It’s 11:45 a.m. Feb. 16. It’s lunchtime in downtown Bremerton by the ferry docks. And it’s one of the first clear, warm weekdays of spring after a long winter of damp and chilly weather.

“The mountains are out,” as residents like to say.

So are the residents.

Gaggles of PSNS workers and Navy personnel take advantage of the day to enjoy what the Puget Sound Navy Museum beltway has to offer. Located alongside Pacific Avenue leading down to the ferry docks, the sculpture garden features plenty of places to sit, walk and read about the history of the Navy Yard.

At one table, three PSNS co-workers enjoy their sack lunch al fresco. A short distance away, another person texts in the shade of a destroyer bow sculpture. The bright sun makes it hard to read her smartphone screen.

Down a bit, two men perch on a couple of the granite boulders artfully scattered along side the walk; conversing and basking in the too-seldom-seen sun, happy as sun-baked lizards.

On the other side of the street, a lady in black coat and hat appears to be ready for rain, perhaps suspicious of the pleasure at being able to walk outdoors without an umbrella.

Five-year-old Nolan Rohwein came to the parkway with his mother to have lunch with his dad, a PSNS worker. But what Nolan wants to do more of is play with his new puppy Milo in the man-made stream that runs along the beltway. Because what’s more fun for a young boy on a warm day than a puppy — and water to splash in?