Blakely Island/Roche Harbor With the Walkers

Holly and Jerry joined us in Anacortes about 9:30 and we headed over to Blakely Island. It is a beautiful but small marina that we have come to love. We were given a slip at the end of the dock and had a gorgeous view out into the islands.

We wandered out onto the rock spit at the entrance to the marina to see if we could find the geochache that was hidden there. We know it is there because we found it last year but this time we didn't have any luck. 

Last time we were here we did some crabbing and had tremendous success. Unfortunately, crab season doesn't start until tomorrow so we are hoping for lots of crab then. After a relaxing day, we had a nice steak dinner on the boat and ended the evening watching the movie Zootopia.

The next morning Bob took me out to teach me how to run the dinghy. Our plan, when we know we need to off load it, is for me to run the dinghy while he docks the boat. Then we can tie the dinghy to the stern where it will be ready for us to use. Bob said I did well but I still soaked us a couple of times when I hit a wake wrong.

Next, we headed over to Roche Harbor - our very favorite place to be. We had a very nice ride and arrived in time for lunch. We launched the dinghy and Holly and I ran it over to our slip as Bob and Jerry docked Synnova. We knew we wanted to do some crabbing since it is opening day today so as soon as we were settled, Bob and Jerry took the dinghy out and dropped the crab pot.

After lunch we went out for a walk and showed Holly and Jerry the mausoleum. It is so cool and so rich in history. 

"It's safe to say that John S McMillin wanted to be remembered as a family man. A late 19th and early 20th century industrialist, McMillin founded the Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Company on land that later became the site of today's Roche Harbor Resort. He and his wife, Louelle, had five children, and in the woods north of Roche Harbor, there stands a mausoleum that McMillin had built to honor his family.

Afterglow Vista, as it's called, is not your run-of-the-mill mausoleum. As you approach the forested monument, you'll think you stumbled on a misplaced bit of Rome. A circle of pillars rises high over a limestone table around which sit seven stone chairs. Everything at Afterglow is symbolic from the winding stairs leading to the table - that represents the winding path of one's life--to the broken column on the memorial's west side. That's an ode to the "unfinished state of man's work when the string of life is broken." A proud Methodist, Republican and Mason, McMillin turned to the Masonic Order when he designed the mausoleum. One chair is conspicuously missing -- the one in front of the broken pillar -- and local rumor has it that that's symbolic of one of McMillin's sons who married out of the Methodist religion.

Getting to Afterglow Vista requires a half-mile walk through forest, which is interesting in its own right. The trail snakes through a wooded graveyard in which several graves are surrounded by wrought iron or picket fences. It's an easy trail to follow pointing the way to the mausoleum."

After returning to the boat we took the dinghy out to check our crab pot. Unfortunately, we only had one crab so we left it over night but we realized the next day (as I'm writing this) that it was actually a rock crab. 

Tonight seemed like a great night to go out to dinner so we visited the deck cafe at McMillan's. Our food was terrific and our waitress had a cute Romanian accent.

On our way back from dinner we got a picture of the flag and then later watched the "lowering of the colors" which is performed every evening complete with a cannon blast.

I never get tired of the sunsets when we are out boating. This was the view we had tonight.

We began our morning with a lot of chaos as we tried to do too many things at once. I was ready to start cooking breakfast when we decided to go out and bring in the crab pot we dropped yesterday. When we got out there we discovered we had four legal crabs so we put them in our bucket and then dropped the pot back in the water to try for a few more. Jerry and I both had licenses so our hope was to get 10 today. When we got back to the boat I began cooking breakfast while Bob and Jerry tried to figure out how to put our new crab cooker together. In the middle of that, Holly kept pouring sea water over the crabs and changing out the water to keep them aerated. She said every time she poured more water in they got more active. She even demonstrated for us what the crabs looked like! We finally got the cooker assembled, filled with water and put out on the dock so Jerry could clean the crab and drop them in the pot.

We can't remember what this picture of Holly attacking Bob was about but we figure it probably had something to do with Bob saying Holly was crazy!

They finally got cooked, we had a good blueberry pancake breakfast in the middle of it all, and then sat down to crack and clean the crab. We ended up with 2-1/2 pounds of crab to eat and freeze. We were very happy with our catch and had wonderful crab cocktails for dinner.

We went for another walk today and took Holly and Jerry down to the old lime quarry. We had hoped to take them out to the woods by the airport on those trails, too, but we ran out of time. There is just so much to do at Roche Harbor. That is why we like it here so much. You can do as much, or as little, as you want to and still have a wonderful time.

As you approach Roche Harbor you can see a huge house with turrets being built on the hillside. It has a spectacular view of the marina and the islands. We walked up to look at it while we were there. It is part of a housing development going in there and I'm sure the other homes will be just as amazing.

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Holly and Jerry got in a little kayaking before dinner.

In the evening, we did something that we had not planned on. There is a community theater called Island Stage Left that specializes in Shakespearean plays. They perform on a stage out in the woods and the cost is free but the suggested donation is $20 payable on-line or at any time. The actors did a great job and we were able to learn the whole story of Romeo and Juliet. I knew the basic story but not the details of the play so it was fun to see the production. The costumes were modern day which took me by surprise but the script was as Shakespeare wrote it. This photo shows a different set than we had at Roche Harbor but was taken from this season at their show on another island.

