Gig Harbor Undressed

Good to tour Gig Harbor again

It’s interesting when you live in an area how easy it is to forget what makes it special.  You tend to get into your little routine, travelling the same routes, doing the same things, seeing the same people, and while it’s comfortable and nice, you can miss what else your town offers.  When I lived in Park City, Ut, I took the skiing for granted.  When I lived in Santa Barbara, Ca, the beach was just kind of there.  Now, living in Gig Harbor, Wa, I can tend to miss the true beauty of our neighborhoods and the kindness of our residents.

I had the pleasure of touring Gig Harbor again this weekend, as I had some clients in from out of state.  It was busy (we had 34 homes to tour, added 2 more to the list, eventually crossed 16 off the list, but saw 4 homes twice!) but it was a lot of fun for me (and my clients too, I hope!).  I runjog or walk through Canterwood nearly every day, but driving through it and seeing it through the eyes of a potential resident, it just jumps out at you again how nice Canterwood is.  I’ve loved the Millbrooke neighborhood off of Rosedale ever since it was built about 4 years ago, but visiting there with potential residents made me that much more aware of the impeccable condition of those homes and their yards.   Driving through Cromwell Woods and Trillium Park, and so many other fantastic Gig Harbor neighborhoods just re-invigorated my love for the whole Gig Harbor area.

I also had some interesting interactions with several of our residents.  How do you schedule appointments for 36 homes?  How do you give ample notice and maintain minimal inconvenience?  I guess I found out that you don’t.  I cancelled 16 appts (and by cancelled I pretty much mean didn’t show up for) this weekend.  With one exception, every seller whom I had requested a showing and then ended up not being able to make it was very gracious.  That’s not an easy thing to do, as the process of getting your home ready to show, vacating the home for a period, and getting your hopes up that these might be the people who will want your house, is a very taxing process.  I truly appreciate all of those sellers who made their homes available and accepted our inability to visit their homes.  I apologize to the one seller who was angry…it’s just the way it goes.

In addition to getting to speak with gracious Gig Harbor residents, it is always fun to have conversations with amiable sellers as you schedule the appointments.  Many ask about my business, some ask about the buyers, a few leave out candy or bake cookies.  It’s really a fun way to “meet” the folks in our community.  There’s one home in particular, in a great gated community in a very good location, that I really wish I could find a buyer for.  The yard is fully fenced and huge, the house is spotless and very large, and the seller is just plain kind.  She made a baby cap for some buyers of mine a few months back (my clients were pregnant at the time of showing), and she had fresh snicker-doodles made for us this time.  I’ve never met her, she doesn’t know me, but she’s always fun to talk to and makes her home extremely inviting.  Unfortunately it just hasn’t worked for either client to whom I’ve shown it.

As a resident of Gig Harbor I can tend to get stuck in my routine rut.  Spending a weekend like this past one, driving through so many of Gig Harbor’s fine neighborhoods, seeing yards decorated for birthday parties, passing picnics in the City Park, watching the Gig Harbor Little League field covered with excited young future Mariners, speaking with residents whom I’ll most likely never meet but still feel as though I know, is a real treat.  If you haven’t visited Gig Harbor recently, or if you’re a resident of Gig Harbor stuck in your routine, take a weekend and just tour the town.  Maybe go to some open houses or call a Realtor and go view that home for sale that you’ve been wanting to see.  It’s a great way to reconnect with our community!

Amazing Gig Harbor Wildlife Show!

Gig Harbor has some beautiful scenery, and some exciting wildlife as well. One thing I love about selling homes in Gig Harbor is hearing back from my clients about all the great things they love about their new home. I’ve featured photos from John Pleau before, but these may be the most remarkable. John’s a good friend, great photographer, all around good guy, and was a pretty good client, too.

Check out these photos he took from the deck of his Ray Nash waterfront home today. He assured me the baby ducklings all came out safely, and some large geese jumped in the fray to chase off the eagle. Amazing what you can view in Gig Harbor…who needs a TV?

Bald eagle swooping in for a snack.

DUCK duckling!

Momma duck trying to protect her ducklings.

Spring in Gig Harbor, Washington

I’ve lived in some beautiful places in my lifetime.  Growing up in Park City, UT; going to college in Santa Barbara, CA; living for a semester in San Francisco; then moving here to Gig Harbor, Wa.  I enjoyed all of those places, but I believe that Gig Harbor is the most beautiful of all the places I’ve ever lived or even visited.

