Friday, May 21, 2010

Returning to Kingston.

At the end of April, Grandma wanted to visit Kingston.

Kingston is a small town (population 2800) across the water from Seattle. When I was a kid, we had a summer home there. Once a year, we'd drive from Sacramento to Seattle, then take the ferry to Kingston. At Kingston, I remember playing board games with my sister, picking blackberries, and finding a jellyfish on the nearby beach.

However, we stopped going to Kingston when I was in middle school. The summer home also fell into disrepair and had to be demolished. I hadn't been to Kingston in almost 20 years, so I was excited at the idea of going back.

Auntie Muriel and Uncle Ron were also in town, so the four of us got into my Scion xB, and we took the ferry to Kingston. This ferry takes both people and cars.



We ended up with a great view just from our car!







The ferry has a big map of the area and the different ferry routes. Here, Grandma was reminiscing about trips she had taken.




We docked at Kingston and drove to our old summer home. All that remained was an empty shed and the chimney. It was both funny and sad.



We also drove to a place called Jefferson Beach. It was a gorgeous day.






I liked the way the sunlight played with the ripples from the pier.







Before we got back on the ferry to return to Seattle, we stopped at a crepe place. (It's right in front of the ferry entrance, if you want to find it.) They make both savory crepes (e.g., ham and cheese) and dessert crepes (e.g., strawberries and chocolate).

The crepe place had a gigantic container of Nutella (compare to the microwave in the picture). The person working there said they sold that size only in Europe.



The crepes were really big, not too expensive, and very tasty!






From Kingston
As the ferry enters or leaves Kingston, you can see our old summer home. Just look for the chimney!








We all had a great time in Kingston! To revisit a place from my youth felt really good, but I don't know how to explain why. I was simultaneously revisiting a fond memory and looking at it with fresh eyes, as an adult. I hope to return to Kingston again soon.