Washington -- Day Trips And More Using The Ferries

The state ferries open up an almost endless number of daily or weekend adventures around Puget Sound that can include sightseeing, boating, hiking, cycling, climbing, shopping and, of course, eating.

Here are three suggested itineraries - from one day, to an overnight to a full two-day outing. Take a car. (The San Juan Islands aren't included; they'll be covered in a separate story later in The Times' "Washington's Best" series.)

TRIP #1. (One day; 3 ferryboat rides.)

Take the ferry from West Seattle's Fauntleroy terminal to Vashon Island; drive around the island then board the free ferry to Southworth; then drive through Port Orchard to Bremerton, see the sights and catch a ferry back to Seattle.

VASHON

Although only a 20-minute ferryboat ride from Seattle, a trip to Vashon is a little like stepping into one of Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post covers. Everything's neat and quaint and there's a farm-fresh smell in the air.

Officially, Capt. George Vancouver discovered the Island on May 28, 1792, and named it for his friend, Capt. James Vashon. Of course, the Shomamish Indians - hunters and gatherers - camped there long before Vancouver came.

Admire the views of Mount Rainier and the Olympics; drive past orchards, pastures and flower gardens; visit a shopping center where most people are on a first-name basis and "happy birthday" wishes often are spelled out on the supermarket readerboard.

Stop at The Roasterie at mid-island on the Vashon Highway. Intoxicate yourself with the aroma of freshly ground coffee, examine old roasters and enjoy a large cup of the day's special blend. Drop a quarter in a jar. It's a matter of trust.

Other highlights: The K2 Corporation, maker of skis and ski equipment; Wax Orchards, natural fruit products; Point Robinson Light and County Park; Country Store & Farm, at Valley Center, and Lt. Maury Farm (gourmet jams and jellies).

Jay Becker, publisher of the weekly newspaper, The Beachcomber, says of Vashon (pop. 9,600): "It's a very private island. We're not ostentatious."

In summer, there are "U-pick" fields of strawberries and raspberries. A Strawberry Festival in mid-July brings out the islands artists, craftspeople and musicians.

If you fall in love with the place, check out some of the inns and B&Bs and forget the rest of the trip.

To catch the ferry to Southworth, on the Kitsap Peninsula, return to the terminal area and park in the left lane. The trip's free and takes only 15 minutes.

PORT ORCHARD

Follow the signs from Southworth to Port Orchard, county seat of Kitsap County. Take a scenic drive along Beach Drive and Bay Street. Enjoy downtown's covered walkways - not quite Wild West, not quite Maritime). Walk along the public marina, which boasts a fine totem pole and views of mothballed vessels at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

If you can't get enough of ferry boats and want to take a ride without your vehicle, board the Port Orchard foot ferry for a 15-minute ride across Sinclair Inlet to Bremerton.

I liked Tveten's Lighthouse Restaurant, on Port Orchard's waterfront, specializing in seafood and views of ships and harbor.

BREMERTON

It's just a few miles from Port Orchard to Bremerton. Bremerton is trying to shake its tavern-and-tattoo-parlor image and justify being chosen by Money Magazine (1990) as "America's most livable town." Overwater Park, near the ferry terminal, is a fine start. The prime attraction is the retired Navy destroyer SS Turner Joy, which was built in Seattle in the 1950s and later played a role in the Vietnam war's infamous Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Nearby communities such as Silverdale and Seabeck continue to be blessed with some of the state's most beautiful shoreline.

Back in Bremerton, board the ferry for the hour-long ride back to Seattle.

TRIP #2. (Two ferryboat rides. Allow a long day or spend a night along the way.)

Take a 35-minute ferryboat ride from Seattle's Colman Dock (Pier 52) to Bainbridge Island; cross the island and stop at Chief Seattle's grave in Suquamish; return to the main highway and continue west to Poulsbo; from there, drive to Port Gamble, then continue on to Kingston to board a ferry for Edmonds and the Seattle area.

SUQUAMISH

Drive north from Winslow. Shortly after crossing the Agate Pass Bridge, you'll see the sign to Chief Seattle's grave in the Indian village of Suquamish, a friendly and unpretentious place. Turn up a narrow road to St. Peter's Catholic Church. Behind the church, in a large graveyard, a handsome grave marker topped by two Indian canoes marks the resting place of Chief Noah Sealth (Seattle), after whom the state's largest city is named. The chief died in 1866.

Drive back through the village and follow the signs to the site of Old Man House, a 900-foot-long, hewn-cedar structure that once was used by Chief Seattle.

POULSBO

To attract tourists, many small towns adopt motifs as out of place as a tuxedo at a Mariner baseball game. But Poulsbo's Scandinavian theme fits like a favorite pair of broken-in sneakers. Its Liberty Bay shoreline is not unlike the fjords of Norway, and the town is crawling with Swedes, Norwegians and Danes.

