July 28, 2008
And I don’t know what words will surface once I am grounded on ‘terra firma’. Will the leisure, the sense of wonder and learning to “just be content” continue? Or will the old Sue resurface with the urge to produce tangible goals accomplished by days end return immediately? Only time will tell. This has been a great adventure for both Pat and I. He has always wanted to cruise for two continuous months and feels content with what we did accomplish with our new boat and that I am ready to do it again next year, for two months and lots of smaller cruises in between. The people and their stories we’ve met along the way are the highlights for me. Next would be the magic of each mooring, stop along the way, some more than others. Mother Nature has been very good to us and I could not ever underplay the role she had in making this a successful journey.
This morning after spending four leisurely days at Garrison Bay, our thought was to stop at Spencer’s Spit on Lopez Island. Good fortune of current pushing, and Rosario Strait calm we unanimously chose to continue on. Looking over to the west, the Straits of Juan de Fuca was socked in with fog confirmed our other choice to pursue the slow trek down the Swinomish Channel. The weather and current was on our side, yet the air has had a ‘nip’ to it. (My 1st homemade sweater has been worn almost constantly since I completed it last week due to the temperature change.) Our final destination was Oak Harbor Marina on Whidbey Island which we reached by 8 pm tonight.
I hope to conclude my thoughts on our last four days once we get home. Depending on how the minus tide affects the shallow bay just outside the marina, will determine how soon and how far we travel tomorrow. If we feel like another day of just heading south, closer to home, we may end up at Blake Island until Friday. Or, if a shorter stint is more appropriate, it will be Edmonds or Kingston. Flexibility; working with tides, currents and weather all keep the Captain alert and the ‘Best Mate’ is willing to go with the flow, as long as she has the light at the end – home – in sight!
July 25, 2008, – Garrison Bay, San Juan Island
Thanks to taking time to read “Waggoner Cruising Guide” I happened to read about Garrison Bay, literally minutes away from Roche Harbor. It is a nugget of an anchorage; large bay with good mud for anchoring, lots of directions to go for kayaking and the option of rowing to shore; arriving to English Camp historical park. This is a wonderful place to explore paths, simple hikes to whittle away the hours away from the boat; stretching out legs and talking to very interesting people, all of who have a story to tell. Or, as it turned out, cross paths with fellow TTPYC members, Tom & Nita Sitterley. We had a great time sharing our cruising similarities and just getting to know one another.
After setting anchor and letting it sit to secure its self, Pat rowed us to shore. We spent several hours walking; exploring English Camp, a small historical site that is fairly well maintained. There is a large field of freshly mowed grass where the soldiers once practiced their drills. Facing Garrison Bay a couple buildings, with fresh coats of white paint, stand firm. A simple museum with old photos, reference books to purchase and a short informative documentary is available to anyone interested to sit and watch. We took a walk to the camp’s cemetery that is left unattended; five headstones stand with notations about the soldiers who died while serving here, guarded by a white picket fence and a single maple tree. After taking the effort to get there and then thinking about the hike to the mausoleum at Roche Harbor, my thoughts of “why do people want to be buried?” crossed my mind once again. I realize that these remnants have been here for a long time, but the lack of interest and preservation indicate to my best estimation that there is not enough sentimentality to warrant this use of land.
The formal garden is still attended to after all these years. The boxwood hedge around the sections look weary, but still stand trimmed and protective of their assigned flowers; geraniums, foxglove, black-eyed Susan, lavender and heather, coreopsis, and cosmos. Hundreds of bees were diligent - single-minded with their work at hand, collecting nectar for their winter’s supply of food. I may not be home working in my garden this summer yet surprisingly enough it has not made me sad or anxious to walk through the gardens of others. I have found satisfaction vicariously and enjoyed taking many photos.
Stepping back into history was easy with the help of a congenial troupe of historians set up camp. They were dressed and portrayed actual people that lived on these grounds when English Camp was active, 1859-1872. It was easy to visualize the lives of the children, the women and men because all details of daily life were in place; canvas tents, boxes holding their possessions, muskets, large enameled blue coffee pots sat nestled in the hot coals of the cooking fire, trestle tables with large jars of fresh pickles open – a sure invitation to “take one”, large wheels of cheese, and another jar of hard boiled eggs, and fresh loaves of bread. Tins of Twinning’s English tea set beside fine porcelain tea pots set on butler tables at many of the tents, indicating their traditional afternoon quite time. Uniforms for both the American and English solider were reproduced with painstaking detail. Admiral Baynes was definitely our favorite character.
