Not Quite Stonehenge, But Nearly as Strange

I first spied the oddly convoluted landscape, now known as Chambers Creek Properties, from the deck of the tall ship Adventuress, several years ago. I had no idea what it was. Shortly after we sailed south of Point Defiance in Tacoma and under the Narrows Bridge, I noticed the bare acreage off the ship's port side. Wide open and sculpted, it stretched from the waters of Chambers Bay to the top of a long hill, between the wooded residential area of University Place  and the historic town of Steilacoom, Washington's oldest incorporated community. Here and there at the base of the hill stood the unidentifiable remains of massive concrete structures. I could tell that some serious alteration of the earth's surface had taken place there, and not by the hand of Mother Nature.

From Gravel to Golf

Later, I learned the history of this strange place, a saga going back over 200 years, to a time when the local Native Americans from the Steilacoom tribe lived in the area. The first non-native settlers arrived in 1832, with the Hudson Bay Company, and built Fort Steilacoom just south of the property. By the 1850s, as more forts were being erected around Puget Sound, the site already had a primitive gravel mining operation and soon became home to other industries to do with milling, timber, and gravel. Now, this expanse of well over 900 acres is owned by Pierce County and the former gravel pits have been reshaped to become a world class designation for golfers, selected as the site of the 2015 U. S. Open Championship tournament.

Even though I'm not a golfer, I wrote a previous blog post about this place after visiting the Chambers Bay Grill, and admiring both the view and the excellent food. That visit took place during the heat of summer, when the long walk down to the bay sounded fine but the prospect of walking all the way back up did not. So it wasn't until the first weekend in February 2012 that I actually took the time to walk the paved trails that wind through the grassy fields and past what remains of the mining operations, all the way to the beach via a lovely bridge that arches over the railroad tracks. Sunday morning, my husband and I arrived early at the grill and enjoyed a breakfast I'm still thinking about, perfectly prepared and generous. Then we drove (yes you can drive) down the long curving road to a parking lot below, where walkers had just begun showing up, many with their dogs.

Come along with me as I visit this interesting place once again, through my photos.

Ahoy! Nautical News (just in time for Father's Day)

The 1913 tall ship ADVENTURESS, Puget Sound's own "Environment Ship"   Photo courtesy of Sound Experience

Living in the Puget Sound area's maritime environment means plenty of interesting things to do, explore, and learn about, in connection with the sea. Today I have three items of nautical news to share with you that can enrich those experiences.

1.) Fyddeye Guide and Book Trailer

I love hearing from my friend Joe Follansbee, because he's always up to something exciting. I met this interesting man aboard the tall ship ADVENTURESS during a public sail on Elliot Bay. By that time he had already authored several books, including "Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: the Story of the Schooner Wawona."  Next, he started a website called "Fyddeye,"  an online community for people interested in maritime history, including old ships, lighthouses, museums and much more.

Then it wasn't long before I found myself writing about Joe again, when he published the Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History. It's the perfect gift for any Dad who has an interest in maritime history (even if he doesn't know it, yet!) But wait. There's more. 

Just this week Joe told me about his new video trailer for "The Fyddeye Guide." I expected it to be informative, but it turned out to be funny too. When you watch it, you'll chuckle, but you can also learn how to get the useful free gift Joe has waiting for you. No purchase required. Enjoy!

2.) Help the historic tall ship ADVENTURESS on JUNE 23 through the Seattle Foundation's "GiveBig" program

I never would have met Joe Follansbee or learned about his books, if I had not gone sailing on the tall ship ADVENTURESS, owned by the non-profit organization Sound Experience.  I've written about this elegant old wooden schooner a number of times.

Here are a few earlier blog posts:

Adventure on ADVENTURESS: A Tale of Tall Ships

Setting Sail for the Future

Serving My Country With Sandpaper

Tall ship ADVENTURESS on Puget Sound. Photo courtesy of Sound Experience

It takes a lot of money to maintain a 1913 schooner and the important programs Sound Experience offers. This organization provides everyone, including about 3,000 children and teens per year, with the opportunity to sail on this historic vessel and learn about the environment of Puget Sound. If you're thinking of making a tax-deductible donation to Sound Experience during 2011, PLEASE do it on June 23, when the Seattle Foundation with match a portion of your donation if you make it through a link on their website.

FATHER'S DAY GIFT IDEA: How about treating Dad to a Sound Experience membership, with its many benefits, including sailing on the ship for free. You can do this right now, online here. If you your father is deceased, you might considered remembering him on Father's Day by making a donation in his name.

