Shaw...a return visit

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to head back up to our favorite Washington island destination – Shaw. We’d been waiting for a “good” (meaning non-raining) weekend and after checking the weather on Thursday morning, Randy turned to me and said, “if we want to go, this is it.” He didn't need to ask twice. Within 2 hours, we were packed, the garage door was closing behind us and we were on our way north. Since it was 10:30 by the time we left, we’d decided to shoot for the 6:30pm ferry out of Anacortes.

Rain was forecast and with unpredictable traffic delays from Olympia through Everett, we knew it could be a long drive. Plus, we had Randy’s folks with us so we planned to actually stop for lunch rather than eat on the road like we normally do.

Well, luck must have been with us because we breezed through Olympia and Tacoma, and the northbound express lanes through Seattle were open so we breezed through there, too. As we neared the Anacortes exit, we started wondering if we could actually catch the 3:30 ferry. Our only concern was weather the Shaw grocery store would still be open when we landed on-island. Since we didn’t have anything along for dinner that evening, it was a pretty big concern. I drafted a quick grocery list as Randy pulled into the grocery store parking lot in Anacortes. We split the list and ran our way through the store picking up selected items that would get us through that night and the next morning. We’d pick up whatever else we needed at the Shaw Island store the following day. We got to the ferry terminal at 3:15. As Randy turned off the car, we heard the announcement: “Now boarding for Lopez, Shaw and Orcas Islands.” That was a little too close. The house looked the same and the view…well, the view out the front windows was exactly what we needed after a long, cool, wet winter. I felt like I’d never left and I knew I was smiling even before I thought about it.

We quickly unloaded the car, loaded the fridge and unpacked the suitcases. Charli, of course, had her bumper in her mouth and was waiting - not very patiently - to head to the beach. The weekend was wonderful. The walks through the island reminded us again of why we love it here. The moss hung heavy in the trees... it was beautiful.

and the beaches were alive with small crab...

starfish...oysters... and ... keiten. Huh? I'd never seen a keiten...or at least I don't think I'd ever seen a keiten. At first glance (and second and third!), they're kind of prehistoric-looking. We had lots of sun and met up with island friends we’d gotten to know last summer. We stopped at the store to shop, visited with Bill in the post office and invited Kennedy’s over for dinner. We took Randy's folks on a tour of the island and stopped often for pictures. We found this llama who posed quite nicely for pictures.

I love the dreadlock-look on her coat but I'd hate to have to comb it!Charli got in lots of beach time,

and we were able to share Shaw with Randy’s folks. Truth be told, I think they fell in love with the island, too. Here's a picture of them on the deck.Everyone who visited last summer had their picture taken in the same spot. This one was taken at the park on the south side of the island. Much too soon, the weekend was over and it was time to head back home. That's a sad-looking Randy and Charli waiting for the ferry.

Randy and his Mom share the view of Orcas from the Shaw ferry landing.

The only good thing about leaving was that all of the mountains were “out” on the drive back and that’s not something that happens often during a Pacific Northwest Spring!