For Christmas this year, I tried to think of a gift that we all could enjoy... and decided to plan 12 trips, one for each month, around where we lived and I decided that a good place to help me pick them would be a calendar of Washington Scenery. My plan was to go to the location that was depicted in that month's calendar image. January's picture was from Gig Harbor.

Slide area
The route to Gig Harbor included a trek past the slide area on Highway 18. It was raining pretty good when we passed by the slide, and the camera decided that the drops on the windshield were more important for some reason... this was the best picture I got.

Wilkinson Farm
We stopped in Wilkerson Farm, in Gig Harbor. It was a farm at one time, but now its a 16 acre state park, with several trails snaking through it.

Checking out the wetlands
The little guy really took a liking to the berries on the bushes for some reason. The marshy area also had a lot of birds and squirrels to attract his attention, too.

Mud!
Of course, all that paled in comparison when it came to the trail being muddy!

Walking on the grass
After he almost slipped, he was very careful about walking on the grass next to the muddy trail... he was very careful about it!

Picking up a stick
He saw some water, and couldn't find any rocks... so I stepped on the end of a stick so he could get it.

'That was awesome'
He threw it in, and then exclamed 'That was awesome!' =]

Wiping off some poo
At one point, he stepped in some dog doo... so dad's job was to clean it off.

The 'big bridge'
When we were heading out, I was listing the things he'd see on the trip. 'The big bridge', which was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, was one of them. He was impressed by it, but as soon as he saw this boardwalk over the wetlands area, he said 'Look daddy, the big bridge!'

Taking a picture of berries
We let him hold the camera for a while, so he could take some pictures... he was enamored with the berries!

The picture he took
Here's the picture he took in the picture above... not bad at all -- especially for a 2-year old!

Running across the bridge again
He ran back and forth across the 'big bridge' a few times... he does very well when we drive places... but we figured he had some steam to burn off, so we just watched him have fun.

Taking a pictue of dad
Here's a picture he took of me filming him...

His view of the bridge
Here's a picture he took of the bridge... he really does't do too bad.

Another picture of dad
When I walked out a bit to get a picture of the Barn, which was why we stopped at the park, he took a picture of me.

The barn
The barn was built in 1914, but William Wilkerson was killed during its construction, which was about 6 years after buying the property.

Front view
His wife and family continued farming the property, and raised enough dairy cows to establish a mik route in Gig Harbor.

Another angle
The family finished building the barn without professional help. They then built a house, replacing the log cabin that William had built to move his family into after purchasing the property.

Old windows
The windows in the barn came from their old house, which was on the waterfront in Gig Harbor.

An old tree
The house has seen better days, and all that remains of the original structures is the barn, and these chicken coops. The tree has a branch that is just begging to have a rope tied to it!

Checking out the pool
The little guy liked the pool they had out front of the barn.

His view of the pool
This is the picture he took of the pool, which obviously doens't hold water anymore. My guess is that they used it to water their cows.

Playing with some dogs
As we were heading out the little guy got to play with some very friendly Golden Retrievers... which he enjoyed quite a bit

'Hi Doggie'
He really likes dogs...

Gig Harbor
We stopped in town for a look at the harbor, and lunch... since it was right there, we stopped in Anthony's, a very nice restaurant.

Nice view
The view we had from our table was outstanding... and very similar to the picture in the calendar.

Wolfing down the calamari
We learned that he really likes Calamari... of course he doesn't know what it was, but he liked it anyway... he actually preferred the tentacles.

The Harbor
The harbor was very quiet and still... which made for a good picture, Ithought anyway.

Old Indy
After checking out the town a bit more, We went from there up to Bremerton, taking a lieserly drive to give the little guy time to nap while we enjoyed the scenery and talked... it was nice. We stopped at the gate to the Navy base, to check out the ships docked there.

USS Indianapolis
The huge ship is mothballed, in 'standby', which means that while its not active, its kept in a state where it could be brought to service in 6 months or so... its looking a bit more run-down than I remember seeing it, though.

His view
He actually was more impresed with the ducks in the water, and the little 'boats' that were tied to the side of Indy.

Waiting for the Ferry
From there, it was a short drive to the ferry, which pretty much by accident, was unloading just as we got there. After a 20 minute wait or so, we were loading onto the boat, and getting ready to head across the Sound

Riding the Kitsap
We were on the Kitsap. I take pictures of the name plates, and eventually, I'll take all of them and assemble them into a 'ferry' page.

Pulling away
The little guy really got excited when the ferry left the dock. 'Look daddy! We're moving!'

Watching the logs drift by
He liked watching the wake, and the logs floating in the Sound drift by.

His view
Here's a picture he took of the wake.

Passing another ferry
We went inside and sat in a booth for a while... he really liked passing another 'big boat'!

Listing around a curve
I was pretty surprised to see how much the ferry listed as it went around a turn...

Nearing Seattle
We went back down to the Mariner as we got close to Seattle to get ready to drive off

Alki Point Lighthouse
We passed by Alki Point lighthouse... nice view!

Space Needle
In a bit of a haze from the drizzly weather, the Space Needle was still pretty impressive.

Driving Home
After that we drove home, and on the way, the little guy snapped this shot of his feet. =] We had a great time, and hopefully, the other trips will be as fun as this one was. Next stop: Blaine and Peace Arch Park, with an overnight near Bellingham, and a hike in Whatcom Falls Park... Fun times!

 

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