And last, but certainly not least:

3.) New Exhibit at Tacoma's Working Waterfront Maritime Museum

Photo by Jan Adams

If you've never been to this maritime museum, part of the Foss Waterway Seaport on Commencement Bay in Tacoma, you've missed out on a regional treasure. An afternoon spent there would make the perfect Father's Day gift. Kid-friendly and fun, this place will fascinate the whole family, and the new exhibit that opened last weekend is especially exciting. Come see "Wheels, Whistles, and Wonder: the Extraordinary Maritime Collection of Bill Somers."

How I wish I could take my father with me to see Bill Somer's collection again, but he passed away last year at age 96. He drove a freight truck back in the days when a man named Charles Somers and his son C.W."Bill" Somers started the St. Charles Winery on Stretch Island, just after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. At that time wine was "fortified," and that involved the addition of sugar which Dad picked up in Tacoma and delivered to the winery. Every time he arrived with his load, the two young men saw each other, and they became well acquainted.

Later on, when Bill used the old winery to house his vast collection of maritime memorabilia, Dad visited now and then, when out for a drive with my mother or friends. But the years passed and things changed. Mom died and Dad moved out of the family home and into an assisted living situation. He couldn't drive anymore. He missed that freedom to wander the roads and see people and places from his past.

On a sunny summer day that I'll never forget, not long before the end of Bill's life, my husband and I drove Dad out to Stretch Island again. I had never been there before. I remember the peaceful rural scene, the silent winery building and the old house on a hill overlooking the calm, blue waters of Hood Canal.


We were the only guests and enjoyed a personalized tour conducted by Bill himself, while the two old friends enjoyed each other's company. At one point, he pushed a button on a dusty old cassette player, and I shivered to hear what seemed like voices of ghosts, the actual whistle sounds of various vessels including the Mosquito Fleet steamers that once kept people, freight, and the local economy moving via the waters of Puget Sound.

Photo by Jan Adams

When I heard about the collection coming to Tacoma, I worried about that little cassette tape. Nothing else like it exists anywhere. What a relief it was to learn that those precious recorded sounds from the past are now safely preserved in digital format. You can hear them yourself when you visit this exhibit.

I will miss my father on this Father's Day. If you are lucky enough to still have yours, enjoy him while you can. Consider visiting the Working Waterfront Museum to create a memory you will savor in years to come, just like I do mine.

HOURS:Wednesday to Friday – 10:00 to 5:00 PM

Saturday/Sunday – Noon to 5:00 PM

ADMISSION: $7.00–Adults, $4.00–Children/Students/Military/Seniors 62+, $15.00–Family (up to 5 members)

Win $100,000 for the SCHOONER ADVENTURESS and a free sail for yourself

If you've been reading Good Life Northwest for awhile you know how much I love the schooner Adventuress. The flagship for the not-for-profit Sound Experience, this is Puget Sound's resident tall ship, one with an environmental mission. I've enjoyed many sails, beginning with the first during Tall Ships Tacoma, and have volunteered some time and elbow grease, sanding and cleaning. But as gorgeous as Adventuress still is, she's 97 years old and like any 97-year-old her "stern" just isn't in the same shape it once was. Repairs are expensive and desperately needed.

Here's your chance to help save this historic vessel for future generations, and at the same time possibly win a private sail for yourself and 44 of your closest friends. American Express has teamed up with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as "Partners in Preservation" and Adventuress is one of 25 historically and esthetically important "places" in the Puget Sound area competing to win $100,000. The voting period is from April 15 - May 12, 2010. Read all about it here and watch a video explaining how this works. Sound Experience is asking all those of us who love Adventuress to vote daily, and each time you vote just let Sound Experience know you have, and they will enter you again and again in a drawing for a free sail. Please join us in this effort TODAY. Every vote counts, every day.

Here are links to some of my past blog posts about Adventuress:
Adventure on Adventuress: a Tale of Tall Ships
Setting Sail for the Future - Life's Lessons Learned on a Tall Ship
Discoveries in Unknown Waters
Serving My Country With Sandpaper
Fyddeye-a new maritime history community



photos courtesy of Sound Experience

Fyddeye- a new maritime history community

Joe Follansbee has done it again. His knack for being the right guy with the right idea at the right time means good things happen that wouldn't otherwise. He just started an exciting new web community called Fyddeye to connect people who care about maritime history, on the local level and around the world. Now I want to help him spread the news.