And I don’t know what words will surface once I am grounded on ‘terra firma’. Will the leisure, the sense of wonder and learning to “just be content” continue? Or will the old Sue resurface with the urge to produce tangible goals accomplished by days end return immediately? Only time will tell. This has been a great adventure for both Pat and I. He has always wanted to cruise for two continuous months and feels content with what we did accomplish with our new boat and that I am ready to do it again next year, for two months and lots of smaller cruises in between. The people and their stories we’ve met along the way are the highlights for me. Next would be the magic of each mooring, stop along the way, some more than others. Mother Nature has been very good to us and I could not ever underplay the role she had in making this a successful journey.
This morning after spending four leisurely days at Garrison Bay, our thought was to stop at Spencer’s Spit on Lopez Island. Good fortune of current pushing, and Rosario Strait calm we unanimously chose to continue on. Looking over to the west, the Straits of Juan de Fuca was socked in with fog confirmed our other choice to pursue the slow trek down the Swinomish Channel. The weather and current was on our side, yet the air has had a ‘nip’ to it. (My 1st homemade sweater has been worn almost constantly since I completed it last week due to the temperature change.) Our final destination was Oak Harbor Marina on Whidbey Island which we reached by 8 pm tonight.
I hope to conclude my thoughts on our last four days once we get home. Depending on how the minus tide affects the shallow bay just outside the marina, will determine how soon and how far we travel tomorrow. If we feel like another day of just heading south, closer to home, we may end up at Blake Island until Friday. Or, if a shorter stint is more appropriate, it will be Edmonds or Kingston. Flexibility; working with tides, currents and weather all keep the Captain alert and the ‘Best Mate’ is willing to go with the flow, as long as she has the light at the end – home – in sight!
July 25, 2008, – Garrison Bay, San Juan Island
Thanks to taking time to read “Waggoner Cruising Guide” I happened to read about Garrison Bay, literally minutes away from Roche Harbor. It is a nugget of an anchorage; large bay with good mud for anchoring, lots of directions to go for kayaking and the option of rowing to shore; arriving to English Camp historical park. This is a wonderful place to explore paths, simple hikes to whittle away the hours away from the boat; stretching out legs and talking to very interesting people, all of who have a story to tell. Or, as it turned out, cross paths with fellow TTPYC members, Tom & Nita Sitterley. We had a great time sharing our cruising similarities and just getting to know one another.
After setting anchor and letting it sit to secure its self, Pat rowed us to shore. We spent several hours walking; exploring English Camp, a small historical site that is fairly well maintained. There is a large field of freshly mowed grass where the soldiers once practiced their drills. Facing Garrison Bay a couple buildings, with fresh coats of white paint, stand firm. A simple museum with old photos, reference books to purchase and a short informative documentary is available to anyone interested to sit and watch. We took a walk to the camp’s cemetery that is left unattended; five headstones stand with notations about the soldiers who died while serving here, guarded by a white picket fence and a single maple tree. After taking the effort to get there and then thinking about the hike to the mausoleum at Roche Harbor, my thoughts of “why do people want to be buried?” crossed my mind once again. I realize that these remnants have been here for a long time, but the lack of interest and preservation indicate to my best estimation that there is not enough sentimentality to warrant this use of land.
The formal garden is still attended to after all these years. The boxwood hedge around the sections look weary, but still stand trimmed and protective of their assigned flowers; geraniums, foxglove, black-eyed Susan, lavender and heather, coreopsis, and cosmos. Hundreds of bees were diligent - single-minded with their work at hand, collecting nectar for their winter’s supply of food. I may not be home working in my garden this summer yet surprisingly enough it has not made me sad or anxious to walk through the gardens of others. I have found satisfaction vicariously and enjoyed taking many photos.
Stepping back into history was easy with the help of a congenial troupe of historians set up camp. They were dressed and portrayed actual people that lived on these grounds when English Camp was active, 1859-1872. It was easy to visualize the lives of the children, the women and men because all details of daily life were in place; canvas tents, boxes holding their possessions, muskets, large enameled blue coffee pots sat nestled in the hot coals of the cooking fire, trestle tables with large jars of fresh pickles open – a sure invitation to “take one”, large wheels of cheese, and another jar of hard boiled eggs, and fresh loaves of bread. Tins of Twinning’s English tea set beside fine porcelain tea pots set on butler tables at many of the tents, indicating their traditional afternoon quite time. Uniforms for both the American and English solider were reproduced with painstaking detail. Admiral Baynes was definitely our favorite character.
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