Ferry Boats. by violet

Don’t you love it when you actually have something interesting to say when people ask you, “so what did you do over the weekend?”

J. and I have been on many adventures around the Puget Sound but until this weekend we had yet to visit Vashon Island.

For those of you who don’t know, Vashon is an island across the sound and south from Seattle with a population about 10,000 and accessible by ferry. It was once know for agriculture but it is quickly becoming an extension of the Seattle suburbs.

So early Saturday morning we found ourselves at the Fauntleroy Ferry Station in the fog without coffee because we had a place on the island to go.

I should say, much like Derek Sheppard, I have a thing for ferry boats. Few things feel more Seattle than riding a ferry. To me they have an inherent and charming appeal. It’s a quick ride over to Vashon, probably only 20 minutes.

Our first stop was the Vashon Roasterie. This little coffee joint was everything that I wanted Vashon to be. It had creaky old wood floors, regulars had coffee mugs with their names on them hanging from an old book shelf. The woman who helped us could not have been more nice. She even informed us that if we stuck around for a little bit we could hear the Geezers, a bluegrass band that included the company’s founding roaster.

People filed in and out and chatted with one another about their plans to go “off island.” My favorite was definitely the older couple who both filled mugs with their names on them and split their weekly cinnamon roll. I know that they do this every Saturday because they were talking to the guy sitting behind me. I pretty much feel in love with the place. I would have taken a million pictures but people could already tell that we were tourist and I didn’t want to push my luck.

After that J. and I headed out to Point Robinson Park. Even though it was grey and drizzly we walked along the beach for a little bit and checked out the lighthouse. Lots of stuff to take pictures of so both J. and I were busy.

We headed back to the main strip of downtown Vashon and bopped around a few shops – I can never resist a good book store, especially a used book store as well stocked as the Vashon Bookshop. I walked away with I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb and A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Dideon. Both of which I had been meaning to read and you couldn’t beat the price. Again the women working at the store was lovely. We chatted a bit about Lamb’s first book She’s Come Undone and why, even though I generally avoid Oprah’s Book Club selections, she thought I would like this one.

After that it was lunch at the Hardware Store which had been recommended to us by friends. I was a bad blogger there and didn’t take any pictures, which is too bad because the place was really cute. I still have blogger shame attacks, especially in small places.

After lunch we poked around a few more places but since the weather was so crummy we decided to head back to the main land. While waiting for the ferry, we made friends with a couple black labs in the bed of the truck next to ours, for whatever reason they found J. and I totally fascinating. We had to resist the urge to take them home with us.

In the mean time, I’m keeping Vashon tucked in the back of my mind. Once the weather gets warm, I have dreams about visiting farms and taking a picnic out to the beach.