Vans, Ferries, and Illegal Frolicking

I have always known that I am weird. My sisters have reminded me of that fact every day of my life. It is one of those things that I have come to accept and even embrace and it has worked to my favor especially for the past two and a half years. I am weird because I am usually more excited to return to school and studying than I am for the sweet release that summer and the short breaks between quarters usually provide. I like learning. I like the environment of open discussion and collect learning that is so present on college campuses and I obviously enjoy the social aspects of school.
Although saying goodbye to summer and my fabulous weekends at Bear Lake were difficult, I parted from them without so much as a tear and enthusiastically embarked on my journey to return to Seattle; and let me tell you, it really was a journey.
So on Tuesday, the 6th of September, after countless pointless delays caused by my family's inability to plan, my dad, sister and I headed out on the road to drive me back to my home in the Emerald city. We were of course situated happily and comfortably in one of my dad's many Volks Wagon Vanagons. My dad drove while I rode shotgun and my sister almost immediately fell asleep across the back seat near all my boxes of "life essentials" for my new apartment in Seattle.

We had driven about as far as Pocatello, Idaho when suddenly my sister sat bolt upright in the back and started shrieking for my dad to pull over. I turned in my seat and peered through a small hole between my boxes and saw steam billowing around my sister's head as the wind from my open window rushed in. My dog pepper calmly pushed herself towards my pile of boxes on the floor while trying to avoid the hot water seeping out across the carpet of the van floor.
We pulled over and after moving all our trip luggage out of the back of the van to get to the engine, my dad began tinkering around as he always does to find the problem. We soon discovered we had broken a fan belt which had in turn broken the heater under the seat in the back of the car. The broken heater was the cause of all the steam rising up around my sister as well as the cause of her impossibly high pitched scream of panic.
After standing idly by on the side of the road while my dad changed into his biking gear and prepared to cycle the four or five miles back into town, my sister and I were pleased to see the arrival of a giant state trooper SUV. With the help of a happy-go-lucky police officer, my dad got a ride into town where he purchased a new fan belt. Upon his return we quickly installed the new part and hit the road again.
Our first real stop after visiting one of my dad's favorite "ma and pa" diners in Blackfoot, Idaho was the cutest little Bed and Breakfast this side of the Mississippi. About a year ago my dad purchased a van from this cute old couple up in Salmon, Idaho and he and Rennie got to stay at their little inn for a night and immediately fell in love. I did too once I saw the place. We arrived there a little after midnight and after deciding not to disturb them at such a late hour we camped on the lawn and slept out under the stars. In the morning I woke up to possibly one of the greatest voices I have ever heard. The old man who runs the place has this high pitched, somewhat crackly and almost southern sounding voice. Think of the hunter on "The Fox and the Hound" but in a nice way and you might have a pretty good idea. He came out all curious about who was sleeping on his lawn and then he saw my dad and got all kinds of excited. He and his wife invited us in immediately and started making us breakfast and set up a room to let us shower and get cleaned up in. Their cooking was amazing and we even got a tour of their gardens as a little after breakfast entertainment.
I think that little bed and breakfast will definitely be added to my list of places to visit regularly because it really is that cute.

After many "thank you's" and hugs, they sent us on our way and we drove up through Montana, over to Coeur d' alene, Idaho. We spent a short night camping in a parking lot there and then woke up early to continue our journey through some of the most boring territory that the state of Washington has to offer. After about six more hours of driving, we arrived safely in Seattle.
Once in the city, we promptly boarded a ferry to take us out to the Olympic Peninsula to visit my cousins who recently packed up to move to Hawaii. Jonah and Aja have the coolest lifestyle. They never stay too long in one place and they are pros at living off whatever the area they choose has to offer. They grow awesome food, keep farm animals, go fishing or crabbing or whatever else is available and mostly enjoy all the little things life has to offer. To say the least, I am really sad they are ditching me for Hawaii.

While we were there, my cousin Joe took Rennie and me crabbing out in the sound and Sequim bay. We were mostly looking for some of the crab pots he had failed to pick up a few days earlier due to the wavy and hard to see conditions. It took us a while, but once we found a couple of his pots, Rennie and I took up the challenge of pulling the pots up. Now, I had done this before with Jonah and I knew the routine, but once we started pulling, my confidence plummeted. The pot was really heavy and both Rennie and I seemed to be putting all our effort into it. It took forever and once we got it up we realized why. There were 46 crab in the once pot! Apparently that is more than Jonah had ever seen in one pot and let me tell you, those things were HUGE!

After crabbing we went back and spent some time just hanging out with our cousins and enjoying all the beauty their little farm has to offer. We got to take a look at some of the cool toys and cars that Jo and Aja planned to leave behind. Every time they move they sell all their stuff and take as little as possible to start over again. It's so cool!

(This is Aja's old family car from their San Juan Island property. It is called "The Thing." That's my current dream car right there!)

(Their awesome property. Some of Jo's cars and such).

After driving away from the cute little farm in Sequim, we headed for the Port Townsend Ferry to take us across the water to our next adventure. We drove up Whidbey Island and checked out Deception Pass before heading on to the ferry to take us to the San Juan Islands.

