Gig Harbor Undressed

Weekly Gig Harbor Real Estate Market Report

For this week’s look at the Gig Harbor real estate market I wanted to show a breakdown of the homes currently for sale.  This chart shows the number of homes currently for sale in Gig Harbor (Fox Island is included, the Key Peninsula is not…these are just single family homes, not multi-family or condos) broken down by price range.  The column to the right, DOM, is the average “Days On Market”, or the amount of time the houses have been listed for sale.  If you’d like a report for Port Orchard or the Key Peninsula, or you’d like a similar report for condos, please let me know!

Snowshoeing On Mt Rainier

Yesterday a group of 22 guys from Believer’s Fellowship church here in Gig Harbor took a snowshoeing trip up to Mount Rainier.  What a blast!  It’s amazing to live in a place like Gig Harbor, surrounded by the water and all the beauty that the Puget Sound has to offer, and yet in less than 2 hours we were up on Mt. Rainier snowshoeing! 

When we got to the mountain, it was snowing gently.  Not a snow storm, but a nice gentle snow.  As we began hiking in to Reflection Lake (a fairly short, easy hike), the sun shown through and made for a perfect day!

These gray jays aren’t shy at all.  We sat down on the lake to enjoy lunch, and these guys come swooping in from all over the place and will eat right out of your hand. 

 We finished the day by sliding down the hill to the parking lot.  What a rush!  Click the image below for a quick photo tour of our day.

Looking for a Handyman in Gig Harbor?

I’m not a handyman.  I can’t fix much of anything.  I own a few tools, but that’s mainly because the clearance tub at Ace Hardware is just too tempting for me to pass up.  I don’t really know what to do with many of my tools.  Recently, my wife realized that the paper bags under our kitchen sink were wet.  I then noticed that our kitchen cabinet was bubbled up and the laminate peeling.  That’s not good.  I saw that there was a leak coming from under our sink, and I thought I could fix it.  I figured one of the 3 tools pictured above could do the trick.  I tightened the thingy (that’s really what it’s called, I think) that looked to be leaking.  That made it worse.

I didn’t really want to call a plumber.  Not that there aren’t good plumbers in Gig Harbor, but they can be really expensive.  I searched the phone book for a handyman in Gig Harbor, but how do you choose from a phone book?  So I went to the Gig Harbor Chamber and found an all around repair man.  Mike Gentile of Gentilly Home Services came out and did a great job for a great price. 

If you live in Gig Harbor or the Key Peninsula, and you need somebody to do minor home repairs, give Mike a call.  As you can see from his card, he can do plumbing, cabinets, windows, doors, just about anything you could need fixed, replaced, or repaired around your home or your office.  It’s great to know a reliable, punctual home fix-it man who works for a fair price!  So if you have minor repairs to be done, don’t call a plumber or a carpenter, save yourself the hassle and call a general handyman!  Support Gig Harbor’s small businesses and get repairs done quickly and fairly.

Gig Harbor Open Houses

Here’s the look at this weekend’s open houses in Gig Harbor.  Much smaller this week than in weeks past.  Remember, this info is taken from the NWMLS, so it is reliable but not guaranteed.  If you ever find a home that you’re interested in, please give me a call.  I’d be happy to share with you what I offer to home buyers and help you in the process of deciding if now’s the right time for you to buy.

Gig Harbor’s Newest Restaurant is…

Gig Habor’s newest Italian food restaurant is Pizzeria Fondi, located in the new Gig Harbor Uptown Center.  I’m not sure if this is the big, local chain or not.  I’ve got to admit I’ve never heard of Pizzeria Fondi.  I am sure that I love Italian food, and I know that there’s a lack of good restaurants in Gig Harbor, so I’m excited to try this one.  It’s not open just yet, but looks close. 

Have any of you ever tried Fondi?  Any thoughts on other great places to eat in Gig Harbor?  I know that Spiros has some decent Italian food, and it’s got a great location right there in downtown Gig Harbor, but I’m just not overly excited about them.  Gig Harbor’s Uptown Center is filling up fast, as today marks the opening of the new Galaxy Theater.  How’s this for an evening?  Go to Border’s books and browse around, head over to Pizzeria Fondi’s for dinner, catch a movie at the theaters, hit Ben and Jerry’s for desert.  I’ll have to try that sometime!