Spring time in Gig Harbor, and most of the South Puget Sound region, is gorgeous.  I’m not much of a gardener.  As I’ve said before, about the only thing I can keep green year round is the moss that gathers in my yard.  Here are a few photos I snapped today.  As I pulled into my driveway, I was struck again by the beauty of Gig Harbor and all that grows here.  I know the red flower is a Rhododendron, but I don’t have a clue what either of the blossoming trees are.  I’d be interested if any of you green thumbs know.

Gig Harbor’s weather is doing what? Snow way!

Hey Seb, why the long face?  That’s not dandruff on my loyal dog, that’s snow.  Those of you in colder parts of the country may not have any sympathy (and may not consider this real snow), but for those of us in Gig Harbor, Wa, this stinks.

It’s the end of March, it’s not supposed to snow in Western Washington in March (unless you’re in the mountains).  Gig Harbor has had amazing weather this spring, warm and sunny and beautiful.  So where did this come from? 

…and then, 3 hours later!

Spring is in bloom in Gig Harbor

I know I wrote an article about a month ago that it felt like spring was coming, but it still feels like spring.  We’ve had some rain, and the temps have cooled a bit, but it’s still be amazingly beautiful weather for Gig Harbor this time of year.  You can really tell it’s spring now, though, as the flowers are blooming which means allergies for me!  It also makes it really pretty, though.  Below are a few attempts at me being artsy with a tree flowering out my front window and a flowering shrub on the downtown waterfront.

Beauty of Gig Harbor and Fox Island

I wanted to share a couple of photos with you. These are courtesy of Joseph Becker. You can view more of his amazing shots at his website, www.seldomseenphoto.com.

The top photo is looking at Mt Rainier and Fox Island. That is the view you would have from the Fox Island bridge, which is the only way to get onto Fox Island unless you have a boat.

The bottom photo is the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, taken prior to the second bridge being built.

If you lived on Fox Island and worked in Tacoma, you’d get both of these views each day!

More fun photos

A friend of mine, who also happens to be my preferred lender for those of you who are looking to buy a home or perhaps refinance a home, sent me these photos that he took.  Thanks Bill!

A group of harbor seals bum a ride on a log jam as it gets towed underneath the Tacoma Narrows Bridge!

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!

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!

Rights vs. Responsibilities

So often I hear agents blaming other agents, buyers blaming sellers, sellers blaming buyers, loan officers get blamed by everyone, and so on and so forth.  What am I getting at here?  I’m afraid that in our society, many people have become more focused on their rights and what they feel they deserve than on their responsibilities. 

This isn’t a religious blog, but we had an interesting teaching in our church a few weeks ago that focused on the very popular passage in Colossians 3 (”wives, submit to your husbands, husbands love your wives”).  The main point was that often times this passage is used by husbands to justify what their wives should be doing for them, and by wives to point out what their husbands owe to them, missing the main point that this has nothing to do with the other spouse but rather with your own responsibility.

It made me think not only of my relationship with my wife, but also my relationship with my clients.  I chose to work at Keller Williams Realty in Gig Harbor because their core values were in line with my own.  Regardless of what others expect of me, or what I expect of others, all that I can control is making sure that I do what I said I’d do.  As an agent, I make certain promises to my clients, lenders, other agents and their clients, etc.  Making sure that I live up to those promises is all that I need to be worried about. 

I have the right to have my wife respect me.  That will happen if I live up to my responsibility of cherishing her.  I have the right to a good night of sleep.  That MAY happen if I fulfill my responsibilities to my daughter and meet her needs.  I have the right to expect that my clients will be loyal to me.  That will happen if I fulfill my responsibilities towards them.  I may believe that I have the right to expect that those who enjoy my blog will use my services when it comes time to buy or sell real estate.  If I continue to fulfill my responsibility of providing good, accurate, and relevant information that will happen. 

I try to watch The Cosby Show as often as possible (there’s no manual for parenthood, and other than The Bible, The Cosby Show is the next best thing I’ve found!) but it’s on from 4-5pm on weekdays so it’s not always possible.  I’m amazed, when I can watch, how many of the commercials are from lawyers urging me to know my rights and find somebody to sue for something.  I mean, certainly I’ve been wronged somehow, right?  Sure would be nice if our legal system focused more on each citizen fulfilling their responsibilities and not so much on capitalizing on our rights. 

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.  Too idealistic?  Off target?  Am I wrong, or am I RIGHT?