|
Welcome to the new Puget Sound Magazine web site. We are frantically working to bring you enticing content that will make your mouth water, your fingers tremble, and your heart race. Well, at least we are hoping to get you off the crowded freeways and out onto the peaceful and enchanted waterways you probably glimpse at from your car window every now and then. -And probably wonder every once in a while, "what's out there?"
Alas, there's finally someone here that's going to tell you what's out there waiting for your escape. We're gonna get your feet wet first and tell you about the extensive directory of water centric amenities we are building. Then, we are going to share ideas about how to get out there and enjoy this piece of the world you've been avoiding for too long. It's right in your back yard and it's one of the most amazing places on earth--so much so that dozens of international travel and cruise companies have swarmed in, and all the big travel pubs are writing about it.
We have two objectives. The first is to provide you with a comprehensive directory of all the water centric amenities available to you for enjoying the richness of the Puget Sound region. Like the phone book, we don't charge anyone for basic listings. That way, you can see all the choices available. Unlike other regional directories, we take a water centric point of view rather than freeway centric. In other words, if you can't get there by water travel, it's not important to us. Our goal with the directory is to make it easy for you to plan relaxing get-a-ways that don't depend on a car. We don't think that there is anything relaxing about driving in the Pacific Northwest after you spend a few hours in the worst traffic mess in the country.
Our second objective is to provide you with unusual and romantic vacation ideas, enticing culinary suggestions, entertaining stories, environmental issues, and even little known history tidbits to give you a new perspective of this unique and mysterious region. Over time, we hope to build up a great resource library of articles covering the Puget Sound region.
What was originally known as the Salish Sea by early settlers and now technically considered a part of the Georgia Basin, our coverage of the greater Puget Sound region extends from Olympia up through the San Juan Island and on occasion to as far away as Campbell River and the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. Our goal is to provide you with enticing ideas on where to take your next vacation. We want to help you forget about the masses that crowd the typical high-volume vacation destinations like Vegas, Orlando, Cancun, Cabo, or Waikiki. Why spend half of your vacation time getting frazzled at airports and waiting in line for cabs just to fight for a patch of sun by a crowded pool? Of course, if you like being herded like sheep and treated like just another number at big expansive theme park hotels, then we might not be able to help you much--We don't have a need for a Disneyland here. There's just too many other natural choices for things to do around here.
Puget Sound is the gateway to the Georgia Basin and Inside Passage to Alaska. There is more coastline in the Puget Sound region then all of California. And between here and Southeast Alaska, there is more than all the ocean beaches down to the equator. This is an important fact because it makes for countless bays, beaches, islands and communities that are each individual and worth a visit. The protected waters of this region make small boat travel possible year round.
We have no hurricanes, typhoons or tornadoes to mess with your vacation plans. Even in winter, temperatures stay relatively moderate compared the Easter US and Canada, which commonly plummets into a deep freeze for extensive periods. In summer, it's the opposite--They turn into a blast furnace while we stay comfortable. This is because we have a big temperature control system and they don't. -The prevailing westerly winds that feed the area drift in off the Pacific Ocean, which stays the same temperature year round. On the East Coast and Southern US, the prevailing westerly winds come in from overland. When the land heats up in summer and cools off in winter, they feel the effect. The Puget Sound region is becoming known as one of the most temperate places on earth.
We do however get our share of rain to keep everything nice and green. Most native Northwesterner's know how to make vacation plans that accommodate either sun or rain. And for the most part, the waterfront communities and vacation destinations we cover are well equipped to share the beauty of the region with warm and comfortable surroundings despite a cool blanket of gray skies which can be all too common during some months of the year. The heavy winter rains that make national news on occasion happen inland from the salt waterways, so flooding issues rarely effect vacation plans that include travel by water in the Puget Sound region. It just usually means you might see more driftwood than usual passing by your window.
Well, enough of the sales pitches, we hope that this gives you an idea where we are heading with Puget Sound Magazine. We are grateful for your suggestions and requests and hope we can provide you with a valuable resource to plan your next water-centric outing.
|
