A few miles down the road from Alderbrook Properties you will find the community of Belfair. And at the heart of Belfair you’ll find something called the Theler Community Center & Wetland Trails.

The Mary E. Theler Community Center was named for the wife of real estate developer Sam Theler, who donated land to the community. The Community Center provides a wide variety of services to the community: events for youth and senior citizens, weddings, boy and girl scout groups, family events (like family bingo), community social events … all of these find a home at the Community Center.

The Theler Wetlands are an additional community resource, providing four separate walking trails contained within 75 acres of wetlands. This is prime bird-watching and photo-taking territory, where you might see a blue heron or even a bald eagle. The trails are open daily from dawn to dusk, and admission is free. (No pets allowed.)

If you want to support the Theler Center, then you’ll be glad to know that they are holding a Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Art Auction on March 1 from 5 – 7:30 p.m. to help recoup the costs of resources used during the December 2007 Flood Relief effort, when Theler Community Center provided shelter, food and other necessities to those in need. The monthly art show hosted by the Community Center will also be selling watercolors and pen and ink drawings of trilliums (on notecards and bookmarks) as an additional fundraiser.

Come on out and support this great community treasure … you’ll be glad you did your part to keep this heart of a community beating!

I have always associated scuba diving with exotic, tropical locations like Hawaii or the Caribbean. White sandy beaches with warm, clear, azure waters and dazzlingly colored sea life … these are the images that flood my brain when I think of scuba diving. And I know I’m not alone in these stereotypes, thanks to an article on scuba diving by Sarah Kahne in South Sound Lifestyles magazine.

I was surprised to learn that the Pacific Northwest is a popular destination for divers, and one of the most popular dive sites is right here on Hood Canal, at Sund Rock in Hoodsport, just a few miles from Alderbrook Properties.

OK, I know it’s February, and submerging yourself in the cold waters of Puget Sound – even in a wet suit – seems … well … let’s just call it “counter-intuitive.” But I learned that underwater visibility is often better here in the winter, because the warmer summer weather can cause algae blooms which cloud the water.

If you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving, or want to learn the secret of what makes Hood Canal such a treasure for divers, check out the information in the article linked above.

It’s just another one of the perks of living here on Hood Canal.

I don’t know about you, but I love boats … speed boats, cruisers, sailboats … I love them all. I love the way they look on Puget Sound (you should see it on the first day of boating season!) and some of my fondest memories are of time spent with friends sailing on Puget Sound waters.

Boat lovers in Alderbrook and the surrounding communities have reason to rejoice with the arrival of a new dock at the Hood Canal Marina in Union, purchased last year by the owners of the Alderbrook Resort.

This is the first of many improvements scheduled for the marina. Installation of the new dock, along with new dock floats, a fuel dock, sewer pump-out facilities, and moorage facilities will both improve and expand local services to boat owners.

The new facility, which will reopen on May 1^st, will also offer year-round and seasonal moorage for boats up to 40 feet, side-tie moorage for boats up to 80 feet, along with dry boat storage for more than 30 boats, plus boat trailer storage and a new fire protection system.

Best of all, the marina is just 10 minutes down the hill from the Alderbrook community.

Boating is a way of life for many people here on Hood Canal, and in fact, in all of western Washington. Puget Sound offers lots of interesting destinations for boaters, and gunkholing in the San Juan Islands is an annual pursuit for many residents of western Washington.

Are you a boat person? What’s your favorite boating memory or destination? Join in the conversation and leave a comment in our comments section!

I don’t have to commute anymore, since I work from home. But I remember what commuting was like, and I imagine most people have commutes that look something like this:

And here’s a commute scene similar to what you might see in the Pacific Northwest:

Now compare those photos with the photo below, taken by a resident of the Alderbrook community as he drove to catch a ferry one recent morning.  I would guess there aren’t too many places where people can enjoy a commute with a view like this one:

Well, OK, I’ll grant you that it might not look like this every day. On cloudier days, the mountains may go into hiding, but you still have the evergreen-studded hills rising out of the water. And stormy days have a beauty all of their own, with white-capped waves whipped up by the wind against a backdrop of green trees and gray skies.

This is one of the great things about living on Hood Canal: you have close proximity to western Washington’s largest, most influential cities (with all the amenities they provide) but you don’t have  many of the hassles that come with living right in the midst of those cities.

What do you think? Would you like to have a commute with a view?

