VanHorns Visit Vashon

Say that ten times fast. Last Sunday, cloudy Sunday, we decided to visit Vashon Island. You have to drive onto a ferry to get there. I like driving through neighborhoods near the water to see all the kickass views some people have and wonder what it would be like if I lived there. Fauntelroy is a nice neighborhood. It's fun to say too - Fauntelroy. Here's the ferry at Fauntelroy:

$27 for a car and family of 4 to ride it. Now I know why Vashon isn't considered a tourist destination. How do people who live on the island afford to come and go? The attendant told us residents get a small discount , but not much. There must be something special about this place that people are willing to be stuck out in the sound to live there. Goodbye mainland:


Here's our car. On a boat!

And here we are coming into port. I look like I'm going to a heavy metal concert.


Vashon is interesting. Beautiful and hilly and woodsy with great views of the sound.

No real tourist attractions though, and I get the impression they're just fine with being a small town in the middle of the sound. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. It's refreshing, really. We surmised that the inhabitants were either 1. artists, 2. retired, 3. small business owners, 4. sustainable farmers, or 5. rich. It was also nice to see their library open on Sunday. (In L.A., due to budget cuts, the libraries were closed on the weekends.) Next to their library was Ober Park, and this great playground:

with cool local tile work embedded all around. I love it when it's obvious that a community supports local art and encourages their artists to put their unique stamp on an otherwise run-of-the-mill spot, like the footrest beneath a bench.


On to another spot, Point Robinson Lighthouse.

Where apparently, visitors are compelled to create their own driftwood installations along the shore:

Why?

Just because.

Erik and I have been talking about getting a boat (after, of course, we get a house and a washer and dryer and a t.v. and a tortoise). The boating lifestyle is so appealing.

Driving around along the shore and over the hills and through the woods, we came upon The Quartermaster Inn and Restaraurant just in time for dinner. (My recommendation - the steamers with a nice leafy green mojito.)


We were treated to a lovely patio concert by this guy. (Note to self - write down names.) The live acoustic soundtrack couldn't have been any more perfect for that time and place. He played all my favorite songs - old folk ballads, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, plus a Christopher Robin song and the obscure "I Love Trash" (by Oscar the Grouch) for the kids.

Sage is in the foreground with his two addictions - that hat, which he never takes off, and a Goosebumps book, which he never leaves home without.

Time to go. We were on the opposite (south) side of the island by this time, so we took the ferry to Tacoma. Exiting ferries are free, or at least we think they're free since no one asked us to pay. I suppose it's included in the entering ferry fee, which makes that $27 not such a bad deal after all.

Lastly, here's the sunset over the sound...