Getaway

We've just returned from a few days visiting family in Anacortes. We made plans thinking The Spouse would need to work and that I would be driving the kids up there alone but, happily, he ended up free this week so we could all go together.

We drove north through gray skies and occasional drizzle but the sky grew clearer as we headed west off the interstate towards the sea. We were welcomed with multi-recipient birthday celebration (all our birthdays fall between May and August) which included two lovely bakery cakes and a generous amount of spending money for the kids.My aunt's house is on a hill overlooking the state ferry terminal and the westernmost San Juan islands. It's a lovely location and we were blessed with mild, sunny weather while there. We spent one day wandering around the town of Anacortes. We walked through the lovely city park and took in the views. It's pretty much all about the water and the boats, both of which proved endlessly fascinating. We also managed to find both the yarn shop and a lovely bookstore.

We spent another day visiting Friday Harbor on San Juan Island which allowed for an hour of ferry time each way. The ferries seem so grand to me--they're spacious and comfortable and you can wander freely at different levels. We traveled on a gloriously sunny day, but I think it would be wonderful to spend a stormy wintry day on the ferry as well, with some friends, perhaps, and a hot cup of coffee and some knitting. It sounds perfect to me.

That's The Dark Lord and me in the photo above, with our shadows on the water. Pretty cool shot, I think.
Friday Harbor was lovely as well. We had an OK lunch, visited more bookstores, ate ice cream, wandered about and enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.

We left fairly early yesterday and made a stop at a produce stand in Mt Vernon where we bought some of the best cherries I've ever eaten. I'm deep into reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now and was happy to shell out a small fortune for the locally grown fruit. We arrived home to find all the cats well fed and happy to see us.

I spent a great deal of time on this vacation doing...nothing, really. Reading, knitting, taking photos, and not much more than that. What luxury! I'm trying to hang on to that vacation vibe before gearing up to think about the rapidly approaching summer term.