July 18, 2010 - Lopez Island

My high school friend John is here from southern California with his two daughters, Hailey and Katelyn.  Sunday is the only free day they have during their visit here, and tomorrow is John's mother's 89th birthday!  So, we are taking a day trip to show them some of the San Juans.

July 11, 2010 - Lopez and San Juan Islands

A weekend on the boat, with no kids?  Wow, this almost never happens!  The kids are over at their grandparent's in Sandpoint Idaho for a few weeks, and we are out on our boat :-)

We leave on Friday afternoon and head over to MacKaye Harbor on the south end of Lopez. We stopped here on our way home last weekend hoping to get out on the trails around Iceburg Point State Park.  But we couldn't find the entrance.  We are here again to find the park, and to ride our new folding bikes around Lopez.  They are an amazing bit of engineering.  These aren't the best bikes to ride, but they are OK and certainly get you from point A to point B.  They have Shimano components, all aluminum and stainless steel construction (good for rust resistance on a boat), and they even have 6 gears.  The geometry on these things is pretty different.  I can ride a wheelie with the front wheel about 6 inches off the ground; definitely different.  The early evening is very calm, almost perfect. But the wind kicks up after midnight, and we rock and roll all night, not sleeping well in the waves.  Saturday morning we load our folding bikes into the dinghy and head off for a bike ride.

Two bikes easily fit in the bow of our small rowboat

Kathy on her folding bike.

We ride from the south end of Lopez north about 4-5 miles to Fisherman Bay.  The bikes are decent, but not quite like a real bike.  Given the fact that we can actually store them on the boat though, they ARE great.  We are checking out these roads to see if they would be good with the kids and we decide they would not be good.  The roads are very winding with limited sight distance.  Maybe in a few years it might work, but not yet. 

After biking through beautiful farm lands and fields we arrive in Fisherman Bay.  We visit the local bakery for some yummy treats.  This place is always busy, and it's always good.  A must stop if you are ever here.

Holly B's Bakery.  Always busy; always good.

 

Not as many boats as last weekend (4th of July).

A hawk flies over while we are biking on Lopez.

I fear that someday people might start calling me "Mr. Safety", with all of my flares, signaling devices, first aid kits, flashlights, and life jackets.  But, hey, if my time with Skagit Bay Search and Rescue has taught me one thing it is that you can't be too prepared when on the water.  Bad situations can quickly turn ugly if you aren't ready to deal with them....  So now I wear my bike helmet while rowing.... NOT!

"Mr. Safety" practicing safe boating  :-)

After the bike ride we go back to the boat for lunch.  Then  it's off to Iceburg Point.  We've now figured out that the entrance to the park is through a closed gate that is labeled "Private Driveway, Do Not Block".  Now if this seems like a pretty lame park entrance, IT IS!  We went right past this last time we were here and even noticed a very faded "No Trespassing" sign at this gate.  I think they need to mark it better!  There is a lot of nice hiking here and we think the kids will enjoy this park.

Checking out the trails at Iceburg Point

The US/CANADA boundary reference mark.

Here is the reference marker explanation.

After Iceburg Point it's back to the boat. We've decided to move over to San Juan Island in search of calmer waters so we can get a good night's sleep. We pull anchor and head for Griffin Bay. We anchor along with 4 or 5 other boats and it is very calm here. We are anchored in front of American Camp, sight of an international military dispute in the 1870's.

Kathy and Zappa (our cat) go rowing in Griffin Bay.

Cheers!

A nice start to the evening.

Sunday morning we get up after a very calm evening.  We dinghy over to shore to explore American Camp.  Ultimately, the border between the US and Canada was decided as a result of a joint military occupation with the US at American Camp and the British and English Camp a few miles away at Garrison Bay.  Here is a description of what was here back in 1859:

Read this before looking at the next 2 pictures.

I think this makes sense now.

And so does this one!

