Sept. 6, 2010 - Blind Bay and Griffin Bay

It's the Labor Day 3-day weekend - yippie!  We get out around 3:00PM on Friday and stop at the fuel dock to refill after our 16 day trip that ended a few weeks ago.  It's a nice sunny day, with no wind.  We are headed to Blind Bay on Shaw Island in the San Juan Islands.  We have brought our bikes along so that we can go ashore for some exploration with the kids.  Shaw is one of only four islands in the San Juan's serviced by the WA. State ferry system, but it's the least visited island because it is small and mostly residential.  That means there isn't much traffic on the roads though, which is great for biking with kids.

Goofing around in the salon.  Fun family time on the boat.

Kathy takes a kayak ride Saturday morning to check out the beach access and finds us a nice place to get to a road to start our bike ride.  Amazingly, all 4 bikes fit in the dinghy, along with the 4 of us.

We got it all in one trip to shore.

Not prepared; every tire needed air before we could ride.

Biking beautiful Shaw Island.

We rode to a wonderful sand beach at Indian Cove and had a picnic lunch.  After that we rode to Squah Bay were we found an abandoned sailboat on the beach. 

Our lunch stop.  Warm sand, light winds, perfect!

Here's a fixer upper!  Come and get it.

Our friends the Daltons are headed to Blind Bay this afternoon, and our bike ride is taking a long time;  we hope we get back before they arrive.  We stop at the Shaw Island elementary school to check it out.  It has about 5 classrooms, and is very cute.  On one of the walls we see a great driftwood creation.  I think we might work making one of these with our kids.  The kids spend some time playing on their playground; which was pretty good.  We also stop at the museum and library just across the street.  They were worth stopping for.

Can you figure out what this is?

Shaw Island Elementary School.

The Dalton's arrive shortly after we return to our boat.  They tie along side us and the kids immediately get together to play with each other.  It is very nice to have another family to meet on a regular basis when boating.  Everyone gets along so well too!

Our boats tied together.  Nice weather and great friends.

Mark and Jenn have brought their crab traps and crabbing license.  And, guess what?  They get some nice keepers right away!  Dinner is great; fresh crab, BBQ chicken, salad, local corn on the cob, steamed mussels, and wine.  Yummy!!!

Grace teaches Kevin how to hold a large Dungeness crab.

On Sunday we motor over to Griffin Bay on San Juan Island.  This is a place not many boater's seem to visit. This is the 4th or 5th time we've been here now, and we love it.  The anchor always gets a great hook, and it is protected from most winds. The beach is loaded with driftwood, there are hiking trails galore, and there are even some sand dunes to play on.  It is a place where the kids always find interesting things to do.  The Dalton's arrived before us and dropped the "lunch hook" while they awaited our arrival.  Aidan and Kevin went out rowing while they waited.  It was easier just to tow them back over in the boat than to pull the dinghy back up.

Is hitch hiking even legal anymore?  What a life :-)

After the boats are tied together we head to shore for the short hike to the sand dunes.  OK, they aren't like the sahara, but they are fun nonetheless.  Cindy wants to get burried in the sand so Aidan, Grace and Kevin work hard to make it happen.

These kids are strange......

We spend some time in the dunes and then someone notices a black object about 1/2 mile away in a field.  It wasn't there a little while ago.  We know there are foxes here because we saw them last time we were here.  But this was bigger than a fox.  We all start looking at it.  Even with binoculars we can't figure it out.  Kids are saying it's a bear.  Imaginations are running wild.  What is it?  Then it ducks down and disappears.  YIKES, it's alive!!!!   Now we are on a mission; to find and ientify this creature hiding in the tall grass.  We get shoes on, pack up our stuff, and head in the direction of the mysterious creature.  It pops up again, then disappears.  Oh man, what are we going to find.  The kids are getting VERY excited, and perhaps even nervous.  Then it stands up and starts walking.  It's a man wearing a hoodie.  Must be one of the rangers doing some studies on the wildlife in the area.  We have a good laugh and decide to go to the beach because Grace and Cindy want to swim.  That was funny....

Cindy, Grace, and Kevin play in the water.  52 degree water!!!

Later that night after dinner, we dinghy back to shore for a little beach fire and smores.  We almost went through all of our matches getting the fire started but managed to get it going with 3 matches left.  Phew.  Sitting around the fire toasting marshmallows with our good friends help make boating so memorable.  Good times!!!

The Dalton Gang (Mark, Grace, Jenn, Aidan). 

Beachfire and smores.  Stories from Aidan and Mark.  Griffin Bay.

The rain which has been forecast all weekend finally arrives while we sleep on Sunday night.  It rains pretty hard and there are some strong wind gusts as well.  The morning is spent inside the boats playing games.  Mark went to shore early and hiked for a few hours.  He wants to go back, but the kids aren't really too excited about hiking in the rain. We don't go back to shore.  We offer to take all 4 kids back with us so Mark and Jenn can go for a hike on their own (Mark HAS talked Jenn into hiking).  We leave Griffin Bay around noon in rain and fog.  The kids watch "Kung Fu Panda" and then "Surf's Up" on our TV while we motor back.  What a contrast in the weather from yesterday.

Rain, fog, some wind.  Radar and chartplotter working overtime.

It was another great trip on the boat.  Meeting up with friends makes these outings even more special.  It's a very rewarding lifestyle.....