On March 14, I had a few errands to run and a lunch appointment on the east side of the Puget Sound so I decided to take our SoundRunner ferry and make a day of it.

Now, when you arrive in Seattle before 8 a.m., there aren’t a lot of touristy things to do. Wrong! I wanted to go to Bellevue later in the day, so I went over to King County Metro and purchased a Senior Discount Card. It cost $3 and it gets you on any public transit for just 75 cents.

Being hungry, I walked along First Avenue to the Pike Place Market Bar and Grill. They have great breakfasts.  From my second-floor booth, I watched tons of fish and fresh produce plus a million flowers being loaded into the market for the day.  I spoke with management there and asked if SoundRunner passengers could possibly get some sort of discount on breakfast. We will be hammering out the details soon. What a great way for you to start a day in town when your summer guests are here!

At 9 a.m., I walked three blocks over to the Mayflower Park Hotel, one of Seattle’s great historical buildings. I met with the director of marketing. We had a wonderful chat and will be working on packages where our Kitsap folks will be able to arrive on our 4:20 p.m. boat, spend a night at the Mayflower and enjoy the town.

Why the Mayflower Park?  Just below this hotel is the Westlake Center Metro Bus Tunnel Station and just outside the door is the monorail. From here you can get to the Paramount, Fifth Avenue, Benaroya Hall or any number of downtown attractions on a free one- or two-stop bus ride. The monorail can take you to Seattle Center for concerts at the Key Arena or a play at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.  Right now, Mayflower Park is featuring packages for the Gauguin display at the Seattle Art Museum and the King Tut event later this year. After a night in town, you can catch a bus to the Pioneer Square station for either the 7:40 a.m. or 5:20 p.m. SoundRunner home.  I left the Mayflower and took the escalator down to the bus tunnel. With my Metro pass and 75 cents, I was having a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Bellevue Square 28 minutes later. I walked around Bellevue for a while then went to my favorite place, the 520 Bar and Grill, for lunch with some old friends from high school.

Around 3 p.m., another 75 cents got me back to Westlake Center. Buses run about every 20 minutes. Being St. Patty’s week, I stopped by Kell’s on Post Alley for a brew and watched Chelsea whip Napoli in a great soccer game. Then I walked down Alaskan Way and boarded Spirit of Kingston for a relaxing ride home. What a great way to spend a day on the East Side.

My point here is that this service is not just for commuters. You can leave that car behind and go anyplace in the world. A light-rail ride for $3 will get you to SeaTac.

Folks, please think about the ways you can support this service. Seniors, get that Metro card and start traveling. Down at the port, we are working very hard to make this a service for everyone.

Nautical term of the month
“Posh.” Now, that’s a word that means “elegant, for well-off people, first class.” It does, but originally it was a nautical term. It is an acronym for Port Out Starboard Home.

In the early days of steamship travel between England and Egypt, transiting the Mediterranean was a very hot experience. To avoid the torrid afternoon sun setting over Africa, the wealthy passengers would get a POSH stateroom on the port side outbound and on the starboard side heading home. Thanks, Tom, for this contribution.

Well, that’s about it for this month. Thanks, as always, for taking time to read this stuff.

— Pete DeBoer is a Port of Kingston commissioner. Contact him at pete@petedeboer.com