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Unquestionably, a bittersweet moment to leave Friday Harbor this afternoon and say so long to the beautiful San Juan Islands.  Knowing that we had reached the end to our adventure in Northern Washington brought back memories of chartering with our kids in the Caribbean and waking up on the day we had to leave, despite needing clean sheets and existing on bits and pieces of our stores, we were always sad to leave and shocked that the time had gone by so fast.

And so it goes in the San Juan Islands, as well.  Yesterday and today we did the last two things on our bucket list here:  whale watching and a bike ride around the island.  For weeks we had expected to just come upon the great Orcas while cruising from one beautiful island to another, but with no luck.  So, we resorted to a professional service and bingo!!!  After a 20 minute speed ride to the Canadian border, there they were before our very eyes, in all their amazing glory:  a pod of 4, mom and her 3 calves. Very large, spectacularly beautiful, and seemingly docile and sweet (no anthropomorphizing at all here) we felt the awe of their existence and didn’t regret the $119.00 for a minute!

This morning, we got up and set out on our bike tour around the island to get a perspective of the area with solid ground beneath our bicycle pedals.  This beautiful area did not disappoint.  We saw horse farms, cattle ranches, hay fields, small rustic cabins ( and not so small abodes) and caught a glimpse of where and how the locals live…all amidst constant peeks of beautiful white sand coastal bays and harbors seen previously only from the deck of Samsara.  I was prompted to consider the ever present tussle between man and nature and concluded that the latter in this gorgeous part of the world for once has delivered ed a clear TKO.   These islands are undoubtedly still relatively unspoiled.  There are no Starbucks and no chain stores.  In fact, many of the “retail” establishments appear to open if and when their owners get around to showing up.  Even the best restaurants were closed on one of the busiest tourist days of the year, Memorial Day.  Laid back is an understatement.

We will treasure the many hikes we did in these splendid forests where the trunks of the stick straight coniferous trees rise sky high out of the deep black rich dirt of the forest floors blanketed in lacy lush green ferns. Typically walking silently, we could hear the soft whirring whistle of the wind as it rustled through the trees.  Reminiscent of my childhood, we dodged the tiny winged pods of the maple trees as they helicoptered down from the tree limbs. 

We are going to miss the landscape where the hazy horizon showcases the outline of one island after the next after the next as far as the eye can see.  They are so peaceful, serene and settled and their energetic pull has blanketed my soul and encouraged me to sigh a little deeper, worry a little less, and surrender a little more.

And so another week in the beautiful San Juan Islands!  I have to admit that I am still adjusting to being distant from a long life of work pressure and more serious obligation other than deciding which island we would like to explore today.  It’s interesting how deeply ingrained in us (me) the daily grind was (is) that even when set free to fly, our minds still like to hang on to the stress like gum under our shoe. Before we left I was asked often…”aren’t you scared to be out in the ocean with nothing but 55 ft of fiberglass between you and the icy cold deep waters of the Northwest?” It made me think and I concluded that: No, I wasn’t fearful of the potential physical danger, although one would be a fool not to exercise extreme caution at all times doing this, but what I was really fearful of was being too ”stuck” to be able to disconnect and embrace and enjoy this journey.  So, in light of what I brought on board in my own head, let’s just leave it at…… ”I’m acutely aware of the situation, and I’m working on it”.  Any therapist should be satisfied with that answer, right?

After a glorious week with Hannah and Matt board,  4 days ago my niece from Washington D.C, Cassidy, and her boyfriend, Eric, or Aphodite and Adonis as I like to call them, graced us with their completely delightful company……….well, notwithstanding the constant, in your face daily reminder of their affable good natures, alluring youthful beauty, wrinkle free skin, endless energy, lighting quick wit, unending joyful vigor, and blissful young love!  Yeah, where does the time go?  It seems like only yesterday….

