Washington Academy of Languages

Photo Credit: Debbie Chan

Recently, I was going to go to Bainbridge Island with a small group of WAL students as a Saturday activity.  But, due to some unforeseen reasons, my expectations were wrong.  The activity did not draw as many students as I thought it would, and the lone student who wanted to come, cancelled at the last moment.

So there I was…. at our usual WAL meeting spot at a Starbucks store in Pioneer Square, but with no students and no where to go!  What was I to do? Just go home, or go shopping in downtown Seattle to enjoy my free afternoon?  Nope, I thought. I decided that I STILL wanted to go to Bainbridge Island  – even if I went alone.

As I walked to the Colman ferry dock in a harried rush (I had just about 8 minutes left before the ferry departed), it dawned on me that I could do something I’ve never done before… I could take the ferry to Bainbridge, and from the ferry dock,  ride a bus to POULSBO, Washington, instead! AH –HAH!  I had done some earlier research and knew about this bus route on Bainbridge that would allow me to do this.  And, boy … I was SOOOOO happy that I did it! 

You should try this sometime:

1. Walk onto the Bainbridge Ferry to Winslow (a town on Bainbridge Island, for about $6.75), and near the ferry dock, take Kitsap Transit bus #90, which drives through Bainbridge, and takes you straight to POULSBO within 30 minutes! It’s just $2 each way! And the route is exceptionally beautiful… it also takes you over Agate Pass waterway, which is awesome to see and cross over! (Note: bus #90  is the only running bus on Bainbridge Island on Saturdays, and this route is  different on Saturday than on  a weekday. Check with Kitsap Transit for their schedules and routes, or see:  http://www.kitsaptransit.org/)

2. The bus lets you out about 3-4 short blocks away from Front Street, the old Scandinavian part of Poulsbo with all the touristy shops, bakeries (yum), bookstores, restaurants, along with a great marina and city park to relax your tired feet from all that exploring. For me, strolling through this district was really fun. I haven’t been in Poulsbo in years, but I enjoyed feeling like a “tourist” in Seattle’s own backyard!

Photo Credit: Debbie Chan

3.  After a delicious sit-down lunch at JJ’s Fish House, and some serious shopping at  Indigo Plum (the “you wouldn’t think you would find this in Poulsbo” kind of specialty shoe & outdoor clothing store nestled away with awesome bargains), I  knew it  was time to buy some delicious bread from Sluv’s Poulsbo Bakery, and to begin my trek back to Seattle.

Photo Credit: Debbie Chan

4. Now, to get back on bus #90, I had to go to a totally different bus stop than the one coming into Poulsbo. From town, just walk about 15 minutes to the Poulsbo Transit Center.  Catch the #90 back to the ferry dock, wait for your ferry, and voila!  Before you know it – you’re back in Seattle!

As you can see, I thoroughly ENJOYED my alone time exploring a new route, a new town, in a totally new way.  OK, so I didn’t have any students with me. But you know what—I’m going to take some with me next time… because this experience was just too good to keep to myself (did you gather that, too?)!

– Debbie Chan, Activities, WAL

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under WAL Info, Fun Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.