediately rebuild the bridge, they were interrupted by World War II. All of the necessary supplies were used in the war effort. It took until the summer of 1948 for the rebuild to begin, and it was finish October of 1950. There was three years spent on studying aerodynamics to ensure this bridge would not succumb to the winds, and so far, it's been doing great! I remember learning about the bridge collapse when i was little but i didn't know it was that particular bridge till i was with Jay and Laura. It was pretty cool to be able to say "Yeah i know about that!" and then get to drive under it. Most people just drive over it haha. I've put some links at the bottom of this post for anyone who's interested in reading more about the history or looking at some old photos taken during the construction of the first bridge.

The first bridge during construction

Right before collapsing, 1940

About to pass under the bridge

The underbelly

What a feat!

Nick Double fisting

Me still geeking out about the bridge

And enjoying some beer, yummm

It's a pretty huge bridge

Defiance Point Park Housing

Wouldn't want to live there but i would love to spend a weekend!

Entering Gig Harbor

So before we made it to Gig Harbor, we cruised alongside Defiance Point Park, which is the park we had driven through the previous day that had all the raccoons in it. Along the shoreline, on the side of a very large cliff, is a housing community. There are people living right on the water, who can't drive to their houses, and have to go way out of their way to do basically anything, but their houses are so cool! Imagining walking up and down a big hill in the rain lugging groceries, or taking a small boat out onto the sound in the rain to go into town seems like such a hassle, but i guess for these people it's worth living right on top of the water. I really wish i could take a peek inside and seem what it's like living on the sound.

Gig Harbor seemed to be a pretty happening place. There were a lot of boats going in and out and just cruising about. Jay and Laura were talking about how hard it usually is to get a spot to park the boat. It was like going to the mall before Father's day. Then, miraculously, just as we were pulling up the the first dock, a boat was pulling away and we were able to just jump off the boat and walk right into a restaurant. The restaurant we walking into was called the Tides Tavern. The building was built in 1910, has had some renovations and new pilings put in (or should i say under?) and it a great little spot to stop for a bite. The Saturday we went it was packed though. We were hoping for a patio seat but it was 20 minute wait so we sat at the bar. A nice man moved down to make room for us. While we looked over the menu, Jay talked to the man and he ended up being somehow affiliated with this old restored tugboat called The Sandman. It was originally built in 1910 too, which was pretty cool. We said we would stop by after we got some lunch. I ordered the Fish and Chips, which were so perfect. They didn't taste like deep fryer, they tasted like fish, the batter wasn't too thick, the fish wasn't dry, and in fact i bit into one piece and it was so juicy it was dripping on my hands (i eat with my hands so sue me). I was really happy with my choice. Nick got a burger i think ( i can't remember) and Jay and Laura both got salads, which both looked super yummy. Laura got this shrimp salad and it had little bright pink shrimp all over it. I wanted to steal a bite but i didn't want to be rude.

After lunch we headed down to check out the old tugboat. As we were walking into town we realized there was this huge Maritime Festival going on. We got some free tote bags! I love free tote bags especially because my last one ripped (that's what i get for lugging 20 lbs of clay around in it haha). There were so many different kinds of dogs i couldn't stop pointing and smiling (i love dogs). We finally found the public dock and peaked about the old tugboat. it was really cool. There was a tiny bathroom with a water pump for a sink, and a tiny kitchen with the smallest wood burning stove i have ever seen, which was just crazy to me because the whole boat was made out of wood!!  It is alway so amazing to me to think that people went out in these tiny little tugboats in the crazy weather and no GPS systems and tugged these huge boats and barges through and into harbors and sounds and bays and the likes. They must have been such hearty strong men. Kind of like Scuppers, the sailor dog.

This is Scuppers: Ain't he a cuite?

Some of the really pretty houses in Gig Harbor

And some of the really expensive yachts in Gig Harbor 

The Maritime Festival

The tugboat we got to go on, built in 1910

So after the tugboat we headed back to Jay's boat. Jay let Nick take the wheel as we headed out of the harbor and back under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We scooted past some fishing boats getting their hooks wet, and a buoy with two big fat seals upon it, warming in the sun. There were a lot of little seals and cormorants diving for their own fish and chips for lunch. Nick was pretty good at the wheel but was done playing captain, so Jay asked if i wanted to drive. I said yes though i knew i would be terrible. When you're driving a boat through a sound there are other boats around and they make wake waves, and if you go over those waves at the wrong angle or with the boat angled the wrong way it becomes a very bumpy ride. There was a vital piece of driving instruction i did not get due to the loud nature of driving a boat, so i kind of didn't know what i was doing as far as all that went. I could steer the boat no problem but if it got bumpy i would just laugh and hope for the best.

We finally made it to our destination which was a nice little section of the Sound nestled between Ketron Island, a small private island on the sound, and off shore of the mainland south of Steilacoom. Trains were riding past along the water carrying cargo or passengers, one was just tank after tank of oil, Jay said it was railed to Washington from North Dakota. We put the boat in neutral, poured some vodka grapefruit cocktails and just hungout. It was my grandma's birthday and we were lucky enough to have Laura there to remind us to call her, so Jay took the opportunity to do so. I got to wish her a happy birthday as well which was nice. We spent a good amount of time just enjoying the scenery, as Jay and Laura told us some great stories about some crazy friends they had, and some hikes they went on, and their future plans to boat up the sound. It was so quite on the sound aside from the trains off in the distance. I took some time looking into the water and spotted some funny looking jellyfish. Every one was different. Some looked like over grown zooplankton, others looked just as you would think, orange jelly on the inside, big long intimidating tentacles, and some looked like the iris cornea and pupil of an eye. Jay and Laura's friends stopped by on their boat before they headed up the sound for some dinner. After that we headed back to the dock.

