We decided to head a little farther North than usual with our extra time for this 3-day weekend. Originally we had planned to go to Blake Island however with the forecast predicting heavy rain all weekend we thought it better to take the girls somewhere with a little less goose & deer poop, so we set our sights upon Shilshole Marina.

We have only stayed at Shilshole one other time so we thought it would be fun to see the area again after several years.

As it turned out the weather wasn’t all that bad. After a heavy rain shower, the sun would break giving us plenty of time to get some walks and exploration in. Everywhere we went showed signs of spring. Trees in bloom, daffodils and pairs of ducks, geese and the like all around. We walked to Golden Garden Park a couple of times and even walked on the beach one day when the sun was shining and it wasn’t too windy.

Speaking of windy conditions on Saturday, at one point during the late morning the wind was averaging 25-35 knots with gusts up to 55 knots. As we walked along the marina we could hear the wind whip through the marina and the clanging of all the sailboat riggings. There was a sailboat race that day and it was fun to watch all the sailors ready their sailboats and Don their fowl weather gear in preparation. Apparently though, several boats were forced to call it quits early as the wind was damaging gear! We watched one small catamaran that somehow got too close to shore struggle and in the end had to be pulled ashore.

Friday evening We had a lovely dinner and watched the sunset at Rays Boathouse. Both Mike and I had their signature sablefish dishes which were delicious. If you have never been to Rays, we would highly recommend it. The service and food is excellent.

We also visited the local West Marine store, and walked along the fishing pier. Another fun-filled weekend on R Lil’ Ship in our local Puget Sound waters.