We climbed into the truck and headed out Friday, with a long day of driving and a few stops ahead of us. Not something the family usually looks forward to, whereas I drive quite a bit when traveling for work and generally don’t mind road trips, but with the destination we had fixed out sights on, it was not hard at all to get them excited about going.
As we were preparing to move out of the Seattle area, in 2014, we had the opportunity to live in a cabin on Guemes Island, next to the Jan Juan’s, for two months. It was April/May, the weather sometimes dark and cloudy, and the temps often chilly. The cabin, roughly 700 sq. ft., was cozy and the views of the water amazing. For us, all five, plus pets, it was a chance to live like times long past, in close quarters. It was, for some of us, the favorite place we have lived as a family.
This weekend was the first time back, since we departed, more than 4 years ago.
Arrival was delayed by the need to make a few shopping stops (hard for this crew to pass a World Market and not stop at it), as well as groceries (The Market, in Anacortes, is a favorite grocery store of ours), but once we got to the ferry terminal, the cool, moist air really brought back fond memories.
We waited for the next sailing, relaxing and watching a stream of sea kayakers arriving to launch from the rocky beach just West of the terminal, and just soaked up the feel of the area. Anacortes had an art festival going on, which appeared pretty lively, but we were here to escape a bit and just relax. The Art show was pushed to the “maybe Sunday” category, on the mental to-do list.
When we rolled off the ferry, the island life re-introduced itself immediately. Little scooters could be seen in various areas around the island terminal, the gravel roads seemed to be whispering their welcome under our tires, and several of the full-time residents were out picking vegetables from their gardens as we passed. Much of the landscape was dry, certainly compared to our spring on the island, but there was more than enough green in the background to make up for the reddish-tan of the lawns.
The cabin, with some improvements since our departure, felt like home almost immediately. We opened windows and doors, allowing the breeze to flow through, unpacked what we had brought, then seemed to collectively draw a deep breath and sink into various chairs. The girls insisted on visiting the rocky beach, but we knew that much of the next two days would be the better chance to get reacquainted with that part of the island, where they had spend endless hours, previously.
Saturday morning started with temps in the 50’s and damp air coming in the window next to me. After groggily starting the coffee pot, I pulled open the south-facing blinds to a beautiful wall of fog.
It seemed like the perfect hug, settling us into the cabin and gently wrapping around us in reassuring and calming serenity. As the morning progressed, the fog swelled and retreated, in an indecipherable pattern. Undeterred, the family bundled up to head out to the rocky beach, catching a bit of a break on the closer fog bank, by the time we got out the door.
In the previous time on the island, the girls spent many long hours at the “sandy caves”, the worn areas of the sandy cliffs that run to the West of the cabin area. It borders on some kind of preserve or park, so there are no houses directly above, for some distance back. Given the amount of erosion, this is reassuring.
The day began to warm, as the sun poked one ray, then another, through the remaining blanket of fog. By lunchtime, very little remained of that cover and the walk on the beach had built our appetites, so we promised to return in the afternoon and headed back.
Lunch gave way to a brief period of just relaxing in the sun, enjoying the now warming (but nowhere near hot) breeze, and the sounds of distant gulls calling to each other. Just what everyone needed! After a bit of discussion, we changed into slightly cooler clothes and made our way back down to the water. The sun was now out in full force, the fog retreating rapidly to the horizon, and the tide slowly heading out.
I forgot how rarely I spend time in the sun without a hat, and managed to almost burn the top of my head, that day! We spent quite a bit of time walking down and back on that length of beach, randomly stopping to sit and soak up the feel, or carving hand holds in the sandy cliffs to climb up as far as possible. Between the cliffs, the random odd crabs washed up, the wonderful variety of driftwood, and the rock hunting, there seemed no end to the distractions one could find.
We returned to the cabin several hours later, wiping sand from feet, pants, and even out of hair, and spent a little while just reading and relaxing, before a delicious dinner. Our hunger taken care of, we remained for a bit more, then began walking the other direction on the beach, to go to the general store for some bread, for breakfast, the following morning. Our dogs would come with us, when he lived on-island, and really enjoyed that walk. It was a chance for us to see the other beach-facing homes and perhaps meet some of the unique people that called the island home. For the dogs, especially our Shepherd-Rott mix, it was the abundant smells of sea life, the chance to eat random crab bits, and the opportunity to wet his paws that made those times so enjoyable. This time, it was sea glass collecting, stopping to sit in the stretch that is more sand than rocks, and the peace and quiet.
The next morning started with less fog, but still cool and moist air. The neighbors, not home during the weekend we were there, had their grounds visited by one of the many deer of the island, although it left fairly soon after not finding any unattended garden spaces where it could forage.
We took one more long walk on the beach, that morning, before packing up to head back home. The girls had reported discovering a blackberry bush of considerable size, on one of their long-reaching explorations, the previous day, so we brought along a bag to collect any we could pick, just in case.
It turned out to be one of the largest blackberry bushes we had ever seen! Fed by water seeping from the cliff face, it had clearly been there for years, adding to it’s reach over time, and engulfing a couple of stumps in the process. We picked until we had enough in the grocery bag that new additions were squeezing juice out of the first arrivals, due to the weight of the mass above them! These were some of the sweetest we have found, as well. A few have to end up eaten, as you go, to ensure that you have the energy to finish the task, after all.
Eventually, reluctantly, we made our way back to the cabin. Although less than 48 hours since we had arrived, the chance to spend the time on the island recharged us all, greatly. For our girls, it was a chance to truly just play, climb, throw stones into the water, and return to just being “kids” for a bit. I have to admit, I did a bit of that, as well!
We may well see if we can make this an annual trip, perhaps even for a longer stretch, as this return visit was so enjoyable. By next summer, our son will have a full year under his belt at his first job, and should be able to ask for vacation time, so it might be the entire family. We shall see. In the mean time, the challenge becomes keeping some of that returned carefree feeling alive, as long as possible…
Tight lines.