Washingtonians welcome!

[DrakeMaiden]

Anyway, I like Western Washington enough to never bother leaving it.

I second that.

I grew up in the Bellevue/Kirkland area before it got overgrown with Microsoft types. Lived in Bellingham and Seattle during college and then moved over to the Kitsap Penninsula to escape the insane growth in the Seattle area. Living here reminds me of what it used to be like in the unincorporated Kirkland area, but unfortunately I'm seeing suburbia creeping in over here too. :/

Big brown horse -- I suspect you would do fine working on your own horses without certificiation, but I think it is really cool that you are going to get certified.

 

[hennypenny9]

Drakemaiden- I hate urban sprawl! Gig Harbor is basically destroyed, IMHO. At least from what I grew up with. Yeah, a hospital is good, and I do like Costco... But leave some trees! The area my parents live in has one side that is a permanent bird reserve/park, so that will never be messed with. My great aunt did that. And on one other side we have swampland, so that's pretty much going to stay the way it is. But there is so much more traffic and stuff. I would be totally cool with moving way out on the KP, if it wasn't 45 minutes from everything. I may do it anyway and just deal.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yay for your great aunt!!!

Well, the sprawl is sprawling here, so I don't know how much better it is than Gig Harbor. Maybe just a little more secluded.

My dream was once to move to Quilcene, but I think the sprawl is actually working its way there too . . . land prices became outrageous really fast. My other dream spot was Forks, but now that it has international acclaim I think I'll stay here.

Poulsbo has been destroyed! The main drag by Central Market used to be lined with trees and a lovely seasonal wetland, but now it looks like downtown Bellevue. It is so sad.

They are taking 450 odd acres of pristine land near what few remaining working farms there are between Bremerton and Silverdale and turning it into a shopping plaza! Meanwhile, there are abandoned stores in the same vicinity.

 

[hennypenny9]

I got soooo mad when they demolished Borgan's, which (at least as I remember it) was a small hardware store that had been around forever. Then they made the area into a park. Only one problem. It's directly across from the sewage treatment facility. The smell is bad, and no one goes there. *siiiigh*

And all the new people kept pointing at this old net shed and saying how ugly was, and how it was taking up the pretty view of the harbor... Well it was a landmark! It wasn't pretty, but so what, it had been there for years. The history of Gig Harbor is FISHING, and the new yuppies wanted to tear it down. Well, it got torn down. Symbolically, I think the spirit of Gig Harbor died then.

But I'm not bitter, I promise!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I'm surprised they couldn't save it as a historical monument or something. :/

It is sad, isn't it? I'm about the same age as you, so I think we have seen this sort of activity escalate (compared to what our parents saw), but it makes us sound like a bunch of old people harping on how things used to be. At least, that is how I feel sometimes. :/

 

[hennypenny9]

It's true! I do feel old, but I've been complaining about new development since I was 14. Maybe younger!

And the reason we didn't get it saved, IMHO, was the mayor who is too afraid that business will go away if she holds onto older things. Case in point, the front of Finholms grocery store. It had a mural painted by the local high school, Gig Harbor High, and she didn't think it looked professional enough, and without asking, she had it painted over by a professional painter. Almost cost herself the election with that!

 

[big brown horse]

Hey you guys,

It is BEAUTIFUL out there today isn't it?!! What are you all doing this weekend? I will probably hike Lake Cushman like I did last weekend. This time I'm bringing a cooler and I'm going to spend ALL day there.

Have a GREAT weekend y'all!!!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Sounds like fun Big brown horse, wish I could join you!

Yes, it is nice out there for once. I've got gardening to do this weekend and my presence has been requested in Seattle. For some reason, I just don't enjoy the city as much as I used to.

 

[hennypenny9]

Are you ready for this? Next week it's supposed to get to 75! Whooohoo! Warmth! I'm more than ready!

 

[Jamsoundsgood]

What? The second page? Where has everyone been? Oh wait, the sun's been out since May. I get it now. So, I'm coming over from BYC too, but loving this life up here. Just outside of Olympia on seven acres, trying to survive taking care of cows, chickens, and an occasional pig or two. Is anyone else looking forward to the rain? I love the rain.