The Fountain Park on the Bremerton Boardwalk

Discovered this little park on the waterfront in Bremerton completely by accident last summer.  Alex and I ran over to try a Coldstone Creamery ice cream treat, then went for a walk to find this little hidden jewel right beside the ferry dock. Have to confess that even though I live here, I don't always read the local paper so I didn't realize that The Fountain Park was even built.

The park features 5 copper ringed fountains, built by a company that also designed the famous fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas. The fountains represents many things, not only about Bremerton's proud heritage of the Naval presence here in the Northwest, but also  represents the ever present reminders of being surrounded by our volcanic geology in the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges. Can you maybe also see spouting whales?

For me, the fountains clearly remind me of submarine "sails"  (conning towers) headed out of the Puget Sound. Living here, this is a common scene that we take for granted.  We probably shouldn't... if you ever get a chance to see a glimpse of a big Trident submarine, it is really something amazing! Better yet, watching the aircraft carriers come in, completely dwarfing the Washington State Ferries, and taking up Rich Passage and Sinclair Inlet entirely!

During the summer the fountains are full of water dancing with their own special synchronization to music.  Kids have a ball running in and out of the water spray.  Believe me, I was tempted, but Alex was embarrassed by his silly mom! Gorgeous landscaping, and sculpted granite pieces complete this great space. Lots of opportunities to photograph the  four seasons!

Heard a rumor from a friend that gray whales had been spotted near here, so I jumped in the car yesterday afternoon to see if I could find any.  No such luck, it appears that they might have been chasing the smelt run into Sinclair Inlet and then left.  As it started to get dark, I noticed that the lights in the park were slowly coming on. With frozen fingers,  I did manage to get a few pictures to share.

If you are in the Puget Sound area, this is really a great place to visit! Take a walk along the boardwalk, have a little something to eat at Anthony's Homeport while watching the ferries come in and out from Seattle, then wander over and enjoy The Fountain Park.

Here's a little bit more info for you!  The City of Bremerton - Harborside Distict

Merry Christmas to all of my readers!

Winter Beaches

Sorting through some photography that I took earlier this fall, and thought you might enjoy some late fall images from the shore in Pacifica, California.  It was soooo cold on that November day, but still so beautiful.

Truly, I believe that sometimes a winter beach, or a winter coastal storm can have its own wild, untamed beauty.... the gray desolation, heavy pounding seas, sea birds playing in the wind..

I hope that what ever beach you can visit this winter, you have to chance to simply stop and breathe. Please  don't forget to bring 2 bags with you; 1 for beach treasures, and 1 to fill up with discarded harmful plastic!

Walking on the beach for me is always a zen-like experience, and so important to help focus me for the next big thing.  When you are out for your winter beach break, think about  all of the great things that this next year will bring, and let the sea breezes carry off the old from 2009.

Bundle up, let the wind caress your face, take the time to really listen to the crashing waves, then race back to the house for hot chocolate!

A Simple Coastal Christmas Tree

Have to admit that this Holiday season has been a little bit of a struggle for me. This is the first year EVER in my adult life that I have not had my own house or my own space. For a nester personality like mine - it has felt a little weird to be living out of a suitcase some days. Granted, it has also been very freeing. Without "stuff" to take care of to clutter up my brain, I have been able to travel and to really enjoy the little things and the natural beauty that surrounds us.

Before I left for San Francisco a few weeks ago, I had Alex drag up my mom's faux tree out of the basement... and then I just kept looking at it. Even though it's all set to go with lights, I could not bring myself to even plug it in. Depressing.

Tuesday night, while watching my favorite movie of all time "Gone with the Wind", I finally decided to unpack my carefully wrapped seashell and beach ornaments. Maybe I would feel better if I decorated the tree with my coastal flair. White lights, a great bonus once I finally found an extension cord and plugged the darn tree in! Found some pretty wide gold ribbon and some white iridescent ribbon, draped down the tree and then I carefully wrapped strings of pearls around as garland.

Starting to feel a little bit better. Also decided to avoid the emotional landfills if at all possible - "those" ornaments could stay happily in the box.

My glass aqua mermaid sits on top - I think she works just fine as an angel!

My glitter seashell ornaments came from a really cool company (a family in South Carolina) and they were sold in my Poulsbo store. One year, when I called to order the ornaments, my friends that made these beautiful shells,  just had their workshop wiped out in a hurricane that had roared up the coast, but they were still making and shipping the glitter shells on their kitchen table. Have to admire their perseverance!

My gold seashells come from another small company, this time in Oregon - real shells dipped in 14K gold. LOVE these all year, not just for Christmas.




















Wish I had kept more of these cute little red crabs!  When I had them in the store, they were the first ornaments to completely sell out.  Customers would buy handfuls of them for stocking stuffers and for using on wrapped presents.

 I feel better now, especially after I ate some fudge...