Ferries (Seattle part 5)

This is a continuation of my Seattle series. Back in March my husband, my mom and I all visited Seattle. It was my first trip minus the kids in many many many years. As such, we made the most of the trip and enjoyed every second of it. I am taking the time to chronicle the trip through a series of posts here. To read them in order see: Kubota Garden (Seattle part 1), Magnolia (Seattle part 2), Space Needle (Seattle part 3) and The Waterfront (Seattle part 4).



Growing up, traveling on a Ferry was always considered part of the Seattle experience. And if you think about it, it is really interesting the number of ferries in and out of Seattle. I don't want to turn this into a huge history lesson, but I thought I'd share a bit of how the system of ferries developed. The ferries were originally privately owned but are now run by the state government. Originally, the plan was to build bridges in the 1950's but the plan was scrapped. Puget Sound is a lot deeper than you might think. It averages 450ft deep, the deepest point is just north of Seattle at 930 ft. This made the whole plan of bridges rather complicated and expensive.

On this trip, we decided to take a ferry across to Bainbridge island during sunset. We figured this would make for the most spectacular pictures. Unfortunately we were running late trying to get back to the water front after picking my husband up at his training. It also had gotten much cloudier to the west by the time the ferry set off across the sound.

As a child, I have memories of running around the ferries, and of falling down stairs on the ferry. We always went in the mid afternoon, so it was warm and sunny. I loved to stand at the front out on the sun deck and let the wind whip my hair around into a tangled mop. It was an extraordinary sense of freedom.

The Monday evening we were riding across the water was not warm, nor sunny. It was cold. The wind was biting and the air smelled of fish. But you know..I stood out on the deck, my gloved hands in pockets and my coat was zipped all the way up with the hood up. It was invigorating. The views were even more magnificent than I remembered. After all, as a kid, I didn't care so much about the views, the ride was the best part.

We didn't end up taking any pictures on the trip across to Bainbridge. But the sky was amazing. Off to the west was cloudfilled. The blues fluffed from a deep navy to bright baby blue. To the east, over the skyline was the reflection of the sunset. The sky was a soft pink. The ferry was surround by a flock of seagulls, waiting to see if we would share our dinner. (Reminded us a bit of Finding Nemo.)

When we got to Bainbridge, we didn't really have anything planned. It was about 7:20p and the ferry back was scheduled to leave at 8:10p. What were we going to do for the next forty minutes?

We ended up driving our little rental car around the town, Winslow. We thought this was funny as there is a Winslow in northern Arizona. You probably have heard of it. It is mentioned in the Eagles' song Take it Easy. We drove by the Winslow Mall. We were quite amused. Ok, I admit, we were feeling easily amused that evening.

Anyway, we ended up at a little grocery store. We decided to get a snack and find a restroom. Well, let me tell you what I saw. In the restroom they had this little seat you can strap your toddler into so that the kid doesn't run around, or squeeze under the stall doors. I thought it the most wonderful bathroom invention I had ever seen! I've not seen anything similar here in Arizona, but it was made by the Koala Bear Kare. We had to take a picture it was so remarkable.

Isn't that GREAT?!?!?

I really had not seen anything like it before. Those Koala Bear Kare people must be mothers.

At the grocery store, they were selling unopened cut daffodils. My mom and I had this brilliant idea! We would bring those daffodils home with us to open on our countertops in Phoenix! So we bought two bunches. On the way out of the store, we saw this poem. My mom loves pussy willows. She grew up with them always in her room. She had bought some the day before at Pike's Place Market but she had to have a picture of the poem.

They call them Pussy Willows
But they are not
A cat to see

Except the
Furry little toes
That stick out of the tree

And every year
What worries me
I can not ever find

Those willow cats
Who ran away
And left their little toes behind!

(I googled the poem, but nothing came up, I wanted to credit who wrote it. If you've heard it before, please let me know so that I can give the author credit.)
We always had cats in the house growing up. My mom now has four cats that keep her very good company. So, you have a touch of insight as to how sweet we find this poem.

Then, we were back into the rental and back onto the ferry. It was completely dark now and the trip back was even colder. Still, I spent the majority of the time out on that sun deck. We did take a few pictures on the way back.

This is the view of the Seattle skyline on the way back.
Most of our skyline pictures turned out even worse than this.

Go figure, taking pictures on a moving ferry, with the wrong setting on the camera..and you get blurred pictures. Still they turned out to be rather artistic.

This is me. I am all wrapped up in that too big coat, with the hood up. My husband is next to me. He is the one with the beard, making a face. It was really cold.

This was our view as we waited to disembark the ferry. The motorcyclists get to get on and off first. We also noticed many/most bicyclists wore bright yellow jackets like the one on the motorcyclist in the picture. We wondered if it was law or something to have to wear bright yellow jackets on bikes. If you know, please share.

This Monday evening was such a wonderful change for us desert rats. I recommend a ferry trip just to ride the boat, for all tourists.