Every year we head over to the Port of Kingston with the same group of friends, but this year we mixed things up a bit. Normally we leave on Saturday morning, but our group decided to make it a two night visit. Kingston is about 12 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina and in our previous boat (Bayliner Ciera 3055) the trip would take us about 35 minutes going 20-23 knots. In Our Happy Day the trip required a little more than hour at 9-10 knots.
Our crew left on Friday afternoon, July 19th, around 4:15pm with calm winds and warm sunshine. The one catch about our departure was that this is also the time that the three cruise ships leave the port in Seattle. We had to navigate (not only tons of crab pots), but we were stuck between two cruise ships. The wake from this cruise ship would sink a kayaker!
There was a lot of activity in the bay as we arrived to Kingston. The Coast Guard was out when we arrived and when we left. Again, be sure to watch out for crap pots – they were everywhere in the bay. I had hoped to see some whales, as they were spotted all over Puget Sound the past few days, but no luck. We did see a few harbor seals, who swam by to say hello.
The marina is easy to get in and out of – especially when your friends are already there. Our boat was in slip 19, Cory & his wife Stacy were next to us in 20 and Ben & Maria were in 22. The catch here was, all of the slips were the same size! Ben’s Sea Ray is 28′ and our boat LOA is 49′. Yep, you guessed it…we barely fit. In fact, the harbormaster made us move the boat back as the anchor platform was sticking over the dock. By doing that, our swim platform didn’t really line up with the dock, but we managed. Even more remarkable was how well Scott docked it in a tight spot!
I should have taken a picture, but as you can see by this photo of the Coast Guard, our neighbor’s dinghy is inches from ours. (Our dinghy has the tower, his is the other one)
The Point Casino in Kingston
On the trip with us, was Scott’s brother Jeff, his wife Michele and Randy who comes every year. Jeff and Michele were celebrating their anniversary, so they were staying at The Point Resort and Casino.
After checking in and enjoying a cocktail, it was time to head to the casino. Here’s a tip! If you are staying at the resort, they recommend making reservations for the shuttle,;however, I also called a local cab company days prior and he said it would be much faster if we called them. (No, they don’t have Uber or Lyft). So I called the cab company and not only did they not answer the phone, they texted back saying they were extremely busy. When I said I had 9 people to go to the casino, he replied “no way, you should have made reservations”. ?? Hmmmm, I just talked to you two days ago, why didn’t you tell me that then? Now what?
Good news is that there happened to be a shuttle already there from the casino, so we hopped on and off we went. The last shuttle back to the marina is at 9:30pm, so you want to make sure you don’t miss it!
The First Night in Kingston
Since we were back early from the casino, we all headed to our boat where we shared funny stories and had some great laughs. One thing about traveling with Ben and Maria – there’s never a dull moment. I think every time Maria and I get together, we laugh so hard it hurts the next day!
We recently bought a new SLR camera. I tried to capture some shots in manual mode of the rising moon, but you really need a tri-pod to keep it steady.
What to do in the Port of Kingston?
Okay, so this is our third time there and there’s not much to do at all. But, what we do love about it, is we can all just hang out on the dock, soak up some sun, have a cocktail and then go to the concert in the park.
We started the day at the farmer’s market right at the marina. Unfortunately, it’s not a very big one and they don’t have a lot going on – but it’s fun none the less.
Of course we did try to mix things up a bit and so we headed into “town”. Town is basically a two block stretch.
The Kingston Pub Crawl
We decided to do a mini pub crawl, but with only a few restaurants/bars, that was hard to do. First stop was Kafe’ Neo, where we sat outside and enjoyed Mango Sangrias. Yum, is all I have to say about that!
Next we stopped at the Kingston Ale House and sat outside soaking up the sun! They had fantastic huckleberry mules that were to die for! We also tried their smoked salmon chowder, which was amazing. The clams were great, but they come with A LOT of garlic!
By now it was only 1pm and nothing else really jumped out at us. So we headed back to the boat, to enjoy some sunshine.
Concerts in the Park
Every Saturday during the summer, the Port of Kingston has a free concert in the park. They do have a wine & beer garden (nothing too fancy) and a few few trucks. We always bring our own dinner and beverages. it’s a very casual event, so bring your blankets, chairs and coolers. The concert ran just a few hours, then we headed back to the boat for a few more cocktails.
What Boating Life is All About
Scott and I love the boating life and the friendships we have created as a part of it. There’s something unique about boaters that brings us all together – we always have a great time. Even if we run out of gas on our way to the Port of Kingston – right Ben? LOL (no we did not!)
Squidding at Night – is that a word?
Last year, Ben and Maria were catching squid with their blue lights on their Sea Ray. So now that they are pros, they did it again! This time, they had a better plan to keep the ink out of the boat. Maria unhooked the jig on the dock, to keep the boat clean. Afterwards, Ben, Maria and Randy cleaned the squid (in the dark) on the dock. I wish I had better pictures!
Another Gorgeous Trip Home
Winds were light and variable for our trip home from the Port of Kingston. Mount Rainier was out, sail boats were everywhere and it truly was one of the best days of the year!
As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We’ll have a new YouTube episode coming soon with our trip! Next week we are headed to Port Orchard for the first time! #BoatingJourney
Cheers, Scott & Ally
