Spending a Summer Night in Kingston
Scott and I had so much fun in Kingston last summer, that we decided to head back there again this past weekend. They host free concerts on the lawn during the summer and their Farmer’s Market runs from 10a-2p on Saturdays. The weather forecast was hot and sunny, which was perfect for an outdoor activity. Our good friend Randy was joining us – cast and all. Just two days before our trip, he had to have emergency surgery after breaking a few fingers. What a trooper! Then a few days before our trip, we found out that friends of ours on each of their boats, were also coming to Kingston!
Friday night was gorgeous and so we stayed the night at Elliott Bay Marina. There’s nothing better than grilling up dinner on deck and watching the sunset. Plus, it was the century’s longest lunar eclipse Friday night, so the setting was breathtaking. The photos really do not do it justice.
Heading to Kingston
Kingston is just west across Puget Sound about a 30 minute boat trip from Seattle (if you are traveling 24mph).
I called the Port of Kingston around 11am to see if we could check-in, but the previous boat had not yet left. Check-out is at 12pm, so we planned on leaving our marina around 12pm.
Just outside of our marina, was a huge cargo looking type ship. Turns out it was the USNS Bob Hope; the lead ship of her class of vehicle cargo ships for Army vehicle prepositioning. It is a naval ship of the United States named after Bob Hope, the entertainer. I’m not sure why it was anchored out there, perhaps it was here for the SeaFair celebrations.
The trip to Kingston was smooth and fast. The only issue we ran into (literally) was all of the algae. It was in full bloom everywhere, especially across the sound. We kept a vigil eye out for logs hiding in the algae. Here’s a photo of the algae at our marina at the “Yacht Dock”….yuck!
Farmer’s Market & Lunch “Downtown”
The Port of Kingston crew were very friendly and it was easy to get in. Our friends, Ben & Maria arrived just shortly after us (they were just in Poulsbo with us). The three of us headed up to the Farmer’s Market, which was located on the main lawn where the concert is. This was more of a craft fair market, rather than a farmer’s market. Don’t expect to walk away with a bunch of fresh vegetables – jewelry, yes!
One booth we ran into and were excited to talk to was Beacon Small Batch. They are working on their distillery license, but in the meantime, she is hand making awesome mixers! We bought the bloody mary mix. Be sure to check them out!
The three of us, walked around town (which is all of 3 blocks) and grabbed some lunch. While the service and food wasn’t very good, the view was great! As were the bloody mary’s!
Poor Randy always looked like he had a question!
Hanging out on the dock
For the rest of the afternoon we all hung out on the boat and we baby sat our friend’s dog Buddy. It was such a relaxing afternoon!
I noticed across the rocks from us, this beautiful sea bird. He stood there and watched us for over an hour.
The concert started at 6pm and we headed up to grab our spot on the lawn. Everyone brought a picnic and beverages. The funniest thing we saw was a dancing cockatoo during the concert.
The temperature was perfect Saturday night and we all soaked up the beautiful sunset.
The best part of the night, was watching our friends Ben and Maria fish for squid. Be sure to watch our YouTube video for the full episode. Basically, you do need under lights like Ben has on his SeaRay. This attracts the squid, but be careful because they do shoot out ink. All that black you see is ink!
Heading back home
The trip back home was uneventful and very pleasant. Being only 30 minutes away, it was almost too quick. But Scott and I had some boat chores and needed to get home.
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Lots of things are happening right now with us and our boat – so be sure to stay tuned. We should have an update later this week. (ooooh, the excitement right?!) Thanks again for following us and feel free to share with your friends and family.
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Cheers, Scott and Ally
