Winter Jones is always wondrous

I remain baffled why people don't use their boats in the winter. Most often, the weather is benign and the temperatures mild, and you have the islands to yourself. We sure did on this trip, as usual, have them to ourselves. Leaving the slip in Friday Harbor on Saturday morning we were the only boat in San Juan Channel. There was a light southern wind pushing us north toward Jones. For fun and variety, we went through the Wasp Islands a bit and up the East side of Jones. We were alone in the north cove and on Jones. Just incredible. In summer, it is overrun with hordes of folks. We walked all around, circumnavigating the island and saw a remarkable number of seals. We tossed a frisbee. We watched birds. We admired the cactus that grows on Jones. CACTUS! Saturday night had some wind but as forecasted, it was from the SE and SW and were fine in the north cove. Boy those king tides are the real deal, right now. Never seen them higher at Jones. Overnight is the low low, and the speed of that change had to drain about 12 feet of water out of the Salish Sea. Amazing. We came back Sunday morning for an early ferry back to the mainland. Once again, the calendar says a brief weekend turn around, but it feels like we are gone for far longer. Clocks and calendars only tell one version of the truth!