Travel

From a visual standpoint, it's about looking, seeing and perceiving. Travel is an interesting idea because we are actually traveling all the time, to the grocery, the post, through landscapes and past seascapes.

The question is not so much about place as it is about perception. I have a friend in Florence Italy, the place I would like to travel to, who says that Florence is not so interesting to her. Been there, done that. She wants modernity or modesty; either the sophistication and convenience of a sleek, skylit, spotless bathroom where every flush is accurate and a deep-dish tub whirls bubbles into a tired structure - or - a landscape void of human presence, vast and clean - a place where there's space - where the wind sweeps miles of ancient grasslands into patterns and the road goes on and on unhindered.

We discuss our differences. How can I take the Ferry to Seattle every day and not see the beauty and novelty of it all? How can she pass by 12th c structures and marble statues with barely a glance?

Perhaps we can travel to our own lands through the eyes and experiences of others. Showing someone around, learning things about the area we didn't know before, slowing down to take photos.

Painting and drawing help us see through new eyes. Though this does not guarantee revelation, it certainly challenges the eye-brain-hand to observe, absorb, translate, record and understand information in a new way. I can feel the dendrites extending.

One of my favorite exercises when I teach Art Appreciation at Olympic College is a self-observation exercise testing our awareness of time-space-distance-orientation. Close your eyes. Imagine leaving the classroom and going home. See the route in your "mind's eye", every block, stop sign, turn, etc. Open your eyes and draw a map of your route home, to scale. (It's the "to scale" part that is difficult for those who use surface and highway). One thing always stands out. Newcomers often have an easier time because they have had to pay attention, look at maps, become aware.

Leigh Knowles Metteer
Knowles Studio and Gallery

Harborside Fountain Park Opens in Downtown Bremerton - Park Is Newest Component of Bremerton’s Waterfront Revitalization

Harborside Fountain Park, a 2.5-acre park located in downtown Bremerton, opens on May 5, greatly expanding options for meeting-and-event planners hosting events at Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside.

Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside operates and manages the parks reception and event space, the Fountain Room. This new 1,650 square foot space is next to the 10,000-square-foot conference center.

Harborside Fountain Park is one of the Puget Sound region’s most impressive public spaces. Located on the waterfront, the park features five large copper-ringed fountains, wading pools and lush landscaping, as well as free wi-fi service. The park will also be home to the Harborside Heritage Naval Museum, which is scheduled to open later this year.

“We’re thrilled to be managing Harborside Fountain Parks’ new event space, the Fountain Room,” said Erik Ruud, general manager of Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside. “The city has made tremendous efforts to revitalize our waterfront, and this is another great addition.”

The park adds a tremendous dimension for meeting and wedding planners, Ruud added. Meeting groups can use the free wi-fi service, available throughout the Harborside District, during breakout meetings in the park. “And the fountains and landscaping provide a gorgeous backdrop for wedding and other special events.”

The opening of Harborside Fountain Park is a major milestone in downtown Bremerton’s redevelopment, which kicked off in 2004 with the opening of the conference center. What used to be a nondescript waterfront is now the thriving Harborside District. In addition to the bustling Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside, the waterfront district now boasts retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, art galleries, plazas, fountains, condominiums and the Bremerton Transportation Center.

“This new waterfront park establishes the Harborside District as one of the great public places in the Pacific Northwest,” says Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman.

The renaissance of Bremerton will continue with the expansion of the Bremerton Marina and the extension of the over-the-water boardwalk, which will become part of a 3.5-mile trail.

Disc Golf on the Kitsap Peninsula

Disc golf anyone?

A brightly colored flying saucer hurtles through the air and crash lands in a metallic basket. An exultant whoop of joy is heard in the distance. Has the human race successfully shot down an alien UFO? No. A disc golfer has scored his first ace!Many people who have lived on the Kitsap Peninsula all their lives are astonished to learn that behind the play ground and picnic area of the NAD Park on Austin Drive, where that old jet fighter sits, there lies a full eighteen-hole disc golf course. The course has been discovered, though, by hundreds of disc golf enthusiasts who can be seen flinging their discs hither and yon almost any time of day through that wonderful old forest.

What IS disc golf, you ask? Well, players throw their driver disc from a designated tee box toward a distant metal pole that supports a metal basket. They get three tries to get their disc into the basket for a par, and most of the “holes” are roughly two hundred feet in length. If the player can score in two throws, he or she gets a “birdie.” If the disc goes into the basket in one throw, that’s a rare but much sought-after ACE! The discs are similar to your father’s old Frisbee, but smaller in diameter and more compact. You wouldn’t want to catch one of these if it was coming at you. Polite disc golfers yell “Fore” if it looks as if their throw is going to hit an innocent person down range.

The disc golf course at the NAD Park is the largest and most developed course on the Kitsap Peninsula, but it’s not the only one. A brand new nine-hole course has opened at the Fairgrounds, with another nine holes in the works, and there is a wonderful little ten-hole course at the Van Zee Park in Port Orchard. Another course is being built as far away as Chimicum and yet another is planned to go into the Kingston area soon.

This challenging and exciting sport is rapidly gaining in popularity. Individuals can compete against themselves, or whole families can go out for an afternoon of flinging fun. The West Sound Disc Golf Association (WSDGA) is always ready and eager to take on more members, but membership is not required to use the courses, and the best thing about playing disc golf on the Kitsap Peninsula is that it’s free. The hard-rubber or plastic discs average $12-to-15 apiece and can be purchased at Team Sports on Wheaton Way, or Big-5 Sporting Goods. Even Sportsman’s Warehouse now carries discs. Beginning players will probably need a distance driver and perhaps a putter disc. More advanced players carry as many as twenty different discs, each suited to a specific throwing challenge. Many beginners learn to throw their discs through trial and error but it’s probably best to find someone with some experience and get a lesson or two. It’s more fun and successful that way. Anyone in the WSDGA will be happy to offer advice on any aspect of the game. There are often members out playing, so just ask someone who seems to know what he or she is doing.

Playing disc golf is a great way for people of all ages to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. The courses here on the Kitsap Peninsula generally offer some steep hills to climb and trees to avoid, but there are some open fairways, too, where a player can really haul off and give that ol’ disc a serious fling. That’s all part of the fun and challenge of the game. C’mon out for a fling!

For more information or to learn how to play contact John Conte 360-769-8481, jconte@wavecable.com or Matt White 360-710-5544, matt_white@ml.com