I once heard someone say that Valentine’s Day isn’t a “real” holiday, but one manufactured by the greeting card industry in order to sell more cards. I imagine there may be others who claim it’s the chocolate industry, or the jewelry industry, or the florists who made up this holiday.

Well, I don’t care. I like Valentine’s Day because, to me, it’s a chance to tell all the most important people in my life – my family and my dearest friends – how much I appreciate them. And I think that’s worth a little of my time and money (buying greeting cards, chocolate, jewelry, and flowers, of course!)

I’m lucky because some of my best friends live just across the street. And because most of my family lives far away, these friends have become like family to me, friends I can call on when I need some help, want to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar, or just need a shoulder to cry on. It’s great living on the same street as my best friends!

Tomorrow, I’ll be visiting those friends with a small gift, a token of the bond between us and the memories we have in common.

What about you? How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? (And are you lucky enough to live on the same street—or in the same neighborhood—as your friends? If you live in Alderbrook, that may well be the case!)

With all the hoopla about the winter storms passing through the Pacific Northwest recently, some may assume no golfing is possible during the winter on the Olympic Peninsula. Nothing could be further from the truth.

OK, yes, it’s true that we do sometimes have bad weather here. But it’s also true that we enjoy a mostly mild and temperate climate – not too hot, not too cold – even in the heat of summer or the dead of winter.

If you need proof, check out these lovely pictures (above and below) of Alderbrook Golf Course, taken in January of this year by a member out golfing – yes, you heard me – golfing!

And here’s a report on that outing from that member’s wife (who sent me the lovely pictures):

This is not spring at Alderbrook, but a day when the snow and frost disappeared and the golfers (my husband among them) finally got out to find out whether their golf swing had abandoned them during the holidays and winter storms. They had to play on temporary greens (to protect the permanent greens while the ground was still cold), but this didn’t deter any of them. They turned up the heaters in the golf carts full blast, and passed around the hot schnapps. I don’t think anyone cared what they scored … it just felt so good to be out and swinging a club.

While it’s true we may have to make some concessions to the season (and hot schnapps sounds like a pretty fun concession to make!) I think that just adds to the experience. Variety, they say, is the spice of life! Why not mix it up a little?

What’s your favorite golfing weather? Have you ever golfed under less-than-ideal conditions? Share your golf stories in our comments section.

Do you like to dance? If so, you won’t want to miss the Allyn Community Association Dinner, Dance and Auction on Saturday, February 9th, 2008, benefiting the Allyn Community Association.

It all starts at 4:30 p.m. with a social hour and a silent auction running until 6:45 p.m. Dinner (catered by Lennard K’s Boat House of Allyn) will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. A live auction begins at 7 p.m. Then at 8:30 p.m., the band Swing Fever (directed by Mr. Stan Yantis) will perform. Let the dancing begin!

The Allyn Community Association is a non-profit corporation devoted to the betterment of the greater Allyn community. Some of their successful projects include the development of the waterfront park and gazebo. They also publish a newsletter called the North Bay Review which serves Allyn residents, as well as those in small surrounding communities like Victor, Grapeview, and Mason.

So if you like to dance, come on out and support the Allyn Community Association. Tickets are $25. You can find more information at the North Mason Chamber of Commerce Web site. It sounds like a lot of fun!

Did you know that the wine industry is the fastest growing agricultural sector in Washington State? In fact, wine grapes are now the 4th most important fruit crop in the state (the first three are apples, cherries, and pears) (hat tip: Brook Guinn, “Wine Afternoon” in South Sound Lifestyles magazine).

We have several wineries right here on the peninsula, and one of them — Walter Dacon Wines — is close to Alderbrook Properties, right down the road in Shelton. Right now, they are inviting everyone to their “Chocolate Extravaganza” which takes place this weekend (February 9th & 10th) and next weekend (February 16th & 17th) from 12 to 6 p.m. each day. For a low fee of $7 per person, you can enjoy gourmet chocolates, a chocolate fountain with a variety of fruits and cake for dipping, and, of course, Walter Dacon wines.

By the way, according to wine advisor Paul Gregutt at The Seattle Times, Walter Dacon has one of the best 100 Washington wines. So if you’re at loose ends this weekend, or want to start your Valentine’s Day celebrations early, why not check it out?

Has anyone tried any of the Walter Dacon wines? What’s your favorite?