Traveling through the great state of Washington for the past five days on our family vacation was a wonderful experience filled with new adventures that delighted all the senses.
For the most part we tend to forget how fortunate we are to live in such a diverse region that offers a full complement of various environments in which to explore, play and enjoy. What travel also brings back to me every time I return home is a renewed appreciation for Bremerton and Kitsap as a whole.
Having traveled around much of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, I have seen and experienced many wonderful things that are different and unique to that particular region. Everything from the most blatant overdone tourist traps, to the farthest out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-track local treasures. There are towns and communities that are happy to be left simple and alone. Some towns are shameless in their attempts to rake in the money as over-the-top tourist destinations with much put upon permanent residents who are either battered and resigned to the superficial quick buck and the massive seasonal swarms or who despise every single moment of it and make it a point to let visitors know exactly how they feel.
The really fun welcoming communities and towns are the ones that find the balance between serving their core residents while at the same time making themselves and what they have to offer appealing and known to potential interested travelers. This past week, we made it a point to stop at multiple local visitor information centers to see not only what they had to offer in the way of recommendations for their own area but to also see if Bremerton was represented as a suggested Washington state destination. It was. Most times Bremerton’s face to the rest of the world was comprised of a rather nicely done small glossy booklet of an introduction, pictures and basic city services information. Not too bad in comparison to the many other published community travel documents competing for the same shelf space and tourist attention, but there is still considerable room for improvement. The whole thing comes across as a little too sterile and not enough personal. And no, pictures of the poorly chosen, newly installed “fish art” are not going to significantly increase the amount of visitor traffic to Bremerton anytime soon. No matter what planet the City Council continues to operate on.
As community development decision-making goes forward at nearly every level, here is to hoping that Bremerton continues to find and maintain the right kind of balance when it comes to residents and visitors alike. What do you think Bremerton’s face to the world should be composed of? Would you be willing to offer up your constructive opinion? Think about it.
