While growing up in Oregon, we would make the usually rainy trek to Whidbey Island, Washington, a short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington to visit my grandparents. So, when we were invited to a July wedding on Bainbridge Island, Washington, we were pleasantly surprised by the island and excellent weather!
Bainbridge Island in July was beautiful, with blue skies, vast evergreen trees surrounded by gentle water. The temperature was 80 degrees at its warmest. There were plenty of things to do and see in Bainbridge: public tennis courts, restaurants, shops – from antiques to wine tasting establishments.
We found the Bainbridge Tennis Community in our search for public tennis facilities. We reached out to the coordinator regarding the use of tennis courts for the Saturday morning, during our stay. She immediately responded with an email stating that the courts are used during the morning. After noon, they would be wide open for our use or we would be welcome to join their group for tennis. I responded that we would love to join in the tennis round robin, and gave her our contact information.There are a couple of hotels on Bainbridge Island which are conveniently located near shopping and restaurant. We decided to book an airbnb. Our children have successfully stayed at airbnbs, so this was our opportunity. We booked our place which had a two night minimum stay. It was in the middle of town, close to shopping and the water. It was very relaxing and a comfortable stay.
A funny thing happened to my husband during our stay. The morning we were to check out, my husband sensed someone was watching him through the window, only to look up to see a buck staring at him outside our bedroom window. He ran out of the room and looked out the door, but the buck was long gone.
My husband and I showed up to play tennis on Saturday morning at 8:30 am. We found six tennis courts, full of tennis players. We jumped in and played two great sets of tennis with our new tennis friends. What a perfect day!
We wondered, when would we have an opportunity to visit Bainbridge Island again? We then realized that if we take an Alaskan Cruise out of Seattle, that we could either take an excursion from the cruise to Bainbridge Island, or stay before or after the cruise. Although there are so many places to see in Seattle, sometimes the relaxing pace is perfect for a vacation.
Whether you are escaping the humid east coast steamy summer, unbearable heat of the southwest, or on a cruise ship stop in Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Washington is a great place to visit in July (although locals say the weather is pleasant most of the year!) for water recreation sports, shopping, rest and relaxation, and of course some friendly tennis matches!
TIP: You can take a car ferry from Bainbridge Island from Seattle, Washington.
another TIP: It’s only a 3 1/2 hour drive to Portland, Oregon. Another great place to visit in the Pacific Northwest.