We end up joining a tour being given by a park ranger.  It was very good, and we learned quite a bit about the vegetation, wildlife, and history.  The ranger was a great guy who clearly loved his job, and he made it very interesting.

Taking a tour of American Camp with a park ranger.

After the tour we hike around on our own and have a picnic lunch at American Camp.  Then back to the boat so we can head home.  We are thinking about spending one more night out, close to home.  We would get up early and get back to the dock by about 6:00AM so Kathy can get to work. 

Kathy and Zappa watch me pull the anchor Sunday afternoon.

We cross back over to Deception Pass in relative calm and then decide to head over to Kiket Island to anchor for the night. 

Kathy guides the boat through Deception Pass.

We drop the hook in Similk Bay and fix dinner.  The wind starts rising to 25-30 knots with no sign of relief.  The forecast is calling for this kind of wind for the next 24 hours.  So, we pull anchor and head home.  There's no point to spending the night blowing in the wind and waves when we are just a few miles from home.  We are back at the dock around 7:00PM.  It was a great trip.  Without our kids along we had the chance to explore Lopez by bike, and I have to say, we certainly saw a lot more of the island that way.  We miss the kids, but the freedom we get when they aren't around is nice from time to time.

July 4, 2010 - Fisherman Bay Fireworks, Lopez Island

For about the past 10 years we have been coming to Lopez for their 4th of July fireworks celebration, and to celebrate Cindy's birthday, which is July 3rd.  We left Shelter Bay Friday afternoon (July 2nd) at around 2:45 and motored over to Lopez in calm and sunny conditions.  The entrance to Fisherman Bay is a bit tricky with several sharp turns to avoid reefs, rocks, and shallows.  We've been in and out of here so many times now though that we no longer need a chart.  We motor far up the bay and anchor; we are in roughly the same spot every year.  We are the closest large boat to the fireworks launch location when we anchor, but we know that will change since there are two more days for boats to come in before the fireworks display.  We see several friends here in the bay and we go for a dinghy ride to visit a few of them.

This year Cindy is 8, and coincidentally one of the bouys marking the entrance channel into Fisherman Bay announces her age!

Guess how old Cindy is today?

We have Cindy's birthday celebration on the boat, as usual. Kathy made a nice birthday cake but in our rush to get out the door we left it at home. Ooops!  On Saturday morning we ventured into town for the Farmer's Market and then over to the new grocery store to buy a birthday cake, but Cindy insisted on a donut. So, we had birthday donuts instead of a cake this year. We sang happy birthday to her, ate our donuts, and then she opened her presents.

Cindy's birthday donut (we forgot the cake at home)

Cindy opens one of her birthday presents

After our little "party" we dinghy over to the beach to play in the sand.  This place has a great beach right on the entrance jetty.  Not many people seem to know about this beach, and we always enjoy playing here.  It's somewhat out of the prevailing wind and there is a great view of the San Juan's.  One the way we pass a cool old boat that has been here for years.  I wonder if it ever moves.  It is very unique and picturesque. 

"BUSTER" is a cool old boat that has been here for years.

Over on the beach we play in the sand and meet up with some new friends who come over in their dinghy shortly after we arrive.  I've done some work on their boat in the past and we have talked about meeting here this year.  Andy and Cindy have two children; Saylor and Hudson.  They are just a little younger than our kids and the four of them hit it off and enjoy playing together in the sand.

Our kids with their new friends Hudson and Saylor.

On Sunday we dinghy in for the parade, which is always fun.  The kids get a few pounds of candy that has been thrown out by the parade participants.  It's almost like halloween there is so much candy.  This is becoming a tradition for our kids, and they look forward to it every year.  There are too many good pictures of the parade to post, so here is just one.

They don't make them like this anymore - Lopez Parade.

