It’s a picture-perfect day as “O Sole Mio,” the classic song of the gondolier, wafts over the water. But while the song is unquestionably Italian and the sleek red-and-black craft we’re sitting in is truly Venetian, the gondolier manning the great oar, dressed traditionally in black pants, blue-and-white-striped pullover jersey and a ribboned straw hat, is Greg “Gregorio” Garite, a former elementary schoolteacher from Southern California. And we are not on the Grand Canal in Venice but cruising the tranquil waters of Gig Harbor, Washington. Incongruous? Certainly. But nonetheless very romantic.
Like the gondola from Italy, people from near and far have found their way to this place: from the Native Americans who first settled here to the Croatians and Scandinavians who founded its fishing industry and established businesses to the thousands of tourists and vacation homeowners who come to Gig Harbor to enjoy its idyllic setting, rich history, quaint shops, bustling farmers market, marine outfitters, and waterfront eateries.