Visit the marina and waterfront park and new marine museum, prowl Front Street's gift shops, and be prepared, each time you step outdoors, to be teased by the smell of fresh-baked bread. Stop for lunch almost anywhere. My favorite: ): Ye Olde Copper Kettle, a British tea shop.

PORT GAMBLE

On Sept. 1, 1853, A. J. Pope, Capt. William C. Talbot and Cyrus Walker founded a town - with Victorian houses and elm-shaded streets - that resembled their native East Machias, Maine. They set up a sawmill to harvest the huge Douglas firs in the area.

Both are still going strong. The well-kept houses and general store are now a National Historic Site. And the Pope and Talbot Mill - the oldest sawmill operation in North America - fills the air with the aroma of fresh-sawn lumber.

Take the highway back to Kingston and return by ferry (a 35-minute ride) to Edmonds.

TRIP #3. (Two days, three ferryboat rides).

Take the ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton; make island stops at Langley and Coupeville, then double back a few miles to catch the Keystone ferry to Port Townsend; spend a night in one of Port Townsend's many motels, inns or B&Bs. The next day, visit Fort Worden State Park at Port Townsend; take a leisurely drive through Chimacum; catch Highway 104 to cross the Hood Canal floating bridge and pass through Port Gamble on the way to the Kingston-Edmonds ferry and back to Seattle.

CLINTON, LANGLEY, GREENBANK

Soon after driving off the ferry at Clinton, motorists are greeted by a colorful carved-wood sign: "Welcome to Whidbey Island." You are now on the second largest island in the United States. (The longest is New York's Long Island, although some say it's really a peninsula).

Take a short detour to the right, to Langley. The water view from the downtown shops is inspirational.

Use the island's main highway and pass through Greenbank where,

in December 1984, Robert Mathews, founder of the white-supremacist organization, The Order, died in a fiery shootout with FBI agents.

COUPEVILLE

Coupeville, county seat of Island County, needs no artificial themes. It's an original: old gingerbready houses - with construction dates posted on the front - that look as if they should be occupied by one-legged sea captains; and shops both quaint and salty.

The Keystone ferry terminal, southeast of Coupeville, on Admiralty Inlet, is within sight of old Fort Casey, one of five shoreline fortresses set up to protect Puget Sounders from invasion by land, sea or air.

None of the howitzers was ever fired in anger, but it's a good thing the feds chose such fine real estate. All the forts are now parks.

The 20-minute ferryboat ride from Keystone to Port Townsend ends at what is sometimes referred to as "Washington's Victorian Seaport."

PORT TOWNSEND

Like Coupeville, Port Townsend is the real article.

Downtown brick buildings, with the faded remnants of Owl Cigar and Bull Durham advertisements on the sides. Turn-of-the-century street lights. Enormous Victorian homes, bearing the names of Starrett, Hastings and Rothschild. Classic Manrisa Castle, a 39-room Victorian hotel with convention facilities. The Jefferson County Courthouse, circa 1892, which contains 4 million bricks and has a 124-feet-high clock tower, featuring a 3,500-pound chiming bell.

Port Townsend - with a scant 15 inches of rainfall - appeals to artists, writers, actors and musicians. Craft shops abound. A dinner theater attracts crowds in the summer. So, too, does the Philadelphia String Quartet, which performs in a turn-of-the-century dairy barn on 40 acres, between Port Townsend and Quilcene. (About 90 minutes each way, taking the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and crossing the Hood Canal bridge; for ticket information write to Olympic Music Festival, 2226 Third Av., Suite 101, Seattle, 98121). The Sea Galley offers good views and a menu that includes oysters from nearby Marrowstone Island.

Close to Port Townsend are two more fortresses that have been given back to the people.

Three miles south of town is old Fort Townsend, originally built to protect the settlers from Indians. The beach is rocky and the clam-digging said to be good, when red tide is not in evidence.

At the north end of Port Townsend is Fort Worden, once headquarters for all the other. Fly a kite. Visit the artillery museum and rhododendron garden. Walk the beach trails. If you're a film buff, you may recognize the fort's old barracks which were used for scenes in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman." Units can be rented by vacationers.

To return home, take Highway 20 south along Discovery Bay to Chimacum. Keep an eye out for "The Egg and I Road," named for the best-selling novel based on author Betty MacDonald's experiences in the area. At the junction, go south on Highway 101 for about three miles, then take Highway 104 to the east, crossing the Hood Canal bridge and passing through historic Port Gamble. Continue on to Kingston to catch the ferry to Edmonds.

Have a bit of fun crossing the bridge. If you're accompanied by Midwest flatlanders, tell them how the west half of the bridge sank in 100-mile-an-hour winds, combined with strong tides, on the morning of Feb. 13, 1979, and how nuclear submarines from Bangor still go under the bridge. Then add casually, as you slow the car, "Who knows when it will happen again?"