If you're a regular reader you might remember me writing about this busy freelance journalist, webmaster, and author last April in a blog post called Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe . Even if you just discovered Good Life Northwest you might know Joe because of his involvement with 4Culture , the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, the Maritime Heritage Network, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Community, his numerous articles in Seattle area magazines, and his book, "Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona."

You won't find "fyddeye" in the dictionary. On the site, Joe says its source was a word that refers to a sail-making tool and the human eye. That's logical, since he always keeps an eye on what's happening in the world of maritime history and preservation efforts. And it's a good thing, because treasures from the past can disappear in the time it takes to blink, if nobody cares. If you didn't care before, you will after you become a fan of Fyddeye. It's a place for people Joe refers to as "maritime heritage advocates," lovers of historic ships and lighthouses, to read and contribute to news and information about preservation efforts, urgent needs, and successes.

It isn't all serious either. The tone is friendly and fun and I can see it becoming the web equivalent to places like the Point Defiance Boathouse here in Tacoma, where you see old friends hanging out with steaming cups of coffee, just catching up on the latest catch. Or maybe they just need to be around water and boats. Having grown up on an island, I know that homing instinct that makes me want to lean on a railing, smell salt air and hear the seagulls. And I care about old ships, like Puget Sound's "environmental ship," Adventuress, which I've written about many times.

So come aboard! Your friends at Fyddeye are waiting, just a click away. For now at least, you have to bring your own morning coffee. But you never know with Joe...




Copyright Candace Brown 20009

A Change of Perspective

North 30th Street in Tacoma, on a sunny spring day, feels like the world's longest playground slide. If not for realities like traffic and pedestrians I could lose myself in the panorama of sea, land, and sky, the fantasy of an open road and a fortunate failure of brakes. I can imagine the sensation of sliding downhill in a blur, yelling "Yahoo!" until I skidded right through Old Town and finally splashed into Commencement Bay. But if I had to walk up that hill it would look a lot different to me.

That view from the top, heading east, is part of my perspective. I know this city from familiar angles. I know its different neighborhoods, nice and not-so-nice, the downtown, the architecture, industrial areas, parks and pretty front yards. Seen from my usual routes it holds no surprises. I know it in all its grittiness and glory. Or at least I thought I did.

In the same self-confident way we believe we know our friends, our family and its history, what living in America is like, and what "normal" means. Our expectations when it comes to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness feel reasonable and deserved. But what is the real picture? It all depends on your vantage point.

Yesterday, while doing research for an article, I spoke to people from several local agencies that run or are involved with food banks. I learned two things. One is that everyday, all around me, other human beings including children and the elderly go hungry or face the risk of hunger. I also learned that there are caring people who wake up every morning determined to keep that from happening. But if our perspective comes from relative comfort and security problems, like hunger can be invisible to us.


Last Sunday I sailed aboard the tall ship ADVENTURESS on Commencement Bay. I'm not accustomed to looking at Tacoma from the water and it made me realize how much of what surrounds us we just don't see. The view of the city from that perspective charmed me in a new way. While driving the streets you don't appreciate how many old trees still grow in Tacoma, or how nineteenth century buildings and the graceful curve of a modern highway can be at peace with each other like different generations of a family around a dinner table. It all looked so different from the water side.

So do we really know our world, our neighbors, or our country? What do words like freedom, oppression, lucky, unlucky, young, old, rich, or poor really mean? It all depends on where you stand. Consider looking at things from a different perspective. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Time, Connections, and a Guy Named Joe

Time warped last Sunday, on Elliot Bay. It happened as I admired the view of Seattle's skyscrapers through the rigging of a 1913 schooner, and it made me ponder the nature of time and connection. Others aboard must have had those thoughts too. Like Joe Follansbee. We'd never met before but by strange coincidence both showed up for the public sail on the historic schooner ADVENTURESS, along with several people I know from Tacoma. It turned out he knew some of them too.

I was happy to see one of the teen-age girls from the Self & Sound program I've written about, with her family, and people associated with Tall Ships Tacoma. Somehow we had all ended up together on that gorgeous April day because of connection as strong and circuitous as a halyard around a sheave: our love of maritime history. That included the entire crew and Catherine Collins, Executive Director of Sound Experience, the not-for-profit organization that owns ADVENTURESS.

Everyone savored the afternoon, leaning against varnished surfaces that reflected the sun while holding its warmth. Enough of a breeze came up to arch out the yards of canvas and let us get a taste of what we'd come for: the timeless and organic triad of water, wind and wood. To the east the city spread out before us, so different now than the year ADVENTURESS was built. To the west the Olympic mountain range still white with snow, made a breathtaking border between blue water and blue sky. But of all the pleasures of the day, meeting Joe Follansbee and learning how deeply this man cares about Pacific Northwest maritime history, was one of the greatest. It seemed most fitting aboard a 96-year-old ship in the year 2009.

Joe Follansbee is a prolific writer and journalist with an impressive list of published articles in print and online, and four books to his name, including Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen: The Story of the Schooner Wawona. He was one of the people who tried to save WAWONA, and is one of many who now mourn the loss after her recent demolition at Lake Union Dry Dock. She’d been a celebrity since her beginnings in 1897: a three-masted beauty and the largest schooner ever built in America. On the deck of historic ADVENTURESS, wind in our faces, how could we not honor WAWONA’s memory and try to imagine her under sail?

Joe’s involvement with old ships goes beyond WAWONA. He’s project manager of the website Maritime Heritage Network, which is owned by 4Culture, King County's arts and heritage agency, and writes the MHN blog. He also serves as Director of Communications for the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, an educational organization that owns and operates two replica ships, the Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain. He keeps busy on issues of local history. He's one of the people who cares. Without people like Joe I'd never have had the chance to see the current Seattle skyline and the rigging of the historic ship juxtaposed.


After three hours on the water ADVENTURESS tied up again at the Elliot Bay Marina and we all went our separate ways. I turned to take a look at her among the modern yachts, the past alongside the present. But what of the future?

I don't know when, if ever again, I'll end up in the same place and time as Joe Follansbee. But I'm glad I met him. From the perspective of a writer, I admire and respect his work. As a human being I am grateful to him and all the others like him who are dedicated to preserving our past. Maybe we'll never truly understand the concept of time, but luckily for us, Joe Follansbee is making the most of his.

Serving My Country With Sandpaper

Imprisoned by fog that now seems permanent in Tacoma, I think about last Monday. On that morning the gray captor itself hid me as I slipped out of town on black ice. Over the bridge and north to Port Townsend I drove, never looking back, and in less than two hours I stood on a dock in Boat Haven, squinting into sunshine and a sky too blue for January.

“Let me take that from you,” said a voice above me. I saw the smiling face of someone already on board the old wooden schooner ADVENTURESS, reaching down for my bag. After passing it up I could grab the ladder, take the big step over water, and climb aboard. The gesture of lending a hand symbolized our purpose in being there. It was the National Day of Service. Along with other members of Sound Experience, the non-profit that owns the ninety-six-year-old ship, I’d come to spend the day doing maintenance, cleaning and repairs to this important piece of maritime history, so ADVENTURESS can continue in her current role: environmental education and youth leadership development. We naturally answered the call for help put out by Executive Director Catherine Collins, but so did a bunch of citizens who’d heard about the work party through an excellent story in the Peninsula Daily News, by Jeff Chew. Young and old, some had never been aboard a sailing ship but showed up anyway, saying “How can I help?” All were welcome. There was plenty of work to do, work money can’t buy, because there isn’t enough money to buy it.

President Obama, though not yet sworn in at the time, stressed the importance of this past Martin Luther King Day as a National Day of Service, and as presidents before him have done, asked citizens to help meet our country’s needs by volunteering. I am encouraged by figures indicating how Americans not only listened, but like the newcomers on ADVENTURESS, took action. Government statistics prove it was the largest such event ever, with over 12,100 volunteer projects, more than twice as many as last year. I’m encouraged because even before taking office our new president demonstrated leadership abilities strong enough to bring about that statistically demonstrable difference. Now it’s up to us.

Helping in a food bank, classroom, library or senior center may not seem like much compared to tackling huge issues like war and the economy. But volunteering matters. Ask the family in a small town whose burning house was saved by a volunteer fire department, the child struggling to learn to read, the nursing home resident, the recipients of Hospice care, the victims of disasters helped by the Red Cross, the club members who pick up freeway litter or organize canned food and clothing drives. Think especially of those risking their lives in war because they volunteered for military service. Each in their own way, Americans always come through when the need is there. I sanded spars and helped wash down a cabin.

