Canoe Trip - 2010

Back in July of 2009 I found that the State has this cabin on Ben Ure Island available for very reasonable rental.  As a surprise for Timothy I booked 4 nights for October 2009.  A:  I then realized that you could only access the island by non-motorized boat.  and B:  I had shoulder surgery in September and couldn't go in October.  Thankfully we were able to reschedule for June 2010.  Sadly that didn't work out either, so exactly a year after our original date we FINALLY went on our canoe trip to Ben Ure! 

While preparing for our trip we had to pack minimally because everything we brought had to fit in our canoe, and then also had to be carried from the shore the 1/4 mile up the narrow, rock and root covered slippery and steep in places, trail to the cabin.  Also there is no potable water on the island as the well has been infiltrated with salt water, so we had to bring our own water.  We planned every meal, limited our clothing, and thought carefully about everything that was going with us.  We loaded the canoe in the driveway to make certain that it would all fit in the canoe.  There was still some niggling concern about the weight, but we felt pretty confident that it would be fine.

Packed and ready to go, we double high fived and excitedly headed out.  Hitting Starbucks on our way out of town, it suddenly struck me that we had...HAD to go back to the house.  We had forgotten something very important, vital in fact.  We were so concerned about the food, clothing, entertainment items, and so on that we forgot the lifejackets, and paddles.  *sheepish grin*  Thanking God that He reminded us of this before we had even gone 2 miles, we headed back to the house grabbed the forgottens and off we headed up North to our destination. 

The weather was gorgeous - warm & sunny!

Timothy had to act in the current Fishnet Theatre performance in Bothell at 6p.m.  We couldn't get into the cabin till 2:30.  Tight, but doable, the plan was for us to go to the cabin, drop off our stuff, canoe back over to the car where Timothy would leave to return later in the evening, and I was going to canoe back to the island and spend a glorious evening alone at the cabin...but I'm getting ahead of myself(watch for a subsequent post about the first night of our trip). 

The canoe over to the island is about 1/3 of a mile, across a fairly busy boat lane. 

This is the view from the island, looking back at the parking lot(can you see our car parked in the lot?):

We weren't exactly sure where we were supposed to land on the island.  The cabin is on the northeast end of the island, but the beach is on the southwest end, and there was a sandy place to land, but no visible way to get up to the trail.  Scratching our heads we followed the shoreline looking for the best place to land.  After much looking, and a little experience with some crazy eddy's and rough water, we finally settled on this as our landing.  It's very rocky, but if you look closely, on the left you can see a steep little sort of "staircase" that leads up to the trail. :

We later discovered that it is far easier to walk across the rocks up the way to a much easier path that leads up to the main trail.  But on the first day we hauled all of our gear up this steep "staircase":

After walking the 1/4 mile trail...we made it to the cabin:

The Cabin: 

 

We rested, read, watched movies, played cards, relaxed:

I need to confess, somewhat sheepishly, that we brought my new kitty Mattie on vacation with us.  We just got him a few weeks ago, and I am trying to bond with him, and make him understand that I am indeed his Mommy.  We thought it would be best to bring him along.  It may seem silly, ridiculous, or even irresponsible to some...but not so much to us.  He was an adorable, funny, pleasant addition to our time at the island.   

We canoed out to Deception Pass many times, at all times of day - and took lot's of pictures:

We ate like kings!  It's such a blessing to be married to a virtual chef, even while at a cabin in the woods:

I played with reflections(do you see us watching the sunset?):

We marinated in sunrises:

And Sunsets:

We saw Sea Stars:

And Cormorants and Herons:

We saw fighter jets:

And a Shipwreck:

We laughed at the outdoor shower(disclaimer - partial nudity...at least I gave him a "fig leaf")

But mostly we squeezed the life out of every single moment we had together:

There will be many posts with little anecdotes, and stories, but this was the most blissful, pleasant, thrilling, relaxing, humorous, challenging, amazing, restful vacation we've ever had.  It was as if we were living the life of someone else.  We loved every minute of it!  

Timothy - My Beloved:  There is no one else I would've rather spent 5 solid days with.  Thank you for making me laugh, for being the arms I run into when I'm scared, for loving me even when I rock the boat, for holding my hand, for sitting with me arm in arm on the shoreline in silence, for beating me at cards, and loving when I got my revenge, for understanding and even giggling adorably at my irrational hysterics, for dancing to Michael Buble, for giving me your pillow so I would be more comfortable, for trusting me to canoe by myself, for reliably making a goofy face when posing for an "arm's length" picture, for letting me take nudie pics of you in the shower, for canoeing 8 1/4 miles before sunrise because I wanted to, for "speaking seal", for snuggling up every evening to watch the sunset, and more than all of that - thank you for your love, and for being my lifelong companion!  I love you Baby!  I can't wait for our next adventure together.     J.