Winning the "Ottery"

As I scrolled through pictures on Facebook, I paused on a fluffy otter basking in the sunshine. The caption read: Port Madison, Bainbridge Island. It’s an easy drive to Bainbridge from our house on the Kitsap Peninsula. I forwarded the picture to Jeff and asked him if we wanted to go otter hunting (with a camera) that weekend. With our plans in place, I began referring to the outing as the Great Otter Hunt until Jeff gently reminded me that our chances of actually finding otters were slim.

Still, it was worth a shot. Someone had found an adorable otter in Port Madison, and it might be our lucky day, too. So, on Saturday, we headed out to Fay Bainbridge Park, a 17-acre marine camping park with views of the Puget Sound and the Cascade Mountains. It was a nice beach with seabirds, but alas, there were no otters. On the way home, we stopped for lunch in Suquamish, just over the Agate Passage from Bainbridge Island. After lunch, we checked out the Suquamish Dock, and there they were: Two otters playing in the sunshine.

Since moving to Kitsap, I’ve seen many seals and seabirds, but this was my first chance to see the local otters. We watched from a safe distance as they groomed themselves on the dock until they both slipped into the water and swam away. And since I haven’t exceeded my pun quota for the day, I have to say it: It was an otterly magical experience.