I’m back on Bainbridge after a few days wandering Eastern Washington. I can report that all the communities I visited are unlike Bainbridge in all regards (good and bad), making my time there an ideal mini-vacation. If our station wagon had more cargo room, the three souvenirs I would have brought back for Bainbridge Islanders to enjoy are the Centennial Trail (a winding, pine-and-river-lined cyclist’s paradise), Spokane’s Dry Fly distillery (established a few years ago, it’s the first in Washington since Prohibition), and the entire town of Roslyn.

So what all happened on Bainbridge while this blog went dormant? Well, here’s a few things:

– Helpline House invites the growing number of islanders with money troubles to stop by their temporary financial counseling office.

– The chamber of commerce sponsored a debate on changing Bainbridge’s form of government.

– Bloedel Reserve’s longtime director stepped down.

– Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns stopped by IslandWood to chat with young people.