When planning my trip to Seattle, I initially wanted to do a day trip to hike at Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately the trails were still too snowy (yes, in early July)! It all worked out though, because Joyce and I got to go on a ferryboat adventure to one of the neighboring islands of the Puget Sound – Bainbridge Island, WA. I’ve heard Bainbridge Island likened to the Nantucket of the Pacific Northwest… I’ve haven’t been to Nantucket (yet), but if it’s anything like Bainbridge I’m all over it!

Getting there

The ride on the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry only cost $8 round-trip, as we walked on instead of taking a car. The main strip of restaurants on the island are easily accessible on foot. If you want to spend more than a morning on the island and explore some of the wineries or estates that are further in, consider getting to the ferry station early and driving on.

The trip from the Washington State Ferries terminal in Seattle took about 30 minutes each way, with awesome views of  Seattle pulling away and pulling in. All my Grey’s Anatomy-McDreamy-Ferrryboat dreams came true… well not really,  but it was still awesome. I may not have had a McDreamy sighting, but I did get to play with a well-behaved pupper who could catch blueberries and give high fives on the ride over.

EAT

• Blackbird Bakery

Every foodie traveler has those doubts about whether certain places will live up to the hype. Waiting in line is my least favorite activity, so of course when I see a line for food I’m thinking, “this better be worth it.” Our first stop – a small bakery/coffee shop – was absolutely worth the line! Every dish we saw being carried out to tables looked amazing, particularly their toast with jam.

If there is one thing you must get from Blackbird bakery though, it is the spinach quiche. I’ve never had a quiche as creamy and perfectly done, cradled in a divinely flaky crust. The almond milk latte was also perfect, but I’d skip the lavender lemonade. I find lavender too perfume-y of a scent for me to enjoy in a beverage.

• Bainbridge Island Farmer’s Market

We got lucky with the farmer’s market… again! Just past the main strip we saw signs for the farmer’s market and headed over to check it out. It was small, but everything looked amazing. Farmer’s markets are so much fun to browse, even if you don’t buy anything. We admired the fun bouquets arranged in upcycled olive oil tins, tasted wine from local wineries (try the Ferryboat White from Bainbridge Island Vineyards & Winery), and Joyce happily took home a jar of farm-fresh tomato sauce.

• Mora Iced Creamery

At this risk of sounding snobby, I’m not easily blown away by ice cream. I like a lot of ice cream, but few scoops have ever made my jaw drop. One of them is Jeni’s ice cream that I tried in Charleston for the first time.  Another is Mora – definitely right there up there with Jeni’s! Every flavor I tried was thick and decadent, with an unbelievable depth of flavor packed into each bite. I haven’t tried Molly Moon’s in Seattle, but Joyce says Mora is better.

I went with a scoop of dark chocolate mint (better than gelato) and a scoop of Bailey’s irish cream. They have an incredible array of flavors (I wanted to try all of them, but the dark chocolate peanut butter was another great pick). Everyone who worked there was also super friendly, which makes a huge difference in the overall experience.

They don’t have any locations in Seattle yet, unfortunately. But, we found out that the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Seattle uses Mora’s ice cream in their affogato! If you don’t have time to make the trip to Bainbridge Island, you can at least get a taste of their ice cream there. We spent the rest of the morning wandering around the strip of shops and stumbled upon a random thrift store by the water, before hopping back on the ferry to Seattle. Thanks for a fun little Saturday morning adventure, Bainbridge Island!