Golden Gardens

With golden Gardens Beach in the background we are Beating Soutwest with just a reefed main making 5-6 knots.

No need for the jib today, running back towards the beach at 6-7 kts.

There is an artist up here that repaints the sky's conntantly

The rock turns to Sand

Not sure where all this sand came from?

This building has historical significance see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gardens_Park

There are several Fire Rings along the beach where you can collect the never ending supply of driftwood and make a mini bonfire. 

As we near meadow Point the sand turns to small rock.

Using the excellent zoom on the Admirals picture I just wanted to confirm what I thought was a Fuel Depot just North of Seattle. I see two working fuel barges headed North somewhere to refill and return to fill up all the ships that come into port here.

A little wave action from the constant stream of ships coming and going from the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle, a nice view from our Picnic table.

I found out by reading this bit of History that Shillshole and Golden Gardens were planned and built about the same time: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/history/GoldenGardensPk.pdf

Golden Gardens

We planned a early afternoon day sail and then a picnic dinner at Golden Gardens Park which is next to the marina. We had heard of the park with it's sandy beach and wanted to go check it out. It was pretty windy so I reefed the main and as we cleared the seawall I was thinking we might not even use the jib. We were moving right along at 6 knots on the reefed main alone so no need for the jib today as we just wanted a nice day sail without all the work. With the strong southwest winds we made our way South until we were almost out of the lee of West Point and the chop really began to build then we had a nice 6-7kt down wind run back down and along Golden Gardens Beach.
On about our third run North along the beach I noticed a Kite Surfer had been in the water a long time, he was out near the Green Can at Meadows Point that we use as a race mark on our Thursday night races. I told the Admiral I was going to sail along side and just make sure he was OK and did not need assistance. After checking with him and confirming his answer that he was OK and did not need help we came about and headed for the marina so we could spend the rest of the day at Golden Gardens. Just after we cleared the breakwater of the marina the Admiral heard someone calling the Coast Guard for assistance for the Kite Surfer. I was glad since we never saw him get his kite up and he was being blown out farther and father Northwest out into the middle of the Sound.
Golden Gardens Park was a surprise, it is way more than it looks like from the water aboard a boat. Not sure where all the sand came from since most beaches we been on up here are rocky. I was guessing they had hauled it all in and looked for sources of information but found no clues. Perhaps the sand is natural?
Lots of people out taking advantage of this great park that has something for everyone. Lots of kids play areas, lots of Adult play areas and even forest, wetlands (restoration project) and huge green spaces. There is a huge building that was being used when we were there for what appeared to be a wedding Reception.
After walking the entire perimeter of the park we found a empty picnic table and just enjoyed the sunset.