I had a doctor’s appointment this week, in the city of Edmonds, which is on the shore of Puget Sound.  The day was bright and sunny, and on my way to her office, I noticed that I could see a very beautiful view across to the Kitsap Peninsula.  So, after my appointment was over, I drove down to the ferry dock and parked my car, got out, and took a walk along the beach.

Across Puget Sound from Edmonds are the Olympic Mountains, and they were “out” in their splendor.

This view is looking slightly south.  The water was pretty calm, and there was not much wind at all.  Those posts in the foreground are from a very old dock.  A little closer up.

While beach-walking, I admired the view across the sound, and also the view a little closer-up.  Beaches on Puget Sound tend to be rocky close to the water, and have coarse, dark-colored sand farther in.  That is due to the source of our sand, which is the granite rocks of the Cascade Mountains, carried down by the many rivers which flow into the Sound.  The Sound carries driftwood which washes up on all our beaches.

Pieces of driftwood can vary in size from tiny sticks, to the trends of some sizable trees, both of which can be seen in the above picture.  Then, there’s this.

That piece of driftwood started out as a very big tree, perhaps on the Olympic Peninsula, which still has some stands of old-growth forest.  When the first settlers came to this area, most of the land was covered in forest, and logs were the first big export crop in the Pacific Northwest.  I love to look down while walking. and see the beach at my feet.  It always affords some interesting sights.

You can also see evidence of some of the living things that inhabit this beach.

That was once a pretty big crab!  You can also see remains of clamshells among the rocks.

Remember, this beach is around the ferry dock, and I was fortunate enough to see the ferry arriving.

This is one of the larger ferries, since the Edmonds-Kingston run is the second busiest on Puget Sound (the busiest is the Seattle-Bremerton route).  Many people commute from Kingston and other Kitsap towns to jobs in Edmonds and Everett.  You can really see how big that boat is, closer to.

You can fit a lot of cars and trucks on that ferry!  I walked closer to the dock, and noticed how clear the water was, and how beautiful it was with the sun illuminating the tiny ripples.

It can be almost mesmerizing, standing there by the water and listening to the sound of the waves lapping up on the shore.

Of course, I wasn’t the only beach-walker that day.  There were lots of parents, grandparents, and little kids at the beach.

There’s so much to do, and see, on an excursion to the beach, and it’s very nice to live within a short drive.  Now that I’m retired, I can go to the beach any time I want to.