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| Approaching Mosquito Pass from Roche Harbor |
Leaving Friday Harbor we sailed up north toward Spieden Chanel and then motored around the rest of the way. Mosquito Pass is lovely, and if it weren't for all the homes crammed along the shore of San Juan and Henry it would be truly magical. Alas, it is still lovely in a depreciated sort of way. Anchoring in Garrison Bay was a bit tricky because there were a maze of crab floats present. Finding a spot large enough to swing at anchor without fouling a line was rather challenging. There were two other sailboats lying at anchor when we arrived. As usual, we had no sooner dropped the hook than we jumped into the dinghy and rowed to shore.
The walk around Bell Point was nice as always, though it is far surpassed by walks on Jones or on Stuart Island. It is a short walk in second growth forest with a few views of the surrounding bays before tucking back into land. The best part of our evening is what happened afterwards, which was a rousing game of frisbee on the big grassy lawn by the old buildings.
As the afternoon sun warmed the air and we ran around joyously tossing that silly little disc back and forth to each other, it soon became clear that this was a precious family moment. We must have played for a good ninety minutes. Both boys took off their shirts because the sun was so warm, and tossing that disc was just an excuse to be together having fun. It was for me the highlight of the whole weekend.
At one point Owen broke off and climbed high into a nearby juniper tree that leaned over at about 60 degrees. Having grown up with a brother like Elliott, Owen has always been a tree climber, but this was the highest and boldest climb I had ever seen him do. We watched from afar and soon he yelled out his triumph. Our rule as parents has always been that if the boys climb up, they must climb themselves back down. We refuse to help. This policy does wonders for the boys not taking risks of climbing too high, or too dangerously, because they learned long ago that coming down is much harder than climbing up.
We had called some close friends we hoped to see while at anchor at English Camp and to our great surprise they appeared on the shoreline calling for us just as we began dinner. Asking them to join us, I dinghied over and retrieved them from the faltering public dock and we shared a wonderful evening together.
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| Elliott enjoys reading on the side deck and he sure looks happy when he does |
On Sunday we left Garrison Bay and turned the corner under power back to Jones for some wilder exploring. Elliott and I went for a run around the west loop and Amy read and did Yoga on the shore. Then, for one of the first times ever, Amy and I asked the boys if they would mind if we went for a walk alone and they said sure. Jones is truly our second home and they know every trail backwards and forwards. They also had the comfort of Aeolus tied right to the dock nearby. As Amy and I walked for 30 minutes around the trails, we reflected on how rare it is that we would be willing to leave the boys unattended somewhere. We could not think of a single different place where we would be so comfortable in doing so, aside from our home. The combination of it being a small island, and the boys being so comfortable, and our family being utterly alone in the place, makes it a rare opportunity.
The return to Friday Harbor was against a southeast wind that required the iron genny. Few are the days when we take the time to tack all way down San Juan Chanel against the typical southeast winds.
A great get away. And I almost forgot to mention that the new anchor windlass system worked fabulously. No chain binding on the way out, and no binding on the way in. What a difference!
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