Orcas, Ferries, and Seahawks, Oh My...

Now that we're home, I can tell you we were gone! Our friends Will and Briana were married last Sunday on Orcas Island in the San Juan's in a beautiful ceremony, and we were part of it. Dan was a groomsman, and I was part of the kitchen help. Ann, Eric, Cameron and Keaton went too, and we extended our stay to make it a real vacation.

To get to Orcas Island, you take a Washington state ferry from Anacortes. Apparently it's a popular destination because although we arrived in what we thought was plenty of time, we were too late for the 11:45 ferry. To make a long story short, because of fog, we had a five-hour wait for the next ferry. Trapped like rats at the dock, we eventually found ways to keep busy: grilled sausage dogs at an outdoor eatery, finding four other couples from church also waiting, reading the paper from the motel room the night before, watching other ferries come and go...

But we made it! Eric had found a farm house for rent and it turned out to be a wonderful, relaxing place to park for the week. It was on the quiet end of the island and we loved it. We stocked up on food at a store in Marysville, and our kitchen was well supplied with utensils. But no dishwasher. Here's how we managed:



The wedding was outdoors on a deck in the town of Eastsound. Briana was a beautful bride and Will was beaming.


The ceremony ended with a bubble machine and the sounds of the theme from Chariots of Fire.

Dan was quite handsome as possibly the oldest groomsman on record! :-)


With the wedding over, we relaxed and did some sightseeing which included going up to Mt. Constitution to see the amazing view of the water and islands.



Ann, Eric and the boys did some paddle boating on the lake near our house and had great fun. Grammy and Papa guarded the towels and snacks on the beach. :-)


Our last great adventure (including surviving Seattle traffic!!!) was to attend a Seattle Seahawks training camp on our way home. Here's part of our gang. I should tell you it was 95 degrees, with no shade anywhere to be found. Hot, it was hot. We can only hope the 'Hawks will be as "hot" this season!


It was a wonderful week.