Port Orchard Totem Pole at Yukon Do IT Marathon start

I ran the Yukon Do IT Marathon in Port Orchard on December 29, 2013. It was my 17th marathon and my 7th this year in my quest for 8 in a 365 day period to bump up to "2 Star/Silver" level Marathon Maniacs. I had never been to Port Orchard and was looking forward to route and contrast in scenery along the water after having run 6 other marathons since last spring --Whidbey Island, Tacoma City, Seattle Rock n Roll, Bellingham Bay, New York, and Seattle. I went to Port Orchard the day before the race to pick up my race number and made a day of it with my friend Laura to check out the course, do a sketch, and see if I could find a winery. I discovered this great totem pole at the marathon start so sat in the car to do a sketch before heading off to find a winery. After the sketch, we drove to Lakebay WA and found a great winery called Trillium Creek Winery where we met the owners Claude and Claudia who were gracious hosts and had a romantic story. It was an all around wonderful day. The downside though was that Claude and Claudia were quite generous with their pours and I discovered that wine tasting + 1 hour sleep the day before a marathon is not the best pre-marathon routine and an excellent recipe for being almost last to the finish.