Alpacas, Reporters, and the Longest Ferry Day

 

Our final full day on San Juan Island was exactly what vacations are supposed to be. Relaxing.

Our only official outing was a visit to the local alpaca farm, and I wasn’t prepared for just how adorable those fuzzy little creatures would be. Joni certainly wasn’t either. She cautiously fed a few alpacas before quickly deciding they were among the greatest inventions in the history of mankind.

As if that wasn’t memorable enough, there happened to be a reporter from the Cascadia Daily Newsvisiting the farm to write a feature on San Juan Island attractions. She was immediately drawn to Joni, who was happily feeding alpacas with complete toddler confidence. 

The reporter snapped photo after photo before laughing and telling us that one of them would probably end up on the cover. 

If you happen to be reading the Cascadia Daily News and spot a tiny brunette girl grinning ear to ear while feeding an alpaca…well…we know her. The rest of the day unfolded at exactly the pace we’d hoped for all week. No schedules. No rushing. No frantic loading of children into car seats. Just a peaceful afternoon around the Airbnb soaking in our last few hours on the island. 

That evening Emily and I even managed a proper date night while Vidah stayed behind with the girls. It felt wonderfully normal. We enjoyed a leisurely dinner, great conversation, and a fantastic bottle of wine. No one needed a diaper change. Nobody threw food. No one attempted to climb onto the table. