Goodbye Rhododenron Part 2 -- more photos of the ferry boat M/V RHODODENDRON, including vintage postcards

Behind every news story, the personal stories full of human emotion and memories wait to be discovered, and I heard and sensed some of those this week. The response to my previous blog post about the fate of the historic Washington State ferry M/V Rhododendron, still coming to me in the form of e-mails, phone calls, and in person, made me decide to share more of my photos of this beloved boat. But as a bonus, I also want to share some vintage postcard images sent to me by  Steve Pickens, the man behind the website Evergreen Fleet, mentioned in my original post, and author of "Ferries of Puget Sound." He is helping to  preserve our local maritime history, an effort for which we should all be grateful.

 Postcard of M/V Rhododendron  from the 1950s, courtesy of Steve Pickens

Pickens, a native of western Washington, was born in Seattle and grew up on the Kitsap peninsula. "Ferries have always been a part of my life," he told me in an e-mail. "I got interested in ferries through the Kalakala, first getting into her history and then branching out from there."

He became involved, conducting tours on Kalakala and serving as a volunteer archivist, for a time. "I had really been previously interested in the old Atlantic liners, but the interest turned a little more local after the Kalakala came home," he said.

Vintage postcard of M/V Rhododendron courtesy of Steve Pickens

I asked Pickens how long his site, Evergreen Fleet, has existed and how he came across all his fascinating material. 

"The website has been around over a decade now. A lot of my research came from books on the subject to a certain point. The final 'what happened to' a lot of the old retirees involved sending FOIA requests to the Coast Guard or emailing the last known company/owner of said vessel."

Vintage postcard image courtesy of Steve Pickens

"People have been incredibly generous sharing their personal memories and photos in many cases.," Pickens said. "There's a certain fondness for the old boats--particularly the old wooden ferries. I'd have to say the San Mateo and Vashon are, hands down, the most fondly remembered."

And now for a few taken from the Tacoma side.

Copyright 2012 by Candace Brown  

April evening 2009, off Point Defiance
Copyright 2012 by Candace Brown   May not be used without permission.

The following four photos were taken at Point Defiance on a cool, misty morning in the otherwise hot July of 2008. Please see the blog post they relate to: Breath of Life: Marine Air in the Morning.



I've never met Steve Pickens but I can tell that, like so many of us, he loves our rich maritime history and out maritime environment too. Please be sure to look at Evergreen Fleet. You'll be glad you did.

Thank you for joining me on this little two-part tribute to the Washington State Ferry Rhododendron. And many thanks to Steve Pickens for sharing the postcard images of life on Puget Sound.

All text and photos in this post, with the exception of those provided by Steve Pickens, are copyrighted by Candace Brown and cannot be used without permission. See  Evergreen Fleet concerning the postcard images. 

Copyright 2012 Candace Brown

Tall Ship Adventuress News: "Get Kids on the Boat" with the 29 Dollars, 29 Days Campaign

Executive Director Catherine Collins with young sailors.

As every parent knows, childhood sails by faster than a schooner in a stiff breeze. The quality of those most important years depends on adults who are often overwhelmed with work or their own concerns, and many kids miss out on the kinds of healthy, exciting experiences that shape lives. Instead, they sit around indoors playing computer games or watching TV. Wouldn't it feel great to give them memories they'll never forget?

On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Sound Experience, the not-for-profit organization that owns the historic tall ship Adventuress, will launch a new fund-raising campaign. It's called "29 Dollars, 29 Days: Get Kids on the Boat" Twenty-nine dollars is what it takes to give one young person a three hour sail. Twenty-nine days is the duration of this fundraiser. Every day and every dollar counts.

Join the many friends and crew members of Adventuress to kick off this event at the Theo Chocolate Factory in Seattle, between 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. this Saturday night. The cost of attending the "Party for Adventuress: a benefit with live music" is, as you might have guessed, $29, and along with the live music you get food, beverages, and a lot of fun. You'll find all the details for registration when you click on the party link.

If you've been reading Good Life Northwest for awhile, you already know how much I've loved Sound Experience and Adventuress, ever since my first sail during Tall Ships Tacoma. This restored 1913 schooner sails the waters of Puget Sound offering environmental education with an emphasis on youth. I've personally seen how even one afternoon out on the water can change a child forever. This is hands on. They learn to raise the sails and feel the power of nature as the wind swells the canvas. Excitement builds as the deck tilts and water hisses by the bow when it cuts through waves. Sunlight glints off the layers of varnish on century-old wood. Wouldn't you love to give a child this opportunity? Even if you can't attend the party, please consider giving an online donation. Who knows?  The childhood memory you make might be the best one ever. Thanks, and "Fair Winds."

Low Tides in Puget Sound Offer Rare Views

A friend from Vashon Island told me on the phone this morning that the tide was so low he could almost walk to Tacoma. Well, not quite. But in spite of his delight in my legendary gullibility, this time his statement contained more than a clam's squirt of truth. The low tide near the Narrows Bridge, for example, was predicted to be -2.7 feet, just after 11 a.m. this Monday, Aug. 9, 2010.

Now let me tell you something I probably shouldn't admit; I'm a person with a weird and hard-to-satisfy curiosity about crazy things like what it would look like if you could slice down through a mountain, stand behind a waterfall, or use X-ray vision to see underground burrows of little critters. As a teenager I once wiggled down through the slanted opening of an abandoned bear den dug into a river bank in Alberta, Canada, there to discover the bear's secret world: a cozy little room with a padded floor and a ceiling of tree roots. But that's a story for another day. Anyway, back to the low tide; obviously I was dying to see what was usually under the waves of Puget Sound.

Unfortunately, I had an 11 a.m. appointment with my physical therapist that could not be changed. I begged my husband to get down to Titlow Beach, since I couldn't, to take some photos of the old pilings there, ghosts of the beach's busy past when Titlow had a ferry landing and other waterfront commerce. He obliged, then gave me a bonus by heading to Point Defiance to take additional photos there. So in case you're curious too, here they are. Enjoy! Scroll down to see them all.

Five Free Ways to Savor a Summer Day

I hate to break the news, but summer is half over, and except for a few brief warm spells, it just arrived. Waking up here in Tacoma to another morning of fog and fifty degrees, in mid-July, just isn't right. But now it sounds like maybe summer's really here at last. How do you plan to savor it?

Summer should be like a cat stretched out full-length on a sunny porch: long, warm, and lazy. I could be wrong, but it seemed like my childhood summers on Vashon Island were all three of those things. Every year I try to recapture that feeling of summer, a kind of permission to let go, to slow down, to read more, to fill the house with flowers, to sit just sit on that sunny porch and pet the cat.

If you think back on your own memories of a perfect summer day, it's always the little things that come to mind. So here are a few reminders of the kinds of moments that make the magic and how you can enjoy them before they are gone.

1.) Begin your day right. Take a walk, or at least open a window and listen to the birds. Really listen. These are your neighbors so get to know them. If you want to learn who's singing what out there, look at the website for Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology. That resource alone, could keep you entertained for the rest of the season.


2. Enjoy flowers. Harvest some lavender. Visit the gardens at Point Defiance Park, where the hydrangeas are now in their glory along with many other colorful blooms. Even the roses still look and smell wonderful, thanks to the cool weather. If you haven't visited the park's rose garden, don't you think it's about time? It's been there for over a century.

3.)Eat local and eat well. Those fresh berries won't be around forever. Check out the 2010 Puget Sound Farm Guide for locations and hours of local farms, farmers markets, and U-picks. Eating local makes me think of produce, but a friend of mine coming "home" to Vashon from Hawaii on vacation this summer, asked where he could get fresh, local EDIBLE JELLY FISH. Sorry, but I can't help you on that one. I must admit, though, that when I was a kid waiting for my turn to jump off the float at Dockton Park during swimming lessons, some of those stinging blobs of slime did look a little like raw eggs. There's a reason why Vashon has a "Strawberry Festival" and not a "Jellyfish Festival." Good grief. He's been away too long.





4.) Appreciate the beauty around you. Take a walk this evening, maybe down on the waterfront. Breathe in the marine air, listen to the seagulls, and let all your concerns ease away. Nature soothes like nothing else



5.) Chill out.





















All photos and text copyrighted by Candace Brown 2010

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.)