Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Spring Vacacay Outing #3: Bainbridge Island

Today was a day full of boating and walking through towns and woods.  It all started with a drive back to Seattle to board the Bainbridge Island Ferry.  Parking in a convenient garage in downtown Seattle, we managed to catch the 10:40 a.m. ferry (vacation, don't judge us for being latezy).  The trip over was unexpectedly chilly!  I figured it would be a little cold, but darn my Texan tenderness toward the arctic chill blasting me full in the face from the front of the ferry!  Thanks to Tanya's brilliant contingency planning, we had scarves and ear covers (and even gloves) with us.  It made the trip tolerable, and almost pleasant.
Hello, tiny Space Needle!

Luckily, immediately after arriving it was almost 1,000,000 degrees F.  OK, that's a slight exaggeration, but it was plenty warm already on a day that promised to only get warmer.  We walked through Bainbridge town straight to The Harbour Public House, where we enjoyed an early lunch of fish and chips and salmon and beer.  It's a good thing we got there early, as the line was out the door by the time we finished.
I can't smile with my eyes open.

Our main excursion on the island was to the Bloedel Reserve, a simply marvelous walk through nature.  The reserve is well laid out, interesting, pleasant, and well worth the trip.  Speaking of the trip, let me take a slight detour into the only annoying thing that happened all day.  We rode the bus out to the reserve, and were told that the next bus would be at 2:20 p.m.  We had actually made it through the reserve by 2:20 and were literally walking out the front entrance as we saw the bus turning the corner, leaving us behind.  It wasn't more than 30 yards away, and we tried waving it down, to no avail.  They like to keep their schedules sharp on that island apparently.

It was equally apparent that nature had intended for us to stay at the reserve an extra hour.  It gave us a chance to wander back through the Japanese Garden section of the reserve, which was quite tranquil and worth spending some extra time in, reflecting.
When do we move in?

Catching the 3:20 p.m. bus back into town gave us plenty of time to stop by the Eagle Harbor Book Company, where I picked up a Neil Gaiman book illustrated by Chris Riddell, a nature poetry book, and a pocket haiku book.  The final stop was at the Mora Iced Creamery.  Tanya actually had two large scoops -- one Sabayon and one Italian Chocolate.  I, of course, had a Gianduja Milkshake.  Think of it as Nutella with extra hazelnuts, chilled into a highly viscous liquid.  Zounds, it was delicious!

Did these guys know I was coming in?
Catching the 5:30 ferry back to Seattle, we had every intention of going to get sushi.  As it turns out, the garage we parked in closes at 8 p.m..  We didn't want to be rushed through a night of what we hear is some of the best sushi available in the U.S., so we opted out of it in favor of leftover Thai food and wine at the house.  Given the state of our legs after yet another day of walking all over the place, it was definitely the right decision.  Next time we'll know to park in the 24-hour lot!

I know I promised you guys a Lake Serene outing today, and for those of you that are disappointed, I'm afraid you'll just have to get used to it.  :-D  Tomorrow, we're seriously considering another driving/walking outing, this one to Anacortes.  But, as usual, it'll be a game-time decision.  I humbly request you to stay tuned!  Also, at this point, I think we're up to taking requests!  =-D

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