Jerry's parents come for a visit

Jim and Maxine, Jerry's parents, arrived for a cruise on Cosmo Place last Saturday, July 31.  Of course they drove their camper van the 2000+ miles from central Illinois to La Conner.  It would seem that part of our role in their lives is to provide them a new place to visit and a new adventure to pursue.  They've travelled all over the US to see us and even came to Germany, back in the 70's, while we were there with Uncle Sam.  Although they're in their 80's, and slowing down a little bit, they still have a great curiosity and are ready to see new things.  

Jim and Jerry do a walking inspection of Cosmo Place
at the dock in La Conner.

The family will tell you that whenever they come to visit, they prefer staying in their camper van so we weren't sure they'd want to go out overnight on the boat. We were delighted when they parked the camper, came aboard with some clothes, and were ready to go!

Maxine and Jerry look at the cruising options,
sitting in the cockpit of Cosmo Place.

After a discussion about whether we'd go through Deception Pass on the way out or the way back in, we decided to head north down Swinomish Channel in the morning. We'll plan to hit slack water when we return through Deception Pass in a few days.  


We departed on Sunday morning, after the fog burned off, about 1030, bound for Hunter Bay on Lopez Island.  We'd stayed there before and knew that it was a beautiful, quiet bay with plenty of wildlife to watch.  The downside of this anchorage is that there's not much opportunity to get off the boat although we did discover a small public boat launch and dock. 


We arrived in Hunter Bay about 3 PM to overcast skies, a light breeze and calm water.  We dropped the anchor at the head of the bay in the company of only a handful of boats in about 20 feet of water...lovely!

Jim and Maxine all decked out for a dinghy ride.

We decided to get the dinghy down and go for a spin.  You've perhaps read my previous dinghy diatribes...but today it performed beautifully.  It really is fairly comfortable for the two of us and, for short distances, four can travel successfully.

This little guy is actually laying on a submerged rock,
catching some afternoon rays.

We had our eyes peeled for eagles, seals, and any other wildlife.  Our diligence was rewarded with a seal sunning himself on a rock in the bay.




We spent a quiet evening, barbecuing and playing Mexican Train.  This is one of the few games we brought on the boat with us and we're absolutely addicted!

Looking NE from the head of Hunter Bay.

We awoke on Monday morning, August 2, to absolutely flat water and fog out in Lopez Pass and Rosario Strait.  While we had a leisurely breakfast, we watched our boating neighbors haul anchor and continue on their journeys.  This would be an amazing place to bring kayaks...definitely need to work on that plan when we get back to La Conner.  


We hauled anchor about 1115...okay so not the crack of dawn, but we had a splendid morning birdwatching...eagles and blue herons.


We headed north through Lopez Sound and past Spencer Spit, around Upright Head on Lopez Island and down the channel.  We thought we might pull in to Olga, on Orcas Island, tie up and have lunch.  Unfortunately the dock was full of boats, and East Sound was windy.  
So we proceeded on to pretty little Parks Bay on Shaw Island, literally just around the corner.  What a great place to drop anchor and have lunch.  This is another spot we'd like to return to with kayaks.  It's very protected and would be superb for an overnight stay.  Parks Bay is one of those spots where docking isn't an option, because it's a research station for the University of Washington.  It is just across San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor,so we saw lots and lots of boat traffic.  In this little bay, though, there we only 2 others boats beside us.  Sweet!


We arrived at our Monday night anchorage at Reid Harbor about 4:30 PM and found it to be full of boats!  We had stayed here on our April, 2009 cruise aboard the Mariah.  Back then we were the only boat there!  Waggoner's Cruising Guide says this is one of the most popular cruising destinations in the San Juan's, so we should not have been surprised.  

Sunset at Reid Harbor.

After another evening of BBQing...halibut this time...and playing games...Mad Dash...we watched a beautiful sunset.  


Tuesday morning dawned clear and beautiful so we were off to Deception Pass by way of a lunch stop at Mackeye Bay on the south side of Lopez Island.  


Tuesday morning we were off again, planning to arrive back in Deception Pass for slack water about 3:30 PM.  Our route took us south down the west side of San Juan Island in the Haro Strait.  This is "big water" and a major shipping lane from Canada.  This is also where the whale watching boats careen back and forth the route looking for signs of Orcas.  We hope to finally see one, but....nope no joy today.  I'm not sure there are whales out there!

Lunch

We had lunch on the south side of Lopez at Mackeye

Deception Pass and the Highway 20 bridge from Rosario Strait

We arrived at Deception Pass right on schedule after an easy transit across Rosario Strait.  This is our first trip INTO the pass and we're excited but confident.  Well, I should say I'm excited and Jerry is confident.  He's a great pilot and makes cruising safe and fun.  Of course we cruised through the pass easily and smoothly.  Quite a site passing under the bridge!


We spent one more evening BBQing and playing Mexican Train, back in La Conner.  On Wednesday, we gave Jim and Maxine a driving tour of La Conner, Anacortes, and over Deception Pass.  

Highway 20 bridge over Deception Pass

Seeing the Deception Pass bridge from the from up above makes the passage underneath it seem even more amazing.


Jim and Maxine left about 3 PM on Wednesday afternoon, determined to take a leisurely route home and enjoy the Cascades.  


So, another successful cruise.  We learned some new stuff, we found some lovely new anchorages, and we have a wonderful time with family.  We're looking forward to many more visitors in the weeks to come and more great cruising.  With our return to La Conner, we've officially put 100 hours on Cosmo Place...Woo-Hoo!