Cruising the Hood Canal is a long haul. Would we do it
again? Youbetcha. We would stay longer at Alderbrook for sure, and check out
some of the anchorages in the canal. We’ve heard some people call it boring,
some say it’s beautiful. I guess I think it’s a little of both. There are miles
of uninterrupted forest and low boat traffic. The amount of wildlife didn’t wow
us, and the ubiquitous Olympic Peninsula logging operations create a scarred
landscape – clear cuts everywhere you look. I think an extended stay at
Alderbrook with some boating friends would be a blast! What do you say, peeps?
The resort is quite nice – although most things like the
pool and bar are not open right now. We went for a short but lovely hike across
the street in their private, nicely maintained trail system.
 |
| Alderbrook Resort & Spa from the dock |
We stayed just the one night at Alderbrook because the shrimpers
were coming in and we thought we would regret being there when things got
crazy. So, we took off Thursday morning for yet another new-to-us destination.
Port Gamble is a great anchorage although there is no good
access to town. There is a beach that we were able to land our kayaks at, right
at the former mill sight. It’s a beautiful spot and I hope they do something
awesome with it. The town itself is about the quaintest we’ve seen. Great
general store, the restaurant looked good, and there are nice shops.
 |
| Downtown Port Gamble |
We were one of very few boats in the harbor. It was nice to be on the hook again.
 |
| Lonely Europa in Port Gamble Bay |
 |
On Friday we left Port Gamble for the Shilshole Marina –
another new location! The marina is very nice…very big. We took a short walk
and then took a short paddle into the mouth of the ship canal. It was quite
breezy and had to paddle hard to get back in the marina. The area was crowded,
and frankly, there were too many people not wearing masks.
We would go back to Shilshole, I think, some day when we
have more time to walk and enjoy restaurants and parks.
I meant to include this photo weeks ago – our boat plant.
Last summer this pot contained rosemary, which was nice but we didn’t use very
much. This summer we decided a nice flowering plant would be better. So far,
the Nasturtium is doing well in the sea air!
On Saturday morning, we decided that given the weekend
weather forecast, and our proximity to the Foss Waterway, we would head for
home…a few days earlier than originally planned. 25 nights on the boat!
In a couple of weeks we’ll head out again, north to
the San Juan Islands…hopefully!
No comments:
Post a Comment