 |
| Sailing to Friday Harbor from Oak Harbor |
Chelsea and I have been living in Friday Harbor aboard our new 29' Ranger for the past few weeks. In mid April we sailed her from Oak Harbor, through the infamous Deception Pass, and up into the San Juan Islands on a two day journey. It was a beautiful trip ... and I swear I'll write about it soon (as well as put together a video)! But the important thing is -- we made it here safe and sound!
I can't describe the complete sense of peace that living up here has brought us. But I'll try anyway. After the first few days, the intense enthusiasm that one feels at the start of a journey or vacation was long gone. What has remained is a sense of contentment that I'm not sure I have ever experienced before. It's as if everything that should be stressful just isn't. Work is enjoyable for both of us. Chelsea is loving her new job and the people she works with. The whole island feels like one familiar family. They already know our names at the local market and everywhere we go has a sense of familiarity to it that we never feel out of place.
The nature and scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Every day we find new things that make us giddy. The other day we spent a good 40 minutes walking a small portion of the dock at low tide ... looking at crabs. The other dock-goers glanced at us like we were lunatics as we crouched over the water pointing with excitement at the crawling things a few feet below us.
"You'd think they'd never seen a crab before ..."
Well you know what? I haven't. Ok?! At least not one that is just crawling around right outside my front door and getting in fights with other little crabs over a discarded fish head. It was fascinating and I have no shame that I, as a 32 year old man, sat and watched them like a six year old watching 90's Saturday morning cartoons...
Here's a video of a crab for you ...
But anyways ... every single day has held little gems. Wether its a day hike out to the southern tip of the island to climb among the tide pools or just simply walking into town to go see a movie at the little local theater (without horrendous prices) ... we simply love it here. The people we meet are friendly and amazing. Randy and Donna (our neighbors) have been so welcoming and we have already enjoyed a few BBQ's and drinks -- or "sundowners" as they are known -- over the past few weeks.
And then there is the sailing ... the reason I've been wanting to live up here for the majority of my life. The sea is everything I could have hoped for. Chelsea and I are planning our first overnight trip soon. We plan on sailing across the islands to the east side of Orcas Island to grab a mooring buoy next to Doe Bay Resort. The other night we made a practice run on a little island just a few miles away from our home port. It was our first time catching a mooring buoy and we were quite proud!
Shortly after this video was taken, the wake from that ferry hit us and River (the cat) threw up all over the cockpit. It was great ... (ugh). Hopefully she gets her sea legs soon. She definitely feels at ease on the boat while it is at the dock. She has claimed the top of the dodger as her domain and lays up there in the evening watching ... whatever cats watch.
Sorry for the sickening shameless selfie. Anyways ... much much more to come in the next few weeks (stories, not selfies). And I promise I will write a post about our sailing trip to the islands shortly.
Maybe. If I don't spend all my time sailing ...
Fair winds and calm seas,
Adam & Chelsea
No comments:
Post a Comment