To Olympia

You may recall that I’ve said how isolated I sometimes feel when boating in the Broughton Islands. Off the northeastern tip of Vancouver Island, it’s not uncommon to see only one or two passing boats in a day. We once spent three days in Drury Inlet without seeing anyone.

Like I said, isolated.

The experience can be similar at the southern end of Puget Sound. It’s odd because there are certainly a lot of people in the area. Tacoma is to the north, Olympia to the south, and hundreds of permanent and holiday homes line the shores. Nevertheless, we shared anchorages with no more than two other boats every night on our journey to Swantown Marina in Olympia.

By the way, that’s the Tacoma Narrows Bridge above us in the cover photo.

McMicken Island

McMicken is a funny place, a tiny Island that is mostly a state park, but with a sliver of private property at one end. There’s a short loop walk, but the real attraction is the pathway to the “mainland” (actually Hartstine Island) that appears and disappears with the tide. It’s Washington’s answer to St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, England.

Speaking of Merry Olde England, someone decided that their house could be improved by adding a turret. Or is it a well-illuminated grain silo?

The faithful Zephyr awaits as we begin our walk on shore.

You’re looking at the entirety of McMicken Island from the connecting tombolo. The small, private homestead is on the right.

A stroll to the Hartstine shore will have to await low tide.

This teeny “house” greeted us as we approached the homestead fenceline. I imagine it’s a pumphouse, but who knows? A nightclub for river otters?

We saw this on the south side of the tombolo. Since we’ve found people digging shellfish on previous visits, I assume it has something to do with that.

Low tide the next morning gave us the opportunity to explore the sometimes-seabed.

Stretch Island

Stretch Island is connected to the Olympic Pennsula by a modern type of tombolo, commonly known as a bridge. Consequently, it’s covered in houses, save a small marine park and a kid’s camp at one end. We shared the park’s buoys with a family having a ton of fun with the many water toys they had aboard. Mary Anne took her paddleboard ashore and went for a swim. I sat aboard in the sun and read Cormac McCarthy.

No activity at all at the camp while we were nearby.

It wouldn’t be a proper blog post if I didn’t include at least one flower.

Jarrell Cove – Hartstine Island

Jarrell Cove, on the western side of Hartstine, was the exception to my claim of Broughton-like isolation. True, there were only two other visiting boats, but the cove also includes a marina and drive-up state park.

This buoy must have been in the water quite a while. The metal was paper thin in places.

There were some sketchy live-aboards at Jarrell Cove. This was one of the better ones. Did you ever visit the Jumbo floating restaurant in Hong Kong? Imagine this, but a lot bigger. With good food.

Hope Island

We like Hope Island. The loop walk is interesting and long enough to properly stretch your legs. The farm that was established by a former owner, who also founded Olympia Brewing, remains. Apples are yours for the picking.

Call me crazy, but from this angle the goiter looks like an octopus coiled into a ball with one eye peeking at passersby.

Swantown Marina – Olympia

We had planned to overnight at Hope Island, but the wind didn’t die in the afternoon as expected and our location wasn’t well-protected. A mid-afternoon change of plans sent us to Swantown Marina a day early to take advantage of the sheltered location, and AC power to recharge Étude’s batteries.