Jay let Nick drive the boat

Goodbye Gig Harbor!

Jay teaching Nick and Laura enjoying the view

I know, i took so many pictures but they don't do it justice and so i keep thinking "the more the better"

He's a natural

Back under the bridge

The Southern end of Ketron Island

Sunny little Nick

The mainland, where we stopped and just hung out for a bit

So between the rocks on the shoreline and the tree line is where the train tracks are

Jay and Laura's friends from Anderson Island

One of those jellies that looks like an eye

It was just so wonderful out

heading back to the dock, still looking at the Southern end of Ketron Island

On Anderson island, they don't have grass lawns they have moss lawns 

Back on solid ground

Nick playing Laura's piano

 So we finally got back to the little cabin. It was long day in the sun and we were all pretty pooped. After cleaning up the boat and washing all the salt water off of it, Jay and Laura pulled out some pre-prepared chicken and beef teriyaki sticks. Jay threw them on the grill while Laura cooked up some couscous and a cucumber salad. I sat outside for a bit and watched the birds go for the feeder and a small and particularly orange and hairy caterpillar find its way around a green leaf, and humming birds become very territorial over their nectar feeder, but the misquotes were way to happy to have me so i decided to go back inside. Nick got the okay to play the piano in the spare room so i left him to do that and i started playing this knot tying game i found under the coffee table while i waited for dinner to be done. I wanted to help but every time i asked i would get a big fat no so i just waited patiently. Nick and i tried played crazy 8s but i'm kind of horrible at explaining the directions and he just kept asking the same question and after playing one round i was done. Luckily the food was ready shortly after and we all sat down and enjoy the delicious home cooked meal. Something i could do with more of up here.

After dinner we played a game of Yahtzee!, i was the first one to get a yahtzee, but it was on my third roll. Someone else got a yahtzee, i think it was Jay, but had already used the yahtzee so he couldn't take it. Then Jay rolled a Yahtzee of all sixes on the first roll which brought that big smiling, yelling, wide eyed look to our faces. It was a great game. We were laughing a lot and Nick kept losing but he kicked our butts at golf the night before so i didn't feel bad. After that we went to bed. I had a terrible time trying to fall asleep and both Nick and i kept feeling like we were sleeping on a boat haha

Their side yard with all it's baby cedar trees growing like weeds

The next day we got up a little later, ate breakfast at the house and headed back to the ferry dock. We got into town, went back to Jay and Laura's, picked up the guitar, and hungout for a bit. One the their fire alarms was low on battery so Nick and i relaxed downstairs while Jay and Laura tried to figure out which fire alarm it was so they could change the battery. After that we went down to the waterfront and ate at this restaurant called The Ram. It had a giant shark hanging from the ceiling and none of us could figure out why it wasn't a ram, or why they didn't call themselves The Shark. I get that they're by water but it seemed out of place. Like a fish out of water...    I had had such a long weekend that i was in a daze all day Sunday so looking at the menu was like looking at Egyptian carvings and trying to figure out which pharaoh to vote for. Nick ended up picking a salad and i picked the mushroom burger and we split both. They were both pretty good but the burger only had cheese and mushrooms and some terrible lettuce on it. It definitely would have been better with some onions or tomato or Something. The salad we got was the Olympic Salad and it was really good. i probably could have just eaten a whole one of those and been happier.

After lunch they drove us back to the Warwick. There was really heavy traffic due to some construction which made the drive take a lot longer than it should have (Seattle loves doing construction on major freeways in the middle of the day to cause extra traffic. We love you Seattle Transit), but i didn't mind because after spending time with my uncle, who i otherwise didn't know at all, i really felt happy to call him my uncle. We share a lot of similar views as far as politics and environmental awareness goes, and even just how to live life and be happy. I am really glad to have finally and truly met him and i really hope to spend more time with him. He is a great person and it makes me happy to be his niece.

After they dropped us off, and we said our goodbyes, and Jay and Nick made sure to tell me to give them each others numbers so they could jam while Nick is up here (Nick is so wonderful on piano and Jay plays drums and gets together with some of his buddies every once in a while so Jay was hoping they could set it up where Nick could play keyboard with them while he's still in Seattle, how cool!), we headed back up to our lousy hotel room.

The ferry pulling up to the Northeast side of Ketron for one guy and his boat; an old retired ferry lives here now too

On the ferry. Back to the mainland we go! (I'm smiling, i just have one of those faces)

Those houses look really cool

Nick looking super cute while we wait for Jay and Laura

Because i spent the whole weekend with them and we didn't get ONE picture of all three of us

So Nick took two

Nick and i felt kind of restless so we decided to go for a walk around sunset. We walked down to first street and then over to the Pike market. I had never been to the market without it full of hustle and bustle and tourists and vendors. The after hours scene is really something else. All the arcades are empty, all the tables are bare of product and tablecloth, leaving just the skeleton of metal and wood and painted pipes behind. The vibrant colors from the flowers are gone and silver and bumpy dark green paint are all that are left. In a way it's kind of beautiful, the way the people wax and wane or ebb and flow like the tides and like the moon. Anyways i found a really pretty, petite, pink peony flower on the ground swept away with all the scraps and petals from the day so i picked it up and stuck it in my jacket pocket button hole. We went on a hunt for green tea mochi ice cream balls because i've wanted some since i got here. We couldn't find any but we ended up in Target buying a lot of thing we didn't really need. 

We went back to the hotel and got some dinner. I slept really well that night. 

My Peony

A link to the U of Washington's library where they have some more information on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/collections/exhibits/tnb

Photographs of the construction of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge: http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/search/collection/farquharson/searchterm/1/field/keywor/mode/all/conn/and/cosuppress/