Bainbridge Island

The waterfront in Seattle

Having been totally lazy on Independence day I decided I should do something slightly more exciting on Saturday and take a trip to Bainbridge Island. I eventually made it out of the house a bit after noon, caught two buses, and then a ferry.

On the ferry

It was cloudy and drizzling with rain. I stood at the front of the ferry whilst most other people found a seat. The ferry started up and so did the steady driving wind and rain. It wasn't actually raining that hard but it was enough to keep other people inside. I enjoyed the quiet or rather the roaring wind howling in my ears, a nice change from chattering people. I enjoyed spotting jelly fish. I enjoyed the watching the play of the light off the raindrops on the ripples on the surface of the gentle waves. Sometimes driving raindrops is just the perfect kind of weather.

Arriving at the island

The ferry docked and ready for deboarding

Downtown Bainbridge

Bainbridge Island is connected to Seattle by one bridge and the ferry which carries cars and people. It is an expensive place to live and is one of those places that really only seems to have tourist shops. There are lots of art galleries, bakeries, home decor shops, and restaurants. There was also a nice fabric store with some interesting patterns. My collection of fabric, which I've bought with no clear idea what I'm going to use it for, increased by another two pieces - but they were soooo beautiful!

Frogs on the Rock - treasure hunt

I stopped into the local bookshop and came across a painted fibreglass (?) frog. Hmmm... I thought to myself, could they possibly have a frog treasure hunt? Well yes they could - Frogs on the Rock! I didn't try to visit all of the frogs (I thought I'd save that for another time) but I did come across some...

 After spending slightly more than I should have on Seattle memorabilia I decided to try out a bit of the Waterfront Trail. This is a nice walk that starts off in Downtown Bainbridge and, where possible, winds around the edge of the island. I walked along it for about 40 minutes there and 40 mins back and saw many interesting things. Possibly my favourite was the stone sculptures (see below). There were a few humans, a T-rex, and a Triceratops (which I failed to photograph), as well as other things.

The waterfront next to the marina

Stone man pulling chain

The person who did the work

This stone man is living the high life

I had a chance to do another sketch, of a different stone man

The Waterfront Trail

I'm not sure what this was about but I liked the way it divided the view up
into segments all holding different interesting things. 

The hollyhocks were in full bloom with massive flowers

A hummingbird really liked this flower.
I think it is probably a Female Rufous Hummingbird but not entirely sure.
See video below

Though you can't see them in the photo there are
herons nesting in these trees

People in line for the ferry

Eventually it was time to head home. I was glad I was on foot when I walked past the queue for the cars going on the ferry. The journey back faces towards Seattle making ideal photo opportunities. The weather had cleared up somewhat so my return journey on the ferry was a lot less chatter-free. I'll have to try and take more ferry rides in the rain!

The view from the front of the ferry at the start of the return trip. So many shades of blue and grey!

Mt. Rainier

The Seattle Skyline as featured on most postcards. 

One of the things I miss about home is fish and chips. Every time I mention this to a Seattleite they say 'what about Ivars?'. Ivars is the white building in the photo. I have been to Ivars before but as a Birthday treat. I wasn't in the mood for American 'Fish and Chips' but today I thought I would give it a go...

Repeat after me "A chip is not a fry with it's skin on". The fish was really nice, fresh and yummy but it was breaded not battered and therefore does not count as fish in the sense of 'fish and chips'. They did have vinegar (sorry northerners, no gravy offered).  The chips were fries. A chip is at least 1cm (3/8") wide, anything smaller is a fry. My eating pleasure was also slightly ruined by picking a table by the railing, where people were feeding the seagulls. FEEDING SEAGULLS!

American Fish and Chips

Evidence that some
Americans are stupid.

This weekend I have come across two behavioural faux pas that have lead me to conclude that some Americans are actually stupid. Number 1: you do not let your children handle fireworks, you definitely don't let them pick up supposedly used fireworks. Number 2: Under no circumstances do you ever, EVER, feed the seagulls! You may laugh, but I have suffered from multiple sequential seagull ice cream raids in Cornwall. Swooping down and plucking the things from my hand inches away from my face. Please, people, for the love of fish and chips and ice creams everywhere. DO NOT FEED THE SEAGULLS! 

Despite that slight downer I had a really good afternoon and did enjoy my 'Fish Fingers and Fries'.