Port of Kingston

Underway to Kingston

Optical Illusion

We arrived at Appletree Cove in Kingston on Wednesday after a 6-hour journey from Gig Harbor at the average speed of 7 knots. The further north we traveled, the more ferry routes we crossed. Dodging the ferries as they departed and entered Bainbridge Island, Seattle, and Port Orchard was entertaining. Equally entertaining was watching others! A variety of commercial traffic crossed our path, from tugs pulling rafts of logs to a tanker (only one!) and ferries. The Puget Sound is dozens of San Francisco Bays combined, with the expanse of water going on for what seems forever. Each shoreline looks like the wooded hills of Angel Island or Lake Tahoe, many spotted with extravagant homes or none at all. We spotted only a dozen sailboats the entire time and few commercial vessels (compared to SF Bay). The trip was very mellow with the seas only picking up towards the end of the day.

Safe in Port of Kingston

It was THIS big!

We pulled into the Port of Kingston around 2:00. Their guest dock was full of small boats going to and coming from salmon fishing! Just outside the port entrance is Point Jefferson, a popular fishing spot. You can bet a trip for Kathy to pick up her fishing license wasn’t far behind! 

It is a mix of busy and quiet here. The Kingston Ferry takes people to and from the Olympic Pennisula and Edmonds and yet the cove itself is very quiet (and a nice kayak paddle).  

Tessie thinks we’re nuts – we think she is a big kid – and she did great on her first kayak trip. She is enjoying meeting all the people and dogs coming to and from the ferry. Seems like every transient boat has a dog aboard and Tessie wants to be their best friend. We also went the beach where we discovered Tessie loves to swim and chase sticks into the water. It is a delight to discover these things about her and wonder about her life before we found each other.

Maiden Kayak Ride for Miss Tessie!

Dirty White Dog

Underwater Next to Us

The water here is clear and we enjoyed investigating the rocks at low tide. There are sea stars of various colors, sizes (up to 3’ across!), and shapes (20+ legs), 4 different species of crabs, flatfish, rockfish, urchins…  It’s funny to see the young gulls walking around with sea stars in their mouths, not knowing quite what to do with them. We’ve put several back in the water.

Spirit of Kingston (our new neighbor)

Close Quarters

Our plans to depart on Friday have been postponed due to a storm that arrived on Thursday night, bringing rain and wind gusts to 55+ mph! (Up until then the weather was perfect at 75 degrees). Boats limped in off the Sound into this safe harbor with creative docking and shaken crew. The last couple days have been windy and rainy with tomorrow forecasted as a good day to travel to our next port, Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island. The Spirit of Kingston, a catamaran ferry to Seattle, has docked next to us in the harbor due to the high winds. With our ferry history, it made us a little nervous in these gusts! The wind is different here. With the steady winds of Berkeley, gusts are an increase of wind that slowly pushes you – here, the gusts are violent jolts that shake everything. We have been waiting out the weather with games of Mexican Train Dominos, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, and lots of naps. Hey, someone’s got to do it…Next stop, Oak Harbor!