Camano, Orcas and Vashon Islands
July 23 – August 3, 2015
After a week in Michigan, the boys and I flew to
Seattle and met up with Alle, who was coming from California and with Ricardo. We
all drove to a rental house on the beach on Camano Island. Camano is an hour
and half north of Seattle and west of Pilchuck Glass School. The house we rented sat on a warm-ish bay, looking
southeast with views of Mount Baker, still covered with snow,
and on a clear day, Mount Rainier. We rented it for a week so that Ricardo’s immediate family could come together for a reunion. All of the kids had not been together before. Ricardo’s older son Jordan, his wife Magda and their two year old son Lazaro arrived later on Thursday. Ricardo’s older daughter Annika and husband Jake arrived the next day. We spent a long weekend together, Thursday through Monday.
and on a clear day, Mount Rainier. We rented it for a week so that Ricardo’s immediate family could come together for a reunion. All of the kids had not been together before. Ricardo’s older son Jordan, his wife Magda and their two year old son Lazaro arrived later on Thursday. Ricardo’s older daughter Annika and husband Jake arrived the next day. We spent a long weekend together, Thursday through Monday.
Our house was on Iverson Beach near a wilderness preserve called Iverson Spit Preserve. To get there, we took a bridge to Camano Island and drove down the Iverson Beach Road, which was bathed in beautiful light by the time we reached it at sunset.
Being on East Coast time after our week in Michigan, I was rising earlier than the rest of our group, which is not typical. This was one of my early morning views.
The interior of our cabin was rustic, but comfortable.
The Camano Island beach was rocky with lots of drift wood, perfect for building forts
and for kayaking.
After the older kids left, we drove east and spend a morning at one of my old haunts, Pilchuck Glass School. Both Ricardo and I have served on the Board there at different times. Our sailing buddy, Mark Haley, a mutual friend on the Board introduced us to each other many years ago. Here's the view I never tire of from Pilchuck, looking north towards the San Juan Islands.
The interior of our cabin was rustic, but comfortable.
The Camano Island beach was rocky with lots of drift wood, perfect for building forts
and for kayaking.
After the older kids left, we drove east and spend a morning at one of my old haunts, Pilchuck Glass School. Both Ricardo and I have served on the Board there at different times. Our sailing buddy, Mark Haley, a mutual friend on the Board introduced us to each other many years ago. Here's the view I never tire of from Pilchuck, looking north towards the San Juan Islands.
The staff have added these flags of all the countries represented in Pilchuck glass classes to the lovely log entry of the lodge.
The weather became sunny and warm towards the end
of our time on Camano; the last three days we were on the beach were lovely summer
days.
We even tried swimming in the very cold water. One of the days, we walked down the beach to the preserve.
We even tried swimming in the very cold water. One of the days, we walked down the beach to the preserve.
There are paths in from the beach; one was called the Hobbit Trail, which the boys liked.
From Camano, we drove north and boarded a car
ferry at Anacortes to Orcas Island.
The whole process takes about two hours. Orcas is one of the San Juan Islands and is more sunny and drier than the Seattle area.
We arrived on Orcas and were met by our old friends Mark and Nancy Haley, on their lovely wooden sailboat.
We were all so happy to sail with them for the latter half of the day. Everyone got a chance to try steering the boat while it was under sail. It was a beautiful afternoon.
Chatting with them felt as if no time had passed although I haven’t seen them in at least four years.
The whole process takes about two hours. Orcas is one of the San Juan Islands and is more sunny and drier than the Seattle area.
We arrived on Orcas and were met by our old friends Mark and Nancy Haley, on their lovely wooden sailboat.
We were all so happy to sail with them for the latter half of the day. Everyone got a chance to try steering the boat while it was under sail. It was a beautiful afternoon.
Chatting with them felt as if no time had passed although I haven’t seen them in at least four years.
For two nights on Orcas, we stayed in an apartment
above some shops in East Sound, a small quaint touristy village in one of the
bays.
It was a great place to stay. A nice bakery was downstairs and lots of shops dotted the street below us.
Everything we wanted to see on the island was within easy driving distance. One of the reasons we had booked a few days on Orcas was that other friends from Des Moines were also there visiting family. The boys’ preschool friend Anna Lucy and her family were there. So, we saw them on one of our days there. We met up for breakfast and also for dinner, which was fun.
It was a great place to stay. A nice bakery was downstairs and lots of shops dotted the street below us.
Everything we wanted to see on the island was within easy driving distance. One of the reasons we had booked a few days on Orcas was that other friends from Des Moines were also there visiting family. The boys’ preschool friend Anna Lucy and her family were there. So, we saw them on one of our days there. We met up for breakfast and also for dinner, which was fun.
From Orcas, Alle and I drove Ricardo and the boys
south to the King Street Station in Seattle. It was a long process to get
south. We started on Orcas at 11 am, caught the 12:30 pm ferry, made it to
Anacortes around 2 pm, drove to northern Seattle around 3:15 pm and to the
train station by about 4 pm. We were lucky and the legendary Seattle traffic (in
a bad way) did not hold us back going in our direction. The boys were ready for their 4:40 train to
Minneapolis. Alle and I made our way to Vashon Island via a stop for red
bean pastries and bubble teas in Chinatown.
We visited some of our favorite people on Vashon,
Shirley and Bill.
We had a lively, less-than-24-hour time with them, but even a visit that short can be worthwhile. We had a sunset dinner and long breakfast each filled with good conversation. Aunt Shirley's Studio walls have inspired many a creative project and summer cousin's camp adventure.
We had a chance to swing by our Vashon farm and meet our new tenants, who seem to be very excited about the house, two acre garden and ten acres of grass.
We had a lively, less-than-24-hour time with them, but even a visit that short can be worthwhile. We had a sunset dinner and long breakfast each filled with good conversation. Aunt Shirley's Studio walls have inspired many a creative project and summer cousin's camp adventure.
We had a chance to swing by our Vashon farm and meet our new tenants, who seem to be very excited about the house, two acre garden and ten acres of grass.
Alle and
I decided to spend our last few hours of holiday in downtown Seattle at Pike
Place Market. We ate our way from one end to the other and then went out for a
light dinner.
We stayed in my favorite downtown Mayflower Hotel and flew back to Des Moines the next morning. The only saving grace of being home with too much laundry, unpacking and reorganizing to do is that we are bringing a new puppy into the family. That will have to be a different story.
We stayed in my favorite downtown Mayflower Hotel and flew back to Des Moines the next morning. The only saving grace of being home with too much laundry, unpacking and reorganizing to do is that we are bringing a new puppy into the family. That will have to be a different story.
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