Tumbo/Cabbage never disappoint

We did indeed head back to Tumbo for the long weekend and it met all our needs once again. One of the highlights was that we were able to use our Nexus cards for the first time, which makes a tremendous difference when you are going from Friday Harbor to the East as you don't have to go to Sidney in the Winter, or South Pender in the Summer. In the off season, our favorite time, going to Sidney is a deal breaker because it is so far out of the way when going back toward Saturna. Even in the summer, stopping at South Pender takes another hour or two. And coming back is even nicer! We called in once we had reception around Waldron and didn't have to go through the interrogation at the Friday Harbor docks.

Aeolus has Reef Harbor to itself

Remarkably, once we got to Tumbo we found we were the only boat present. I realize it is winter, and that many people are fair weather boaters, but it was a perfectly benign and wonderful weekend and no one was there! All the better for us...



We grabbed a ball, which is unusual for us, and immediately headed to Cabbage Island. We spent the rest of the day playing around and enjoying the incredible views from all sides. The birds were remarkable too. Lots of bald eagles and oystercatchers. The boys played in the sand and we began going feral.

The next day we went to Tumbo and hiked around the trail loop that circles the lagoon. The tree swing at the head of the harbor was a highlight as always.

The views on the south facing beach were really wonderful, as you look out toward Sucia and Mt. Rainier. And that beach is so rugged and wild feeling compared with most around the Salish Sea. It is one of the few beaches in the Salish Sea that has an outer coast feel to us.

Perhaps the highlight of the whole trip was a game of beach baseball we created back on Cabbage. Amy found an old tennis ball and a good driftwood stick, and we made teams and started playing. Cabbage has just enough flat space to make three bases and we created a system of a player hitting, running, and their team mate hitting, and if they make a hit, they take the place of the runner who had advanced ahead of them, and then that runner goes back and hits again. It was a huge amount of fun. I mean, crazy fun. Everyone hit, ran, caught and pitched. We played that game for hours on Sunday and on Monday morning.

We ate great food, walked a lot, played games and enjoyed the views and wildlife of what is deservedly dedicated a National Park in Canada. And we did it without a single other human on the islands. So we got to experience our beloved sense of deep time, and wilderness. Thank you Tumbo and Cabbage, and to all the Canadians who worked to make these islands into a public place.

Elliott happy

Brian and Amy happy

 Mt Rainier over Sucia