Here is where the story gets really exciting.
For those of you have have met my dad, you know that he likes to talk; to friends, acquaintances, enemies, and strangers alike. He will basically talk to anyone who will listen. The ferry, however, seems to make him more chatty than ever. We would stand out on the bow to watch the beautiful mountain scenery and whales and dolphins and as soon as someone walked up next to us, my dad would strike up a conversation. Well, it was on our way to San Juan Island when my dad started making jokes about random things, which I naturally retaliated by making fun of him, and a man standing next to me leaned over and said, "Dad's are always funny and right you know."
I smiled and replied, "Maybe you are always funny and right but my dad has a tendency to be funny and wrong."
He laughed and then, as I expected, my dad stepped in and started talking to him about everything from sailing, to cars, to waterskiing, to the story of my life as a college student. Normally people don't find these topics very interesting (or maybe I just don't because I hear them so often), but this man--John was his name-- seemed very interested. And it wasn't long before I discovered why. Apparently he is very much like my dad. They are interested in the same things and they both have children who are going into their junior year of college. John's child is a boy though and apparently my dad talked him into thinking it would be a good idea for Micheal (John's son) and me to meet. Or maybe it was the other way around, I am not really sure, but anyway they both kind of agreed that this ferry ride shouldn't be the end to our acquaintance. John invited us to call him the next day while we were on the island because he lives there and was planning on taking his son waterskiing for one last day before he headed back to school.
As you can imagine, that is exactly what we did. After spending the night camping in some crazy back lot forest are next to one of the harbors, we showered at the docks, got some breakfast, ever pass up an opportunity to waterski, especially in a place as cool as the San Juans.

(The Camel of Friday Harbor. Some guy who lives there went on a trip to Africa or something and ended up bringing back a Camel for a souvenir. Random.)

The lake we skied on with John and his son Micheal wasn't very big but it was glassy and super fun to ski on. We could make about five cuts before holding off to let the boat turn as we completed a triangle pattern around and around the lake.

(John was seriously an amazing skier. This picture does him no justice. We definitely got some tips for future reference and had a blast while watching him shred the nar! haha)

Our next stop was Orcas Island. We got to the Island relatively late so we found a cool public beach to chill on while dad set to work cooking the dinner Rennie and I had chosen from the grocery store earlier that day. The beach was beautiful and we got there in perfect time to enjoy the more than gorgeous sunset which we had to give photographic justice to by posing in silhouette yoga positions. I also found a comfy log to chill on and finish my book while Rennie played Frisbee with Pepper to let her stretch her legs.

After enjoying our dinner, we decided that we might as well stay there for the night. There were no signs specifically saying that we weren't allowed to camp there--although we figured it was probably illegal--so we set up a tent while my dad took up his usual spot on the pull down back seat of the van and settled in for the night. everything was fine and dandy until about 3am. Rennie and I woke to hear the sound of a police radio and the bright lights of a squad car. Two police men approached our tent with flashlights and asked us to please step out to speak to them. We obliged, got our ideas and had a pleasant early morning discussion about why we were there. The police were nice and explained that camping on the public beach really isn't allowed and that the signs saying so must have been torn down by some local hooligans. After telling us they weren't going to make us move as long as we were up and out of there before about 7am, they told us about some of the fun spots the island had to offer. We thanked them for their kindness, help, and advice and returned to our sleeping bags and dreams. In the morning as we packed up and made breakfast, some local, very drunk people came to hang out on the beach and as they were leaving they told us that we were seriously "BA" for getting away with camping on that beach. It was funny, but I definitely don't plan on illegally camping on a random beach again anytime too soon.


We had a great day exploring the rest of the island. We went to the small mountain on the island to drink in the extraordinary views of the surrounding water and islands.


Later that day we found a lake to go swimming and wash our hair in. We had a pleasant time absorbing some much needed sun rays and then took off on the ferry again to head over to Lopez Island. Once on Lopez, I stubbornly requested that we camp somewhere legal for the night so we found a camping/motel/harbor complex and purchased a camping spot for the night. Our campsite also came with access to the motel's hot tub and pool facilities so after a light dinner Rennie and I headed down to the pool. We met the funniest old couple in the hot tub. There was an old black man about 60 years old and a heavyset white woman of about 55 years. They were apparently on vacation together there before they were planning to head down to New Orleans or somewhere cool like that. They both work for the Metro bus system in Seattle and they had a great old time telling us all about their lives and small connections to us. The old man was very excited by the fact that we are Mormon because apparently he used to drive a charter bus in Utah and once drove a group of Mormons who gave him a signed copy of the Book of Mormon that although he has cherished for many years, he has never actually read. They kept us entertained until we were "all wrinkled up" and then we headed back to our tent to enjoy another night under the stars, or clouds rather.
In the morning we went for a pleasant bike ride and stopped to eat some of the delicious blackberries that invasively cover most of the roadside areas on the islands. After showering and packing up again we departed from the islands and headed back for the city.


After moving my boxed up life into my apartment, they dropped my off to stay with my friend Lauren for a night and they drove off to return to their real lives while I turned around to walk back into mine. Rennie and I had a long and serious goodbye full of tears and....not! We hugged a lot though because that will be the last time I will actually see her for 2 years because she is heading off on her mission to Spain.
It was quite the trip. Full of surprises and stumbling blocks but overall a pretty good time.
Since then I have been adjusting back into my regular life up here, classes, work, stress, and all of that, but I'll elaborate on that all later.
Until then...Such is life.