My mom’s family is from right around there, and I have the BEST memories of Glen Lake, Sleeping Bear, Lake Michigan, my uncle’s & grandpa’s farm…the most gorgeous place in the world! My Aunt Dorothy had a little shop where she sold the pottery she made in the basement, and also petosky stone polishing kits with ‘the legend of Sleeping Bear’ in them. Very fond memories—thanks for your post! I loved it up there so much! Too many people now…

Really pretty—and creative!

Port orchard is just a quick ferry ride from Seattle, and has two excellent antiques stores—and a couple of smaller ok ones. There’s a nice b & b called Mrs Howes if you want the whole romantic-getaway thing! And one quite good restaurant that we’ve found: Cosmo’s, on Lund Ave.

Where is this? Haven’t heard of this particular trail—what part of the park? Looks lovely!

I’ve lived in South Carolina, Idaho, and Montana and visited many other states—Washington is by far my favorite! Of course, it all depends on what you enjoy. Port Orchard is a sweet little town, much more ‘real’ than Silverdale or Gig Harbor, but close enough to both if you want big box stores. The location couldn’t be better—an hour from Port Townsend, 2 hrs to get to the west side of the Olympic Peninsula, ferry ride from Bremerton and then another ferry to Seattle. The people aren’t outgoing but neither are southerners in my experience. Weather is WONDERFUL—rainy and cool in fall-spring, warm and sunny (too sunny!) in summer. No poisonous snakes, no water bugs, few mosquitoes, even! Growing zone is similar but things like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants struggle. Beautiful gardens, lots to do. Port Orchard is a great place! And property values are lower than other places nearby, though may still be higher than in GA. We absolutely love it here!!!

We love Port Orchard—little town that feels much more authentic than (for example) Gig Harbor, Silverdale, or Poulsbo. Feels safe here, schools are supposed to be really good. Foot ferry to Bremerton (which does NOT feel very safe to me!), which has better restaurants and maybe more to do, depending on what you like. I’d raise a family here!