A month in Gig Harbor flew by! We traveled on a Sunday from Spokane and didn’t quite realize the pain of getting through the mountains. The traffic was impressive!
Where we stayed was within walking distance to the town so we visited several times. I loved seeing Mt. Ranier in the distance over the water when the days were clear.
We visited a handful of local spots and enjoyed quite a few of them. We made a happy hour at Morso Wine Bar, enjoyed brunch at Netshed No. 9, and the beer at 7 Seas is amazing and was worth multiple visits.
Since we were close to Seattle, I took a day off of work and had a day to myself to wander the big city. It ended up being only an afternoon by the time I got to the ferry and made the crossing however – didn’t have the get-up & go that morning! The ferry from Bremerton provides a beautiful passage and even though in the morning the city was foggy, it burned off and ended up being a rather warm day. I first walked to Dog in the Park and had a Seattle dog. I didn’t forget about those infamous Seattle hills but good gravy they are no joke!
I decided to visit the Seattle Art Museum and enjoyed several hours inside. Then, it was happy hour time and I visited a few places. One was a bar where I ended up chatting quite a bit with the bartender until it got busier. He hopes to travel the world and of course, I was highly encouraging! He recommended Lecosho so I had something to eat there. My energy was starting to fade (it was those hills!) so I made my way back to the ferry and then back to Gig Harbor.
The next day I also had off, and this time I decided to explore a bit of Tacoma. I loved glass as a medium so I made a point to visit the Tacoma Art Museum. The Chihuly display on the bridge is spectacular and inside the hot shop, I spent a great deal of time watching the featured artist create art. One of my favorite displays, however, was tucked away. Kids submit pictures and glass art is then made from those pictures. I also took a nice drive around the city.
We made another pass into Tacoma and visited the Wright park with Samantha. As luck would have it, at the park was a festival. Turns out, this park used to be quite the haven for anything and everything unpleasant. The organizers were quite pleased with the turnout and people enjoying a restored gem.
Keith had to travel a few times during this month so one Sunday I packed up Samantha for a ride. I wasn’t entirely sure where I was headed but I ended up at this small winery called Trillium Creek. The owners were absolute gems and I spent several hours there. I got a tour of the property and a tour of the house. It was dog friendly and the wines were interesting (low-sulfite) but good. A few bottles may or may not have been bought and consumed quickly. 🙂
One weekend, we made an epic trip to see a part of Olympic National Park that we didn’t see on a previous trip. It was a long drive but we were rewarded with a deserted beach that was dog friendly. We also realized that Samantha isn’t up for long car rides coupled with long walks which was a bummer – our girl is getting old.
We also spent quite a few hours just driving around the peninsulas, taking in the scenery and enjoying the weather. Speaking of weather, we had some amazing weather and I think it only rained a handful of days out of the 30 odd days we were there. Then in a blink of an eye, it was time to head back to our old stomping grounds, PDX.