With our new guests aboard and hungry for adventure, we set out to wear them out daily with physical activities.  Cassidy and Ken have more in common than just Carrie Rollins, for Cassidy, too, is nothing short of an energizer bunny.  Thinking there was still time for him to reconsider, I took it upon myself to warn Eric now that it is unequivocally a rare genetic mutation found in the Rollins species that drives them to always have to be doing something at all times.  Relax?  Not in their vocabularies.  I thought he needed to know.  As an antidote, we have been doing a fair amount of hiking through the enchanting forests and rocky cliffs of these magnificent  islands, most often overlooking the scenic bays where we are anchored , playing lots of games ( backgammon, cards, Scrabble), kayaking, enjoying the sunsets, gazing at the “corn moon”( the last full moon of the summer), reading our books, drawing, looking for whales ( I am beginning to think that whole Orcas of the Puget Sound thing is a hoax), dolphins seals, eagles, etc,  all the while being acutely aware that during this weird time of Covid 19, there simply couldn’t be a better or a more safe place to be that just a few miles from shore to avoid airborn germs.

Crabbing is still alive and well still on board Samsara with our most recent iteration on what to do with the standard 4-8 count of very large orange shelled critters swimming in a bucket  off our stern most days. The latest episode of  “Dungeness Crab Concoctions” featured warm crab dip with cream cheese, parmesean, garlic and shallots served with warm French bread, sliced red peppers and a large green salad.  And please don’t judge because the salad was very low calorie. And yes, “eat what you catch” is still our marine motto and desired mode of procuring our evening meal. Most recently, we feasted on fresh caught ( by Eric) lingcod Panang curry with potatoes, peppers and onions served over coconut lime rice.  A meal that made our bellies smile!

We have had a slight malfunction on board this week as well, and not a pleasant one.  Samsara had her first colonic as a result of a faulty mechanism that empties her poop tanks from the toilet in the aft head.  While I have been ever impressed by both Jeff’s and Max’s abilities to fix almost anything on this boat, after many attempts, this challenge has them scratching their heads.  So, we have had to dock in port periodically and manually pump out the shit instead of simply pushing a button while at sea and emptying the tank.  Not fun and definitely inconvenient.  Tomorrow, when we drop Cassidy and Eric at their sea plane dock with yet another adventure under their ever curious belts, we will attempt to find someone at the marina who knows what went wrong and how to fix it.  Definitley at the top of my list of things I hoped would not go wrong and one that, for the time being, basically prohibits guests previously promised a fairly comfortable excursion.  However, we’re hopeful that someone at Friday Harbor can help us out and renders our guest suite becomes available and fully functional again.

After hearing of the searing heat wave and fires in Ca, we have been grateful for the deliciously chilly weather is supposed to warm up next week, just in time for us to ponder our journey south with a planned stopover at home before we continue on to the Sea of Cortez.   We can’t wait to see everyone.  We miss you all and hope that you are staying cool and healthy.

Until the next episode…

P.S. follow me on insta at katierollins1 for photos of our journey!

Katie sand the crew of Samsara

We got to bed at the marina last night about 11. Samsara was tied up tight so she barely moved all night. Jeff and Max got up at 4 and, groggily, I could hear them bustling around on deck releasing the boats tethers and with my eyes closed still I could sense Samsara slowly inching out of our slip and out toward the mouth of the harbor. I laid there and felt my foundation morph from fairly solid to complete liquid as Samsara swayed gently in the ocean and made headway toward our first adventure. It’s an odd sensation to not have something solid beneath ones feet…. and yet the journey begins. When I lamented that I had forgotten to buy GARLIC, Jeff said it was fine because we are here to find ourselves, not cook gourmet meals. I said that if he found himself any more, he might just dissipate into nothingness!! For me, I’m still trying to relax, detach and unwind in preparation for finding myself….. wonder what I’ll think of myself un-teathered and de-stressed??? I hope I recognize me!

Really great to have Max on board. I can assume he is thinking this is a last big luxury before he needs to buckle down and enter the world of the employed once again. He has his fishing lines out and we spent an hour trying to dissuade a sea bird from swallowing the bait as it jumps on the ocean surface behind the boat. Was not about to undertake learning how to cook tern for dinner! Heading towards northern Channel Islands and will anchor for the night so we can all catch up on our sleep. Tomorrow will likely be our first overnight sail which means 4 hrs on and 8 hrs off…. nice to have three deckhands under these circumstances.