Bremerton and City of Bainbridge

We’ve said before that we don’t find the city of Bremerton very appealing…but we really enjoy the marina area. Well, we’re saying that again. Granted, we’re usually here on weekend when the downtown area is pretty much closed, and we don’t know very much about what Bremerton might have to offer.

On the way to Bremerton from Poulsbo on Sunday, we decided to have lunch at the Boat Shed restaurant, just across the Manette Bridge. We really like this place. It has a dock, so we thought maybe we’d pull in there before moving on to the marina. Well, the current into Dyes Inlet was really moving, and after one attempt, we decided maybe not!

View of Boat Shed from Manette bridge - current was much stronger when we were there!

View of Manette bridge from Boat Shed deck

So, we continued on into the marina, then headed across the bridge on foot to Manette. After a nice lunch, we walked along the water to Bachmann Park. This is the small waterfront park with the beach overlook that you see in Sinclair Inlet on the way into Bremerton. We also stopped at a store we like, the Manette Trading Company (Used/Vintage/Consignment). There just happened to be an Orca whale windsock…for $5! As ours has seen better days, we snagged this one – it’s a bit bigger, and a little faded, but will do the trick!

View of Sinclair Inlet from Bachmann Park

old raggedy orca windsock

new bigger orca windsock

We took a couple more walks before and after our dinner of grilled lamb and sautéed zucchini. The fountains are still on (I think they turn them off in the winter) at Harborside Fountain Park and it looked very nice on a bright and sunny fall day.

Harborside Fountain Park

We enjoyed a gorgeous and rosy sunset during dinner – the sky turned all kinds of blue, pink, and lavender, and the reflection on the water was quite lovely. Before walking to the end of the marina breakwater after dinner, we turned on our underwater lights. After getting cleaned, they are definitely brighter. It’s always fun to see how they light up the fish and creatures living on the docks.

sunset

sunset

underwater lights

sea anemones under the dock

Bremerton Marina guest dock, looking into town

We had options on Sunday…foot ferry to Port Orchard…big ferry to Seattle…Fast Ferry to Seattle…boat somewhere else? Tour the USS Turner Joy? (Nick is not interested…but I am.)

You can see my outline in blue of the Turner Joy - she's right there at the marina.

USS Turner Joy - behind marina boats

Things to like about a boat visit to Bremerton: nice marina; seals and sea lions; Manette; Boat Shed Restaurant;  Naval Musem; Turner Joy Museam; bird watching; ferry traffic (lovely as they come and go at night); ferry travel options; Bachmann Park; Harborside Fountain Park; naval yard – if you’re lucky enough to see something like the Nimitz go by! I’m sure there is more…

Western Grebes hanging around in the marina

We decided to boat somewhere else…Eagle Harbor, and the City of Bainbridge. The city park dock was crowded because they were doing some work on the park buoys in the harbor and moved a bunch of boats to the dock. We got a spot, but what a mess! Five or six old boats were in various stages of being worked on, with stuff piled on the docks, power tools going, and, well, just a mess. No harm, no foul.

Ferries passing in front of a cloud-capped Mt. Rainier

The wind picked up a little during the night but not enough to blow us around much. We shoved off Tuesday morning and headed home.