Foot Ferry Romance

Thank goodness it's still nice and sunny here in Seattle, and I haven't packed my summer clothes up for winter storage just yet. On the contrary, I suddenly wanted to wear something I haven't worn all summer like this little linen jacket and crinkle top (both are thrifted) with my last summer purchase - cotton pants (one of my very first outfits shown in this blog here). By the way, I realized that I only wore these pants a couple of times before, I wonder why that is. Fun print, comfy fit and cute look, what else do you need in your trousers? Go figure.

Indian totem pole near the foot ferry terminal in Port Orchard, WA

Originally we planned another date, Justin and I - but circumstances kept us in town last Sunday, and Monday (Labor Day and the last day of the long weekend) was not enough to go as far as we planned. So we came up with this date quite spontaneously. I just recently learned that there is such a thing as a "foot ferry" here in Washington State. I was familiar with this type of ferry from my childhood - my grandparents lived in a village located on a bank of the gorgeous rocky Angara River, and the only way to come for a visit to their village was by waterway - either by a small motorboat (which my uncle had) or by a little ferry. It always seemed so special to me as a child. So imagine how excited I was when I discovered that we can take a foot ferry from Port Orchard, a small town on the Kitsap Peninsula, for only 2 bucks per person. Foot ferries were common in this area since the early 1900s, and we even used to have one which stopped right in front of the cottage we live now (the service stopped, unfortunately). The foot ferry we took from Port Orchard is one of only a very few left in the State (schedule here). This boat was made in 1990 in this old fashioned style with wood trimming and all. Honestly, I though it was older - back from 1950-60s. It was lovely!

Since we were planning to take this cute foot ferry from Port Orchard to Bremerton (another small town on Kitsap Peninsula which is actually a large navy base), I decided to check on what was happening in Bremerton and discovered the annual Blackberry Festival, about which Joni wrote her latest post - be sure to check it out! We actually happened to be there on the same day - imagine that! So many events take place in the greater Seattle area, and we picked the same one on the same day (it was a three day festival). No, we did not meet there, although that would be awesome!

And below is a ferry from Seattle - it's not even the biggest one in Washington (the biggest one holds 202 cars and many more passengers). It is probably the very ferry Joni and her husband took.

After a few minutes ferry ride, we saw the festival tents right on the waterfront walk. Even though the forecast was for mild 74 F, it felt much warmer and more humid, and I had to take my linen jacket off. We strolled to see what the vendors were selling, and were amazed with the variety of food vendors (we used to work festivals in a few other states, and food vendors were on a more modest, mostly traditional American side - here in Washington State, it seems that food from all around the globe is presented on street fairs, and the same goes for mall food courts). Though it might have changed since we left Midwest, who knows.

The Art Gate in the Bremerton Ferry terminal, I thought, was pretty cool. The mountains, the water, the reflections, the boats... all very recognizable indeed, I though the artist captured our surroundings really well in this piece. For those of us who did not have a chance to see the whole artwork (since you arrive to the terminal when the gate is wide open), they hung a little print to see the whole installation (photo below).

You can read about Michelle Van Slyke in this article.

Other than browsing craft booths and enjoying live music, you could take a tour of a military ship (we didn't) and just enjoy the surroundings while having a slice of blackberry pie (Justin and I shared one) with ice-cream, or even a glass of blackberry wine!

I did find a few things that interested me - this beautiful malachite pendant in the photo below for one (and you can see the texture of my little black top here too). The "frame" is pewter, and the necklace is brass (I did not know brass comes in such color). I was told by the vendor that if it was silver, she'd have to charge $100 for it. I only paid $35 and am happy with the way it worked out. She even gave me a choice of free little crystal earrings with my purchase (I picked turquoise color for Anya). I also bought a couple of little packets of dried lavender for our linen closet, a small bottle of lavender oil (which is great for so many things - like sleep, relaxation, helping with cuts and many more, I wanted to get it for a while now). I also purchased some strings of semi-precious stones very cheaply, I thought - $6 each. They will be a great addition to Fall styles.

And finally, a few details of my outfit. Love these cute little pockets on the linen jacket, such a romantic detail. I don't believe I showed you these earrings before - they are from Chico's, very fun and lightweight, and I wore them with quite a few outfits this Summer.

I thought I'd join Anne the Spy Girl for 52 Pick-me-up: Sunflower since my jacket is yellow, and then I realized that the pattern of my pants actually reminds of sunflower seeds, how cool is that!

Linen Jacket - J Jill via Goodwill

Top (rayon/polyester/linen mix) - thrift shop

Pants - Chico's clearance (last summer)

Sandals - Born via NRack

Earrings - Chico's clearance

Ring - boutique find (old)

Purse - TJ MAXX (old)