I have some friends who lived on Bainbridge Island for a time and I always enjoyed visiting whenever I had a chance. There used to be a cute little commuter airline I could take from the business terminal in Portland to Boeing Field in Seattle. It was always fun to be door to door in about the time it took to go through TSA for most people taking a flight! I’d meet my friend at the ferry in Seattle and coast over with her for my weekend visit. Good times.

I was interested to see how it felt to go back after many many years: whether it felt different. It did feel a bit more like a tourist town and more crowded. I didn’t totally remember the geography and some of the places we used to eat but it brought back some great memories and I had a lovely time.

I was looking forward to visiting with Angie, who had not been to Bainbridge before, and we had a really nice and varied day. Angie had already a lot of good ideas about what to do and everything fell into place quite nicely. 

But first, the arrival.

As Angie mentioned, we had arrived in Washington state the previous evening. We opted to lodge in Bremerton, for relative ease of access to Bainbridge and also because the hotels in Bremerton are not as expensive as those on the island. We had no idea that our hotel was smack bang up against the ferry terminal in the center of town, and had to drive around the block a few times to find the parking garage entrance. 

We did not really explore Bremerton, since our objective was really about Bainbridge in this phase of the trip.

After a mediocre hotel breakfast (but great customer service from the person staffing the buffet) we began the drive to Bainbridge, as there is no direct ferry link. It took about 45 minutes and then we were on Bainbridge and navigating our way to the Grand Forest East, where we planned to hike. I’d spent time in the forest before and this was a phase of the day that felt familiar and welcoming.

We were not 100% sure of our trailhead because people didn’t seem to be going the same way as our research showed (ok, full disclosure, Angie’s research!), but we parked and trekked off into the forest on the north end of a largish loop. We were not completely sure where we were going but there were waypoint markers on the trail that gave us an idea of the route, so we didn’t get lost. It was lovely to be in the tall trees and though it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t too unpleasant. We didn’t see a lot of birds other than juncos and chickadees (chestnut backed!) but at the start of the hike we did hear a Pileated Woodpecker. It would have been so cool to actually see it!

At the bottom of the loop we tried to veer off onto a second trail called the Hilltop Trail, but we misinterpreted the map so only ended up on a wide trail, and found ourselves at another parking lot. It was still lovely and we managed to cover just under 3 miles. Perfect for working up our appetite for the lunch spot Angie had picked out.

Proper Fish is considered by many to be Seattle’s best fish ’n’ chips. There are a few options on the menu but we were there for what was called the British fish & chips, a HUGE piece of battered cod on a bed of chips (french fries but nicely hand cut). We ordered our food and found ourselves a place to sit facing into the room (after a little chat with a very nice British couple who were in line behind us). It was a nice setting with a pretty basic set up, and super busy. Angie loved the fish but I found it to be a bit too heavily battered. I worked around the batter and enjoyed the cod and chips.

After lunch we walked down to the waterside where there were some really fun statues, and then wandered some more around the little downtown area, checking out some art spaces and a lovely bookshop (Eagle Harbor Book Company), where we somehow managed to resist the temptation to buy any books (since we would be flying home) but I did add several titles to my want to read list! 

After a little more wandering, we pointed ourselves towards Angie’s next planned destination in the same (very walkable) area. Blackbird Bakery is renowned for its gluten free offerings (as well as glutinous). Angie picked out a muffin to have for the next day’s breakfast, since the hotel doesn’t offer much in the way of GF (well nothing actually) and I picked out a butter croissant so I wouldn’t feel left out at the breakfast table. I found it hard to resist the hamantaschen that was on sale with Purim imminent. We also ordered a coffee each and it was served in a real cup, which is such a rarity these days! We enjoyed them while we watched the world go by from a bench in the courtyard outside the store.

We wandered around a little more, checking out a toy store and looking for one business that had been on Angie’s list to check out but seemed to be no longer extant, as Monty Python would say.

Next and last stop on the Bainbridge Island part of the day was to visit another winery that Angie had heard about that was founded by a former pro cyclist (Matt Albee). Wine and cycling, can you go wrong? In addition to having an inventive approach to winemaking, Eleven donates a part of their annual revenue to World Bicycle Relief and other other bicycle oriented charities. Eleven Winery (named after a former racing team) has a tasting room on Winslow Way (the main drag on the island) but we wanted to check out the winery location itself up on Day Road. Upon arriving, we learned that part of the facility was closed in preparation for a private event, so we sat outside to drink our wine.

Often when we visit a winery, we split a flight, since Angie doesn’t drink red wine and I prefer it to white, but on this visit, we both chose to have a glass of something each from their offerings. Angie selected the one rosé they had available on our visit, a 2022 La Primavera and I had to decide between the 2021 Tempranillo and the 2021 Malbec. Originally Spanish and Argentine varieties, these are actually two of my favorite wines, so I was interested to try a version grown on US soil. Since Malbec is my favorite wine (though I do love a Zinfandel—but not a white zin) I decided to see what that was like, and it did not disappoint. Angie enjoyed her wine, telling me it was quite pleasant. We relaxed outside and snacked on some trail mix that we had with us, since the winery was not providing its food offerings because of the private event. We enjoyed the time but as the private event geared up, we felt it was maybe time to move on. Before we left we bought some edamame chocolate, which we haven’t actually had a chance to try yet, and a pair of branded socks for me since I am low on socks that cover my ankles.

We stopped on the way back to the hotel at the REI in Silverdale. I had been looking for a new backpack for years and had not yet found something that had worked for me. We’d even stopped in an outdoor store on Bainbridge where I had concluded that a particular brand did not sit well on my body. While Angie was off on her own mission, I looked at several backpacks with the assistance of one of the super helpful store associates. After a while, Angie came over to offer her expert opinion too because she is pretty good at seeing what sits properly on my body. I picked one out and was really happy with my choice, as well as being able to use my dividend and a member discount to take a big chunk out of the cost. While I was investigating backpacks, Angie managed to find a jacket for herself that was a good deal and would serve to replace a jacket she had bought when we were traveling in Europe in 2014 that had seen better days. We felt like it was a very fruitful detour.

We ended our day back at the hotel with a light dinner of cheese, crackers, grapes, chips/pretzels  and some other goodies.