We bump into several people we know after the parade, most from Shelter Bay, but also an ex-manager of mine, Dave, from my Microsoft days (Steve).  Dave and Lorraine are anchored in the bay in their beautiful Tollycraft 44' aft cabin.  They invite us over for a tour and to visit.  We used to go boating with them years ago before we had kids.  We've been to Princess Louisa Inlet and Desolation Sound with them in past years.  Coincidentally, their boat name is Synthia, and our daughter's name is Cynthia..  

 

Dave and Lorraine's 44' Tollycraft "Synthia"

After a very nice visit with Dave and Lorraine we head back to our boat where Kathy and Cindy go for a dinghy ride and to practice teamwork while docking.  Here's a video of one of the practice runs.

Cindy and Kathy practice docking the dinghy

After lunch we head back to "our" beach to shoot off some fireworks; it is the 4th of July after all.  Nothing too extreme, just some sparklers, smoke balls, bottle-rockets, and jumping jacks.  The kids really enjoyed the brightly colored smoke from the smoke balls.  I liked the bottle-rockets!  About 1/2 way through our supply of fireworks, our new friends arrive to play on the beach.  Again, the kids have a lot of fun together playing on the beach.

Kevin lights multiple smoke balls at the same time.

 

Cindy and Kevin with their sparklers.

Andy helps Saylor with her first sparkler.

Tonight is the much anticipated Lopez fireworks.  It's one of the largest fireworks shows on the west coast - according to some people we've talked to.  It is a great show and the setting can't be beat.  The view from the water with fireworks exploding almost overhead is unbeatable.

http://www.lopezfireworks.com/

Anchored close to the action.  Awesome display.

They have some BIG fireworks.

Lots of color too.

Fireworks VIDEO - I'll do better next year!

This year it got very windy on the 4th, and we were worried that it might be too windy for the fireworks.  It was blowing 25-30 knots late in the afternoon.  But the wind died off a bit just before the show (down to about 15 knots) and they started the fireworks at about 10:30.  At about 10:00 we could hear the distant booms and see the flashes from the Friday Harbor display, a few miles away.   Staying up past 10:30 is pretty late for our kids, but they really enjoy this show and look forward to it all year.  It was cold on the bow of our boat with the cool temps, and the wind.  The wind made the boat swing around quite a bit and that made getting good clear pictures a challenge.

Staying warm under a sleeping bag.  Brrrrrrrrrrr.....

The show seemed a bit shorter this year than in past years and was over by about 11:00.  It was a great display, but several other people we talked to also commented that they thought it was shorter this year.   We went to bed and the wind continued to subside all night and was non-existant by morning.  It was a quiet evening on the hook. 

We woke up and pulled our anchor and were on our way around 8:15AM, headed for MacKaye Harbor on the south end of Lopez to see if we could find the trail to Iceburg Point.  We read in a book that there are a lot of great hiking trails around this start park.   It was rianing and a little foggy heading over to Mackaye despite a forecast of clear skies and sunny weather.  We anchored in the bay, had breakfast, and then dinghied to shore.  After we got to shore the clouds melted away and the sun was out.  It was very nice.  We walked on the road that we thought led to the park, but it dead-ended with a sign that said "private driveway, this is NOT Iceburg Point" so we turned around and went back to the dinghy to play on the sand beach.  We'll find Iceburg Point next time.

The sand beach at MacKaye Harbor.

We motor home in calm conditions on a sunny day.  Later this week it is supposed to be in the 90's here, which is really hot for us.  Our kids will be in Idaho for the next two weeks visiting their grandparents and two cousins (from Colorado).  I think Kathy and I will get out on the boat alone and enjoy the sunshine, by ourselves!  Oh, we are so selfish....

Update: We are exactly 1/2 way through the 2010 calendar year.  Sunday was the end of week number 26 (according to the ISO week number calendar) and we have been out on the boat 16 weekends this year. With 26 weeks left to go, I think we can get out at least 10 more times. This would allow us to meet my goal of "using our boat every other weekend" in 2010.  We may well exceed my goal this year!!!