A local nonprofit organization is a good place to find opportunities to help. Nonprofits contribute so much and struggle so hard, especially during tough times. When huge corporations fail, stores and factories close, and people lose their jobs, priorities change. Causes popular during more prosperous times, like helping the environment, can suffer. No matter what skills may or may not have, you can bring something of value to others as a volunteer, even if all you do is be a good listener or show some kindness. And if you have a certain interest, like I do in ADVENTURESS, with her historical significance and present purpose, you can pursue that interest while doing good.

As we begin 2009 during difficult times let us come together as a nation and each find a way to give at least a little of ourselves through volunteering. Years from now, when the child you mentored contributes to society, the tree you planted stands tall, your local salmon stream sparkles with clean water, the friendships you made have deepened, and maybe… just maybe… when our nation once again enjoys peace and prosperity, you might look back on these days as “the best of times” after all.

Some helpful links:

Corporation for National and Community Service
Volunteering in America
USA Freedom Corps
USA.gov for Nonprofits
Greater Tacoma Community Foundation

American Sail Training Association (ASTA)

Adventure on Adventuress: A Tale of Tall Ships

I woke on Sunday morning still feeling the thrill of the dream. The adrenaline rush of speed and power, wind whipping my hair, the sloping deck, the hiss of hull slicing water, still held me hostage. It felt like the first wild waves of some crazy love affair. I wanted more. I’d never before dreamed about sailing.

It had been years since I’d sailed, but as soon as I learned of the opportunity to do so again, in conjunction with Tall Ships Tacoma, some compulsion seized me and I knew I had to sign up. I’d received an email from Rachael Costner, of Sands Costner and Associates. As Advertising and Marketing Manager for Tall Ships Tacoma, and as the director of Womens' Resource, she was offering group reservations to sail on the historic schooner Adventuress. I didn't hesitate a minute! Within the day it was sold out. Last Saturday morning my husband and I were the first ones in line at the muster station on Tacoma’s waterfront.

The long-awaited day began atypically for the Northwest, a combination of warmth, gray clouds, high humidity, and calm. My imagination called for blue skies and a lively breeze. Who wanted to motor around Commencement Bay in a gorgeous ship built to fly on the wind? But shortly after we boarded and pulled away from the dock the drama began. Slowly at first, then faster, a breath of wind grew into more. Rain clouds threatened with a few spitting drops. On all sides, dark water danced.

Next we were put to work, because sailing on this ship is a “hands-on” deal. If the ninety-five-year-old Adventuress could talk it would be quite a tale, but now she’s owned by Sound Experience, a non-profit organization existing to give young people and adults a chance to learn about, and come to truly appreciate, the unique marine environment of Puget Sound. It’s also a chance for them to learn about, and come to love, sailing. We were all part of the crew that day. The first thing we did was help raise the sails.


Ships have voices and Adventuress first spoke to me when I heard the sound of the lines being pulled, that satisfying, rhythmic music of rigging and human effort. In the instant of unfurling, the canvas caught wind. Sails trembled, snapped, and swelled as they began to fill. Then along with the creaking of lines and wood, I heard a deep rumble. Thunder? The dark sky suggested the possibility, but no. The rumbling voice now clearly came from the sails, a gutsy statement of strength and confidence. Then it was done; lines taut and canvas arching, a sudden quiet prevailed. At that moment, with that first eager surge of power, that full revelation of beauty and grace, I felt myself become part of this living force. Together, we flew!

The story of Adventuress began in 1913, a saga that commenced with a voyage that took her through the Straits of Magellan then all the way north to the Arctic. She spent thirty-five years working in very hazardous conditions for the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association, also for the Coast Guard during World War II, was dismasted by a storm, nearly destroyed by fire, and rebuilt because those who knew her so well loved her so much. It’s easy to understand why. After only about three hours on board, I miss her.

Luckily, it will be possible for me to sail on Adventurous again, and so can anyone reading this. A $50 annual membership in Sound Experience buys free admission to more than a dozen three-hour sails in Puget Sound per year, along with many other benefits. But how do you define “benefits”? Does it mean a newsletter and invitations? To me the benefits will manifest in deeper, richer ways. Adventuress implies adventure. One definition of that word is the encountering of risks. I will risk the routines of my life and comfort zones to shake up the routines of my mind, rattle my heart and soul as the rigging rattles when we come about. Another definition of adventure is a remarkable experience. It was all of that, and so much more, the stuff of dreams.



(top photo by Candace Brown, remaining photos courtesy of Sound Experience.)