A Ferry to Camp

We knew it would be a wait for the ferry.  On a normal day, we had been told to be there at least an hour before departure time in order to get on…and this was July 4^th weekend… so “they” said maybe two hours ahead.  Shortly after 8am, we left Bellevue for Anacortes to catch the noon ferry.  But when we arrived just after 10am, we were the first ones on the stand-by list.  Two hours later, the ferry loaded – without us.  No worries.  Now parked in the front of the line, we headed back to the trailer for lunch.  I also managed to get a blog entry posted and Matt changed out the bathroom faucet for a new one he purchased in Seattle… no more squeaks… all while waiting for the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  It was multi-tasking at its finest.

They loaded us onto the ferry with the other big trucks and vehicles with tall things – packed like sardines into the bottom deck.  We went immediately above to the observation deck to see what we could see, but couldn’t stay long because it was chilly!  The cold winds off of the Sound as the ferry motored toward our destination were too much for our uncovered legs to handle…and back inside we went.  We watched out the windows happily for the hour-long trip – checking out all of the little islands along the way.  Before we knew it, it was time to load back up in the truck for departure.

Pulling off the boat in Friday Harbor, I immediately noticed the quaint downtown streets all decked out for the patriotic extravaganza…covered in tourists.  Since the island is fairly small (about 7 miles by 14 miles), we made it to the campground in less than 10 minutes.  A four-hour wait and hour-long ferry ride for a 10-minute drive…hmmm….  But it was beautiful. 

Situated on land surrounded by three small lakes, the campground felt like we had just entered paradise.  Maybe it was the vastly different experience from our location adjacent I-90 in Bellevue, but I was immediately at peace.  Within minutes of setting up the camper, the kids took off with a 2-way radio and went to check things out.  There was swimming, boat and SUP rentals, fishing, arts & crafts, tie-dye t-shirt making, ping pong, bocce ball, horseshoes, a giant chess set, and more!  They were in heaven.  And as Matt and I sat eating our appetizers of veggies and hummus with glass of wine in hand, we had also found our happy place.  For the first time on this trip – after almost a month – it felt like we had just set up camp.  Ahhhh….