Matt Thomson Gig Harbor, WA Real Estate & Relocation

Summer is here...kind of. School has let out in much of the area, and kids are excited, teachers are relieved, and parents are fear-struck. What to do in Gig Harbor now that school's out? Here are just a few ideas. If you've got others, I'd love to hear about them (after all, it's a community blog, and it only works if the community gets involved).

Summertime Fun in Gig Harbor, Washington

1. Enroll your student in a kayaking day camp. Gig Harbor Rent-a-Boat is hosting a summer day camp for kids in Gig Harbor to learn how to safely and efficiently paddle around our beautiful waters. This camp is for 9-14 year olds, and runs between $220 and $250. Click here to get full details on the Rent-a-Boat website.

2. Gig Harbor has some of the most gorgeous beaches in the Pacific Northwest, and the beaches are just crawling with sea-life. You and your kids can explore the Gig Harbor beaches and wildlife through the Harbor Wild Watch. Take a guided walk along the beaches at low tide and learn about all of the ways that we can care for our sea-creatures. A great hands-on experience. Visit the Harbor Wild Watch website for full details.

3. Hey, back to #1, did I mention boating? Why not bring the whole family down to Gig Harbor's downtown and rent a boat? Visit the Gig Harbor Rent-a-Boat website for full details. My wife and I took her sister around on a rent-a-boat and had a blast last summer.

4. Next week only (June 18-20th), the Tacoma Narrows Airport will be home to some of the most amazing WWII aircraft around. For $12 adults, and $6 kids, you can come and view these airplanes. Want to see Gig Harbor by air? Want to ride in a WWII airplane? For anywhere from $325-$3200 (depending on the plane and your seat) you can get a ride around Gig Harbor, Fox Island, and the Puget Sound in a WWII aircraft! Call 1-800-568-8924 for more details.

5. Visit the Tall Ship Festival in Tacoma. Running from 10am-8pm, July 3rd-7th, the waters off of Gig Harbor and Tacoma will be swarming with amazing restored tall ships. Fun and festivities during the whole week. Visit the Tall Ship Festival website for more information.

6. Take your kids to the YMCA. We just finished our daughter's first level of swim lessons (she's only 8 months and loves the pool!). Swim lessons were free with our membership. Basketball, pickleball, volleyball, swimming, and more are available at the Gig Harbor YMCA. Visit their website for membership information.

Don't forget that there's the new movie theater and Border's bookstore in the Gig Harbor Uptown Center, great places to walk, and lots of parks in Gig Harbor as well (I'll be featuring these in future blogs). I'd love to hear other ideas to keep Gig Harbor's kids busy this summer.

Gig Harbor, WA, is a doggy's paradise. Trails, beaches, parks, and lots of folks who love to walk their dogs. There are a few pet stores in town, my favorite being Green Cottage Pets. A new pet store has just opened right next door to my Thursday night date spot, El Pueblito. FC's Pawprints is a new doggy store that is really fun to visit. Lots of dog treats, accessories, clothes, etc. I see it as a nice compliment to Green Cottage.

There are lots of fun things to view at FC's Pawprints. It's a really nice, clean, flowing store which makes shopping easy.

The doggy bakery is fun to see, too. Guess what Sebastian's favorite part of Gig Harbor's newest pet store is?

There is currently a humpback whale cruising around the waters between Tacoma and Gig Harbor. It's pretty rare to have whales swimming in the Narrows, but apparently this guy is just hungry and didn't want to share his meals with any other whales. You can actually see the whale from this waterfront home I have listed in Gig Harbor's east side!

Click here for the Tacoma News Tribune's story on the whale or click on the picture for video coverage from Northwest Cable News.

Thus far in May we've seen 17 home sales (and 0 condo sales) in Gig Harbor. Clicking on the interactive map below will allow you to see what has sold in May. Click here for April's sales. By moving your cursor over any of the pushpins, you can see the price the home was listed for (most recently prior to sale, this isn't necessarily the original asking price), the final sales price, and how many days the home was on the market.

This information is taken from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed. If you'd like a detailed home sales report for your area, or if you'd like a free market analysis of what your home is worth today, please feel free to give me a call or email me.

Summer decided to show up in Gig Harbor yesterday afternoon. After a cloudy morning in the low 60's, the sun made an appearance around 2pm and the temps jumped to the low 70's. It's sunny and bright this morning, with temps expected around 80! So what to do? How about tour Gig Harbor and Fox Island looking at open houses? There are 34 properties being held open this weekend, ranging from $209,000-$1,475,000! Click on the map below to see a list of all the open houses in Gig Harbor and Fox Island this weekend.

Make sure you visit the Narrows View condos on Saturday afternoon. There are 4 units in there ranging from $500,000-$575,000. Amazing views of the Puget Sound and the Tacoma Narrows Bridges from this gated condo community.

Remember, this information is taken from the NWMLS and is reliable but not guaranteed.