For the best sunsets on the west coast, consider a trip to Puget Sound in mid-July.
It’s rare to have a gorgeous Bay Area sunset and I find sunsets in So Cal are beautiful because it’s warm enough to sit on the beach for viewing, but the bouquet of colors in the sunsets and the length of viewable time we experienced in Steilacoom reminded me of the Arizona desert. The difference is the backdrop from Steilacoom is water and the silhouettes of peninsulas or small islands.
We’d been to Puget Sound twice prior – once to visit my mentor, Bruce, who lived on Brown Island just miles from Friday Harbor and once for a longer visit to Friday Harbor. Thus began our love affair with the area. Doug has family on Whidbey Island. Gig Harbor is popular for its easy access, stunning walkable waterfront with views of Mt. Rainer and maritime history and we stopped here for frozen yogurt when leaving Steilacoom. We’d never heard of Steilacoom until friends of ours, Patty and Dave Sherve, decided to move there. They left the Bay Area for Steilacoom the same day we left in the RV.
If there’s one word to describe the historic side of Steilacoom, it’s character. It’s got that Stars Hollow / Gilmore Girls / almost too cute to be true feel. It has very little commerce but that’s part of its charm. The small streets are populated with dogs walking their owners, book-sharing kiosks, and neighbors who nod or wave if they see you outside. Secretly, I also imagine that everyone turns up to the dances and town meetings. Here, the brick buildings and historic homes with columns or cute porches exist in perfect harmony. Each one, like stadium seating, on the hillside of Steilacoom, provides some view of the Sound.
The ferry to Anderson Island lines up along Dave and Patty’s street. Patty packed a picnic and we road the bikes to the ticket office and onto the ferry.
Side note – Patty is one of those people who “throws” together a picnic lunch that tastes planned and gourmet, so every meal was a treat, including this picnic.
The ferry ride took maybe 30 minutes and when we unloaded it was an uphill mile to bike to Lowell Johnson Park on Florence Lake for a relaxing day with the Sherves. The lake is surrounded by houses boasting individual docks and a dedicated public beach and swimming area, which were smothered in well-behaved teenagers. Jet skis, kayaks, and water skiers were racing up and down the lake but Dave managed to find us an area away from all of that with easy lake access and some shade. Well done!
Patty and I both brought books so after lunch we sat at the edge of the lake to read. The water was warm enough for swimming – or sleeping while floating (Doug).
My quality consulting background gives me the confidence to judge a water fight and I pronounce Patty the winner of the water fight! Good food, friends, fun and time to recover from our prior hikes made for a stellar day. Ferret and harbor seal sightings were the cherry on top as we returned to Steilacoom via ferry.
Once again, we were treated to a warm evening with outdoor patio seating (at what I think is the only restaurant in town), a beautiful sunset, and the sound of the train whistle as it passed by.
With parting gifts in hand (including local snickerdoodles as big as your head and as scrumptious as they come), we followed Dave out of Steilacoom and into Point Defiance Park for bike ride. We passed a zoo within the park and because of this, it reminded me a lot of home and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, with it’s varied activities.
The loop Dave picked was closed to car traffic so despite being chastised by one rider for “going the wrong way” (OK Karen), we swerved from side to side down the tree canopied road stopping at each clearing to view the Sound and a bridge known as Galloping Gertie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Narrows_Bridge_(1940). Doug and Dave rode further towards the Tacoma waterfront before we said our goodbyes and headed north toward Seattle.
Cycling at Point Defiance Park
Doug and Dave along the waterfont
