The city of Everett, about 30 miles (48km) north of Seattle, evolved and prospered through transportation. The 1893 arrival of the Great Northern Railway transformed the small lumber town into a major lumber center that supported several large sawmills, including the self-proclaimed largest shingle mill in the world.
Access to new timberland and other resources came with the 1925 completion of the Stevens Pass Highway from Everett as Washington’s second automobile route across the Cascade Mountains. County airport Paine Field opened just south of Everett in 1936, and in 1943 Seattle-based Boeing opened its first Everett plant to support the World War II production of B-17 bombers.
In 1966, Boeing announced its selection of Everett as the production facility for the new Boeing 747 and subsequently constructed the world’s largest building by volume. Boeing remains Everett’s largest employer, followed by the US Navy who in 1994 established Naval Station Everett that currently employs 6,000 people.
We’d passed Everett many times by car on I-5 and by boat to and from Elliott Bay Marina, but had never visited. We finally did earlier this year with an overnight stay at the Hotel Indigo overlooking the large Port of Everett Marina. While there, we explored the city’s newly-completed Waterfront Place development that opened on the site of the some of the original sawmills, never straying far from the railroad tracks that continue to transport people and goods to and through the city.
Below are highlights from April 21st and 22nd, 2024. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a map with our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.
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Cascade Mountains
Position: 47°49.14’N, -122°16.95’W
Snow-covered Cascade Mountains rising above I-5 as we drive north to spend a Saturday night in Everett.
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Hotel Indigo
Position: 47°59.98’N, -122°13.02’W
Our room for a night at the Hotel Indigo in the city’s new Waterfront Place development. We’ve passed through the area by boat many times, but have never spent any time here.
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Balcony View
Position: 47°59.98’N, -122°13.02’W
The view to the Port of Everett Marina from the balcony of our room at the Hotel Indigo.
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Fisherman Jack’s
Position: 47°59.93’N, -122°12.95’W
An excellent lunch on the patio at Fisherman Jack’s Asian restaurant in Waterfront Place overlooking the Port of Everett Marina. The weather is wonderfully warm today.
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Roxia
Position: 47°59.87’N, -122°12.95’W
Nordhavn 62 Roxia moored at the Port of Everett Marina.
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Grand Avenue Park Bridge
Position: 47°59.77’N, -122°12.81’W
Walking the double-layer Grand Avenue Park pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks between Grand Avenue Park and the Everett waterfront. In addition to pedestrians and cyclists, the bridge also carries storm drainage and sewer pipelines.
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Port of Everett Marina
Position: 47°59.78’N, -122°12.84’W
View to the Port of Everett Marina from the Grand Avenue Park Bridge.
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Sound2Summit
Position: 47°59.67’N, -122°12.87’W
We stopped for a delicious hazy IPA on the patio at Sound2Summit brewery in Everett.
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Ducks
Position: 48°0.07’N, -122°13.05’W
A group of ducks have taken over the dog water dish outside this Everett coffee shop.
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The Muse
Position: 48°0.08’N, -122°13.02’W
A great meal and a fun evening at The Muse Whiskey Bar near the Hotel Indigo in Everett.
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Easter Jesus Statue
Position: 47°59.98’N, -122°13.02’W
We noticed a small Easter Jesus statue on top of the door in our room at the Hotel Indigo in Everett.
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Burned Boat, Everett
Position: 48°0.04’N, -122°12.86’W
A boat that burned to the waterline sitting on a trailer at the Port of Everett boatyard.
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Dunlap Industrial Hardware
Position: 48°0.17’N, -122°12.87’W
While walking around the Port of Everett this morning, we passed Dunlap Industrial Hardware. These huge hooks are part of their extensive commercial hardware inventory.
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Boat Launches
Position: 48°0.26’N, -122°13.28’W
The Port of Everett boat launch must be very popular in the summer. The parking lot is massive and there are 14 individual launch ramps.
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N47 Indiscretion
Position: 48°0.20’N, -122°13.30’W
Nordhavn 47 Indiscretion moored at the Port of Everett.
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Environmental Cleanup
Position: 48°0.02’N, -122°13.03’W
Ongoing environmental cleanup of contamination from the several mills that once operated within the Port of Everett property.
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Anthony’s Home Port
Position: 47°59.72’N, -122°13.40’W
View to the Port of Everett from our table for lunch at Anthony’s Home Port in Everett. The restaurant chain specializes in good quality seafood at waterfront properties. We frequented one in Seattle overlooking our berth at Bell Harbor Marina when we lived aboard there.
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Humvee
Position: 47°59.71’N, -122°13.40’W
A Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, abbreviated as HMMWV and pronounced as Humvee) at Naval Station Everett, viewed from our table at Anthony’s Home Port. Hummer vehicles are street-versions of Humvees.
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Security Barriers
Position: 47°59.66’N, -122°13.09’W
Pop-up security barriers at one of the Naval Station Everett gates. No vehicle is getting past those.
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Vindicktive Wings
Position: 47°36.84’N, -122°20.82’W
Mike and Fletch Morgan, two of the four owners of Vindicktive Wings, are massive Sumo wrestling fans. One of the screens above the bar, visible to Jennifer’s right, plays Sumo wrestling 24×7. We didn’t think there was that much Sumo wrestling in the entire world. To show how truly massive these wrestlers are, a hand print from a large wrestler is mounted beside the TV. It’s easily twice the size of Jennifer’s hand.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map. And a map of our most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps. |
James, I loved following your blog and videos, watching videos on maintenance and how you think through problems (as an engineer myself, and one of your many colleagues). I have a Cutwater 28 at the Port of Everett. I would be so surprised, if I bumped into you at the port. The Port of Everett has had a lot of investment and improvement in the last 5 years. It’s really nice now. I’d offer you a cruise around the sound any time you’re passing through.
Alan, thanks for the feedback on the blog. Nice choice in the Cutwater. Ranger Tug and Cutwaters are the most creative space utilizing design we have ever come across. We really like the Rangers and the additional speed of the Cutwaters is attractive. All the best and thanks for the invitation to a Puget Sound cruise.
Make me wonder when James and Jennifer will begin building another Nordhavn, or, if they will….I love to read all the techie planning and thinking from these two.
Do you plan on getting back on the water?
We love the freedom and self sufficiency that comes from boating and, more than anything, we love the adventures and experiences that came from our 20 years in two boats. We continue to find ways to keep adventuring and have been to both the North Pole (https://mvdirona.com/2023/10/the-north-pole/) and the South Pole (https://mvdirona.com/2024/04/south-pole-and-emperors/) in the last year. But still, the appeal of boating pulls hard and we’ll likely be back.