Sunday August 7^th – We pulled anchor from Fossil Bay and headed to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island for 4 nights.  We had a nice cruise, got all tied up, then got everything ready to set the crab pots.  Crabbing was only going to be open for one more day and we needed to stock up.

After setting the pots in our trusty spot we headed to the Madrona Grill for some dinner.  The boys hung out on the docks that evening and we pulled both crab pots for a total of 5 keepers!

The next morning, we pulled the pots after an all night soak.  Sometimes after soaking all night they do ok, but usually they they don’t have much in them.  This time however we had 8 large keepers in one pot and 4 in the other!  After the big score we put the pots back down and ran back to the boat.  All the crab went in the crab jail (a bucket with holes and a lid that hangs off the boat in the water so the crabs stay alive until killing time) and we headed to the pool for swimming and relaxation time.

Skylar and Dylan went for a hike in the quarries above Roche Harbor and created this obstacle course out of rocks, hills and and trees.  They had a blast seeing how fast they could do the course then came back to the boat totally exhausted. Skylar was a little beat up after apparently taking a few hard spills.  That night the kids stayed on the boat while Julie and I had a nice dinner alone at the Madrona Grill.  We love these kids but on a boat it can be 24/7 depending on your location, so taking this opportunity was a nice change of pace!  One last pull of the crab posts before dark yielded 4 more keeps for a total of 21!!

Tuesday the 9^th of August – It was time for Dylan to catch his 3pm floatplane back home and for my mom and her friend Phil to fly in for the day at 9am.  We greeted my mom and Phil as they hoped off the plan on to the dock after having a great flight from Lake Union through the San Juan Islands.  We all hung out on the boat for while the kids cleaned all the crab, then set off on a hike to see the Mausoleum.  The Mausoleum is final resting place for the McMillin family.  Roche Harbor was a company town and the family ran the Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company started in 1886.

When I was a kid (from the time I was about 3 through 15) our family along with my uncle Karl and his family, would take a boat trip to Sucia Island in the San Juan’s.  We would pack up our 19’ boat (no head, sleeping space or galley, just an open boat with some seats) for a 2 week boating/fishing/camping adventure on Sucia.  We would leave either from Des Moines or Anacortes and make the run up to the island.  This yearly trip was the the spark that created my obsession with boating today.  It was a huge adventure and I loved it.  At least once during our 2 week stay on Sucia we would take a day and make the aprox 15mi trek to Roche Harbor, sometimes in weather not fit for a 19’ boat but we did it anyway.  We would re-fuel the boat and re-provision our supplies but the trip was never complete without a hike to the Mausoleum.

We all had a great time reliving the Mausoleum hike we used to do almost 30 years ago.  After we got back to the boat we cooked all the crab and had a huge crab feast! At 3pm we sent Dylan off on the seaplane back home.  It was great having him on the boat for a few days.  We all hung out on the boat that afternoon talking and having lots of fun then went up to the Madrona Grill for an early dinner before my mom and Phil needed to catch their 6pm flight home.  It was so nice to hang out with them for the day, we had a lot of fun together!

We spent the next couple days at the pool, going on hikes and getting the boat ready to cross over into Canada.

Friday August 5^th we left Deer Harbor headed to Sucia Island for a little relaxation in the wild.  Getting there was a little lumpy at times. The wind forecast was not great so we needed to find a good protected anchorage.  We settled on Echo Bay and dropped the hook for a good set.

So far the weather this trip has been less than optimal.  We’ve had moderate wind every day and while there hasn’t been much rain there’s always a chill in the air with temperatures only 62-70 degrees.  Everyday feels like a pretty nice fall day.  Not what we want for an August boat trip!!

Regardless of the weather, the boys were excited to get off the boat and camp on the island for a couple nights on their own.  After we anchored and got the kayaks and dinghy down they packed up their things and loaded the kayaks for the paddle in to shore to find a camp spot.  They found a great spot overlooking the bay and gathered a stock of firewood.  The boys had a fun time cooking some meals over the fire and roasting s’mores.

The next day we decided to check out Fossil Bay a short distance away.  Skylar and Dylan wanted to kayak over but the wind was whipping up a bit.  They needed a chase boat for their adventure so Julie, Ava and I gave them a head start and we followed them in the dinghy.  The waves got a little steep in some areas but we were very close to shore and the dinghy was right there handling it great.  The boys had a blast in the rough stuff, water coming over their kayaks as they surfed down the waves into the next one.  We got into Fossil Bay and the kids emptied the water that accumulated inside their kayaks.

We stayed over there for a few hours enjoying the lunch we brought, walking the beaches and Skylar and Dylan hiked out to one of the points.  The wind calmed down for our ride home (Skylar and Dylan wished it hadn’t) and the kids had another great night camping on the island.

Thursday the 4^th – With all the factory work completed it was time to go cruising!  We left La Conner bound for Deer Harbor where Skylar’s friend Dylan was flying in on a floatplane at 2:55 pm to stay with us for a few days. Arriving at the marina early we got tied up and made our way to the pool for some swimming.  The weather was finally kind of nice and the pool was just what we needed. Dylan’s flight came in right on time as we watched him land and taxi to the dock.

The float plane service around Puget Sound and the BC coast is very cool.  You can just about fly anywhere you want via Kenmore Air, Northwest Seaplanes and a couple others.  They have regular schedules and stops but you can also have them land in almost any bay on the coast.  Up in BC’s Desolation Sound they land in areas where there’s no docks or services, then you pick up your guest by driving your dinghy to the floatplane where they hop in and motor back to your boat anchored in some cove.  Its an awesome service and its quick.  You just arrive at the departure point 5 minutes before scheduled take off and hop on the plane.  Much more enjoyable then the crazy airports we all used to.

The 5 of us hung out on the boat that night in Deer Harbor and had fun listening to the pirate ship sing songs.  There was this really old sailboat moored across from us that had a large crew.  They were mostly young folks who I assume were volunteers crewing on this boat for the experience of it all.  They played all kinds of instruments and and sang songs like some sort of band from the 1800’s on a pirate ship.  They were very talented and fun to listen to.