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| Our early morning walk down the water front to Pier 55 was punctuated with a Seattle fire boat drill. That is "Leschi" |
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| just one of the hundreds of logs always floating around in Puget sound creating a Hazard to Navigation |
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| Well we will be on the Goodtime II for a second time. |
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| Looking Back as we depart Pier 55 |
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| It's a little misty out but it is just a 1 hour trip to Blake Island at this speed. |
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The naturalist on board pointed out Schmidt Park, that big "Old
Growth forest on the top of the West side of West Seattle. We made plans to go visit. |
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| This is the all important Duwamish Head Light FL 10.5s 10M |
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| Barges constantly going every direction hauling dirt, from where? to where? |
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| Blake Island: |
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| Looking South down East Passage towards Tacoma. Blake Island on the right, then Vashon Island just after, with West Settle Peninsula on the left |
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| Approaching Tillicum Village |
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| Just Sailing in the rain, no Bimini and no Dodger..... |
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| Small narrow channel into the little marina. |
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| Specially built dock for the Goodtimes II |
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| Im pretty sure I could get Wand'rin Star in here |
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| Typical beach, rocky with logs everywhere |
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| A Native Greeting |
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| Everyone departed Goodtimes II and headed for the Long House |
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| This is why, you are immediately given a cup of Clam Necture |
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| Of course the Admiral would immediately spot a Eagle |
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| He didn't stay around long |
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| Next a few of these guys crossed her path, we read the island has more than their share and boaters who moore at the marina must close everything up tight or they will find their way in and loot. |
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| The proper way to cook Salmon |
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| The proper way to eat that salmon |
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| These guys narrated a great Historical version of the local native history through song and dance |
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| If he can get in I could also |
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| Totum poles are through out the PNW and a famous one was a gift to Seattle and is downtown near Pioneer square. Be sure to see it and find out the story connected to it if you come to Seattle. |
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| Add caption |
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| There is this small cove but the island also has Mooring balls surroundiing the entore island for visiting boaters. Very popular spot in the Spring and Summer. |
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| I wondered if these two poles were for navigation? |
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| Our firsat sighting of a Blue Heron since we have been up here. |
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| That is Vashon Island, we plan to ride that ferry in the near future and visit the Alternative population living there. |
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| the Admiral followed the Heron till she got this shot. Wow, Breeding Plummage this early? |
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| This happens everywhere up here since the soils are not very deep so the roots soon run into volcanic rock and can not hold up the 80-100 foot tall trees in strong winds. |
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| We did not have time this rund to explore the 5 mile trail. |
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| Common Golden Eye ducks |
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| Hooded Mergansers |
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| All of these ships go into Tacoma, they are Automobile transports bringing in you next new car! |
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| Marinetraffic.com works out here |
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| Always enjoy seeing tugs of all types |
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| On the way in we cruised by our favorite Happy Hour spot at the "E" Edgewater Hotel. |
Blake Island
The Admiral asked me if I wanted to go to Blake Island since there was a 1/2 price offer on Groupon. Sure, I will always go on a boat ride to anywhere. We wanted to get baby Drew out of the house so we took him on a walk down to Pier 55 to check out the deal at the Argosy ticket Office. We liked what we heard and just hoped for good weather on our chosen date with tickets in hand. Well March has turned out to be the wettest in Seattle History after the driest Jan and February. Just doesn't matter. Seattle and those who come to visit Seattle are all prepared to do it in the rain.
The Admiral wanted me to join her out on the aft deck to take pics on the way over but I was content to stay inside the warmer, dryer boat.The roles are usually reversed but I have been on a lot of this route by Ferry so I stayed warm by the port side window.
Each of these Puget Sound Islands has their own unique character and this one is due to being a State Park:
http://www.parks.wa.gov/476/Blake-Island Hundreds visit here each year on their own vessels making it a weekend destination or even longer. Being a State preserve makes the whole island accessible to everyone that can buy a ticket, has their own boat or even a Kyak. I have a couple of sailing buddies who time the tides just right and launch their Kyaks from West Seattle for the East Passage Crossing to spend a day here. Lots of wildlife, camping sites and visitor facilities keep this a popular spot for the locals looking for an inexpensive getaway. Those of you who are ActiveCaptians
https://activecaptain.com/ check out the reviews, even they are fun to read.
The Admiral got some birding in and I got a great boat ride, great food, and another piece of the dream.
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