It's one of Washington's hidden jewels, a fishhook-shaped natural fjord dividing the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas. It's a deep breath, a moment of silence. That place you want to run to, to get away from it all? It's the Hood Canal.
By Marc Ramirez | September 9, 2008
Among Puget Sound boaters, the hidden pocket of saltwater called Port Ludlow has long been known as a pleasant and protected nook. Once you're here, there's golf, there are kayaks and bikes to rent, and
trails to walk or ride. Or there's that balcony for sitting. Or that
tub for luxuriating. Which can easily be activity enough.
By Brian J. Cantwell | March 13, 2008
The fish are out of the water in Gig Harbor, a historic maritime town on the Kitsap Peninsula where art and antiques long ago replaced purse seining and boatbuilding.
There's "Hot Rod Salmon," a sleek black-and-orange number covered with automotive paint. "Salmon Dango" sports a ruffled skirt and a mosaic-tile head flung upward like a flamenco dancer. "Salmon Dragon" has fangs and white porcelain scales. "Fish & Chips" chows down on a mouth full of French fries.
By Carol Pucci | July 12, 2007
Short Trips
POULSBO -- If you're lucky enough to hit a clear day on your drive to Poulsbo, prepare to be dazzled as roadside trees give way to a stunning vista of Liberty Bay backed by snow-capped Olympics. It's like a little piece of Norway.
Early immigrants thought so, too, and turned this scenic settlement into an ethnic enclave where, for a while, the official language was Norwegian.
By Cecelia Goodnow | December 1, 2005
Short Trips
I've always had a special place in my heart for Bremerton, partly because of strong family ties as far back as I can remember. My uncle retired from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (The Yard, as it was affectionately called) quite a few years ago. My cousin (his son) retired several years ago as The Yard fire chief, though his wife still works there.
By Jeff Larsen | October 20, 2005
The outing: Do not say to a person who lives in Poulsbo the following:
"Well, Liberty Bay doesn't look like any fjord I've ever seen."
OK, sheer mountain slopes don't cascade into the water below, the narrow inlet doesn't necessarily pour into the Norwegian Sea. And, granted, it might be kind of hard to find an Azteca Mexican restaurant in Norway.
But why risk the instant frown you'll get when you point out these facts about modern Poulsbo?
Do say instead:
By Terry Tazioli | August 25, 2005
The outing: Port Gamble looks like a little town that time and geography forgot, a bit of unspoiled 19th-century New England dropped onto the shore of Puget Sound.
Founded in the mid-1800s by Maine lumbermen who came to harvest the rich Northwest forests, Port Gamble was a company town for mill workers and their families for almost 150 years. Since the mill closed a decade ago, it's morphed into a historic and easygoing tiny tourist town on the northern edge of the Kitsap Peninsula.
By Kristin Jackson | August 25, 2005
The budget outing: Discover Puget Sound's roots from the days when there were many firs and no freeways. Visit Suquamish, where the tribal chief for whom Seattle was named lived communally in what amounted to a mansion of the early 1800s: a beachfront longhouse reputedly more than 500 feet long.
Today, Chief Sealth is buried in a small cemetery just up the hill, with a glimpse through tall, guardian evergreens of the swirling waters of narrow Agate Passage.
By Brian J. Cantwell | August 25, 2005
MATS MATS BAY, Jefferson County — Floating on the wind, the osprey seemed not to even notice as our boat approached.
By Larry Eifert | July 28, 2005