Galaxy Theater Grand Opening in Gig Harbor

Are you excited about tomorrow’s grand opening of the new Galaxy movie theaters in Gig Harbor?  Think you can be one of the first 100 and get your free 90 day pass?  Think again!  Here was the scene at 5:30 this evening, 18 hours before the Uptown Center theaters open.  The rainbow is real, by the way, not photo-shopped in!

Believer’s Fellowship of Gig Harbor launches new website

I’ve made mention of our church, Believer’s Fellowship, a few times in this blog.  Believer’s is a non-denominational Christian church located on Hunt St just east of Wollochet St in Gig Harbor.  While there are many wonderful things about our church, three things stand out as very unique to me:

1. We don’t have membership.  Anybody who walks through our doors and participates with us is a ”member.”
2. We don’t take an offering.  No money plates or baskets will pass by.  We believe that tithing is something God asks of us, but feel it should be a voluntary, joyful act.  There are offering boxes located in the church, but no collections will be taken.
3. We have a huge age diversity.  Our nursery is overflowing, our Sunday schools are vibrant, our junior high and high school groups are well attended, we have a huge 20-something population, several “working” age adults, and lots of happily retired Gig Harbor residents.  Not many churches I’ve attended, in Gig Harbor or elsewhere, have such a wide age variety.

Believer’s Fellowship doesn’t believe that church is primarily a Sunday morning activity.  We are focused on building community within Gig Harbor and the surrounding areas, and we do that through outreach programs and multiple home-groups. 

If you’ve been looking for a Gig Harbor church to attend, check out Believer’s Fellowship’s new website that was just launched this week.  There’s even audio of Sunday’s teachings under the “Connect” tab.  Simply click  on the image below to learn about what our church offers.  There are several great churches in Gig Harbor other than Believer’s Fellowship.  Click here to view a further list of Gig Harbor’s churches (not exhaustive, but includes several of the great area churches).

Gig Harbor is a postcard

If I had any self control, I wouldn’t publish all these photos at once, but I can’t help it.  Another beautiful day yesterday, another great family walk through downtown Gig Harbor, more beautiful, postcard perfect photos.  I’m sure I’ll use these again somewhere else in the blog, but I wanted to show off how gorgeous Gig Harbor is!

It looks like you could just start climbing Mount Rainier from here!  On Saturday, a group of guys from my church will be snow shoeing there, so I’ll get some more photos!

Essentially the same view of Mt. Rainier over Gig Harbor’s bay, but I love the color of the water in this one.  I know that this is a frequently photographed site, but I never grow tired of this.  I’m not alone, as the sidewalks have been busy the past few weeks!

I think that these kayakers are part of Gig Harbor’s award winning youth kayak team, but I’m not sure.  I’ve tried a few times to contact one of the coaches of the team to get some info on them for the blog, but he hasn’t contacted me back yet.  If any of you know about this club and want to give me some insight, that’d be great!  As you can see, Gig Harbor is just a beautiful place.  And, as you can see, it’s not always wet weather in Gig Harbor.  The sun does shine!  Kayaks and boats are even available for rent if you are just in town for the weekend and want to get out on the water!

You gotta love dogs!

You’ve gotta love dogs, and you’ve gotta love YouTube!  Watch this video and try to tell me that dogs aren’t smart.  Enjoy!

Lost and found in Gig Harbor

Walking along the Gig Harbor waterfront yesterday afternoon, I saw this little glimpse into why I love this area so much.  Hanging on the cross walk buzzer was this cute little girls’ baseball cap.  Not that Gig Harbor is the only place where this would happen, and not that it’s a huge deal, but how nice that rather than just let the cap sit on the sidewalk or in the road, and rather than picking it up and keeping it, somebody set it in a secure, easy to see location.  I love living in a town where people tend to look out for each other, where community means something, and where neighbors try to be neighborly.  It’s really a fun feeling.

If you want to experience living in Gig Harbor, give me a call.  I’d love to chat with you and find out if this may be the place for you to live!