Port Orchard and Gig Harbor

Monday, July 18, 2017

We couldn’t ask for better weather for being outdoors than we have had since we have been here.  Cool mornings (we are in the woods at our campground) and warm afternoons.  Most of the time it is in the mid to high 70’s and today in the low 80’s.  Great weather for being outside and even along the water.

Driving in this congested area of the state has not been my idea of fun.  Lots of traffic going both north and south on I-5 but so far, except for the first day here, we have avoided being out at peak times.  Today we drove north and west through Tacoma and over the Narrows Bridge to the large island where we found Port Orchard and Gig Harbor.  We head to Port Orchard first and will stop in Gig Harbor as we head back later in the day.

For those who like the sweet romance stories of Debbie Macomber, Port Orchard is the basis for the town of Cedar Cove in her series of books with address titles and the Hallmark series with the same name. 

Port Orchard is located on the Sinclair Inlet of Puget Sound and across from Bremerton.  

Looking across to Bremerton

Port Orchard was settled in 1854 by settlers who built homes on the wooded shores and named the community Sidney.  Sawmills and shipyards formed and in 1903 the name of the town was changed to Port Orchard and it became the county seat for Kitsap County.  Today it is a cute little community with antique and specialty shops with hiking, boating, biking and other outdoor activities in abundance.  Numerous murals caught our attention and we enjoyed a walk along the water capturing a picture of the murals and this totem pole.

GigHarbor is located just over the Narrows Bridge from Tacoma and is a really cute and quaint fishing community where it is obvious there is lots of money by the looks of the homes and boats to be found here along the shores.  

Gig Harbor can be found along the Colvos Passge of Puget Sound.  The Bay here was discovered by chance by members of the 1841 Wilkes expedition seeking refuge from a storm.  They named the bay for their gig, a type of boat. 

We take a drive along the waterfront taking in the beautiful waterfront scenery and the lovely homes along the shore. 

 I really like this community much more than Port Orchard.  We stop to have lunch at a local restaurant on the water called “Tide’s Tavern” 

and enjoyed waiting for lunch and the lunch while sitting inside next to a window overlooking the boat dock outside and the homes across the Bay as well as boats traveling up and down the waterway.  The restaurant has its own dock so boats can dock and come into the restaurant for a meal rather than coming by car. 

We saw a site we did not expect across the bay.  It was an Italian gondola floating near the opposite shore.  I learned that a gentleman from California discovered Gig Harbor, moved his family here and started his business taking advantage of his love of Italian boats and the calm waters of the Bay to give customers something different to do around town.  Cute.  I didn’t learn if he sings along the way.

The gondola is on the far left side

Mural next to an old local grocery store

Stairway up the hill

Mt. Rainier off in the distance

We return to the campground where we spent some time with another RV couple.  The lady grew up in Gig Harbor and she and her husband now spend only the summer months here and live the remainder of the year in Goodyear, AZ.  We are looking forward to continuing our friendship with them this winter when we too are in Arizona.  While we belong to RVillage and had hoped we would meet others in the group at campgrounds we stay at, there seldom are any others.  Instead we are meeting other campers and have found several couples this summer who spend their falls and winters where we do.