After departing Gig Harbor, we turned south to head through the Tacoma Narrows. The currents thru this passage reach as much as kts, in either direction, so it's important to time your passage. We waited for the full "push", which was over 4 kts today, and this is the view of the Galloping Gertie. The name was applied after the original bridge was built in July of 1940. The winds would set up an oscillation and bouncing as much as 35 feet up and down, thus the name. Then in July of the same year, during winds of 40 mph the bridge collapsed into the Narrows. When this occurred, there was only one person driving across, and he abandoned his car and crawled to safety. When rebuilt, it has established enormous commerce that was unavailable using ferry's.
And the view after passing, taken by Christy..
This is an example of some of the magnificent homes along the way to Boston Harbor, just north of Olympia..
Then we arrived at Boston Harbor..
This smallish marina is out of the '40's, with old wooden docks, only 20 amp power supply, and no shops or stores. The marina office is popular, however, with the "freshest and cheapest" seafood anywhere! They will receive a fresh load of seafood, and immediately send out a mass e-mailing to hundreds of loyal customers who flock to the marina and purchase. They also have three items in abundance....Croc's, knitted stockings, and fresh baked pies. The "pie lady" lives near by, and we bought a blackberry that was delicious indeed. The next day, we headed to Olympia and met her in her shop in downtown. She told Christy that she started out selling pies at events and after seeing that she could make $1,000 per day, she went into it full time. She gave us two more pieces at the store...
The grounds around the capital are beautiful, as these pictures will show...
And the dome from the inside, with a gold-leafed seal on the floor...
This is the view looking toward the capitol from the Sound, but the view from the offices is toward the water...
Rhododendron everywhere...
And these Daffodils were "double bloomers"...note the greenhouse just for the grounds surrounding the campus..
The "totem" memorializing the original inhabitants
The WWI memorial was impressive...
The Vietnam memorial is unique
This is the WWII memorial, which has the names of the fallen inscribed in the shadow form of soldiers...
Although turned sideways, the barnacles on the pillings reveal the level of tides, which are 14 feet from high to low...we are leaving Olympia heading back north to either Bainbridge or Bremerton this morning...
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