Our last day of our get-away is Day 1 of the Commodore's Cruise. We dropped Holly and Jerry in Anacortes as we joined up with the Edmonds Yacht Club for two more weeks of fun. We had so much fun with Holly and Jerry. We are so blessed to have such good friends. Thanks for going with us!

We Are On Our Way!

Today we headed out for 2-1/2 weeks of fun on Synnova. We had a beautiful ride up to Anacortes with sunny weather and smooth seas.  We saw one boater that got in trouble and found themselves grounded until the tide comes back in.

We spent some of our time on the fly bridge and saw some interesting sights. One was Seattle's 1927 fire boat named Alki. It is 123' long and has 8 fire monitors.

As we headed up the channel through LaConner we followed a tugboat towing a log boom. We watched as the crew prepared to direct it into the shore.

We arrived in Anacortes about  2:30, picked up a few things at Safeway and then got the boat shipshape as we waited for Terry and Jeanine Low to join us for the afternoon. They gave us a tour of the house they are building. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures but it is in a lovely neighborhood with a stunning view of the San Juan Islands. The house is going to be beautiful when finished and should be completed in 3 months or so. Following the tour, they drove us through Washington Park which is a pretty campground and picnic park with sweeping views of the sound. We got several nice pictures at the park that just hint at the beauty of the location. I realized as I looked at these pictures that I focused more on the cool old tree than I did on the view!

Following our drive we headed to Anthony's and had a wonderful dinner  of seafood, steak and salads. It was a great time of relaxing and visiting with friends that we don't see often enough. Thank you, Terry and Jeanine, for treating us to such a nice dinner!  On our way back to Synnova they drove us to a lookout that provided a nearly 360 degree view of the San Juans. It really was beautiful and we are excited to continue our adventure on into the islands tomorrow. We also had a great view of Cap Sante Marina where we are moored.

On our drive back we spotted several bunnies and then came across a yard with seven deer eating the shrubs. I have to admit we were much more fascinated with the deer than the lady who came out on her porch and chased them away. I don't think she was very happy that we were enjoying them so much. I'm sure it is very difficult to protect one's flower beds with so many deer wandering through and eating the plants.

We ended our first day with more visiting on Synnova and eating chocolate eclairs for dessert. What a nice way to end a very enjoyable day! Tomorrow Holly and Jerry will be joining us for a few days and we are looking forward to many new adventures.

J Grandma And J Grandpa's Getaway With the Grands

We finally were able to coordinate a time that we could take Mark, Isaiah, Mariam and Colin on an overnight getaway on Synnova. Unfortunately, Wendy had to return to California for her classes that were starting.

Our plan was to stay at Bell Harbor in downtown Seattle for two nights but the marina did not have room over the weekend. We decided to start out in Seattle and then spend the second night in Kingston. We left Everett around 10:00am and the kids had fun eating lunch onboard and Colin got a lesson on how to run the boat.

Once we arrived at Bell Harbor the kids enjoyed looking at the sea life on the pilings along the dock. We checked out the Seattle Fire Department's rescue boat and Bob explained to them how tugboats push the large freighters into the harbor. There was so much to see!

The weather was not very good and we got pretty wet in the rain but we did have fun walking through Pike Place Market and up to the Starbucks for Grandma and Grandpa's drinks. The kids opted for ice cream so we found a shop along the waterfront to get their treats. We walked several blocks to get to the carousel for them to ride but when we got there we discovered the whole building was under construction. It was disappointing but they were troopers and we then headed back to the boat for some games of Blockus and coloring. That evening we enjoyed a great dinner at Anthony's.

The next morning we headed off to Kingston to see what we could discover there. Since it was low tide, the kids got a great view of the sea stars that were above the water line. There is a great little park next to the marina that hosts concerts and a farmer's market on the weekends.

A very cool thing that happened on our walk was that Isaiah, Mariam and Colin were able to help a lady who had lost her money. They watched her running to catch the ferry and saw her drop $65 on the walkway. She did not make it to the ferry in time so as she came back they were able to return her money to her. She was so happy they had found it and they were happy to be able to return it to her. Life is full of teachable moments and it was wonderful to see the kids so eager to do the right thing.  We are so proud of each one of you!

Our next adventure was a walk into town where we found our way down to a beach so they could explore further. There were a lot of crabs, shells, and rocks to look at and they had a great time collecting things.

There's not a lot to do on a boat when you are not out exploring so a little screen time playing Mindcraft was a special treat for the grandkids. We also walked down to the Firehouse Theater in Kingston to see the movie "Finding Dory". It was a great little theater and privately owned. The owner was running the concession stand and his young son was at the door to greet us and tell us what a great movie we were about to see. The owner even came into the theater before the movie started to tell us to be sure to watch through the 8 minutes of credits at the end so we wouldn't miss the last little scene they had added! The theater was empty when we took this picture but a few more families joined us before it started. I guess getting there early is not a problem in a little town like Kingston.

The marina is right next to the ferry terminal so it was fun to watch the cars loading and unloading. It was a very pretty sight in the evening.

The next morning Mark took the kids down to the water again for one last chance to explore while Bob and I got the boat ready to depart.  They found several large crabs that had died and washed up on the beach so what else do you do? You create a "crab hospital" for them. I love their imaginations!

We all had a wonderful time but we really missed Wendy. Someday we need to get them all up to Roche Harbor where there are lots of places to hike. These are outdoor kids and they really know how to make the most of their time exploring.