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Two Different Waterfront Communities: Redondo and Gig Harbor

© Jerri Brooker

Now that summer's over, I still go to the beach for solace - sometimes in storms. I'm loving all the fall colors as I look around, but the winds are dropping the leaves quickly.

Two very different nearby waterfront communities greet me with open arms. (Nearby by for me is less than an hour drive away. I live off Interstate Five and you get used to driving a distance around here.) One I go to for peaceful rest on a sunny day; the other is where I go when I want to mingle in the crowds but enjoy the waterfront, no matter what the weather. The first: Redondo. The second: Gig Harbor. Different but great respites for the waterfront lover.

The towns are situated on hills, with resplendant Puget Sound below. Houses crowd the hillsides full of lush vegetation next to the deep blue of Puget Sound. Very expensive houses and not-so-expensive houses still demanding more money for the view line the hills.

These photos show what I experience when I go to each community. They're a "bird's-eye view" of the surrounding neighborhoods and beaches. Hope you enjoy them. Just run your cursor over the photos to identify what and where they are. They were taken this summer. I have to admit the view now would probably be gray and cloudy with fog on some days. But not every day.

First, Redondo. It doesn't have much of a web presence, but you may see a map on how to get there at Salty's Restaurant site. It's located three miles off I-5 between Olympia and Seattle. It's a "drive-through but stay if you can find parking town." If you can, then enjoy Redondo to the fullest. There is parking at Salty's Restaurant for patrons, and it's worth the patronage - great eats, great seafood.

How many of you remember personality-plus Dick Balch and his car lot television ads in the 70's? He used to take a sledge hammer and beat up a car for fun? His beautiful home was built there.

I can't find the population statistics as it merged with the City of Des Moines in 1997, but I guarantee it's not much. It's like an oasis in the city. Fifty years ago 116 folks lived there.

Walk on the pier and along the waterfront. Enjoy the view. There's a nice waterfront sculpture and a community park for a picnic. The only apparent businesses in town are Salty's and a small combination store/post office with bait for fishing. Redondo was incorporated into the town of Des Moines in 1997, so I have no population statistics on it. But it's not going to grow too much; there's not land there to build much.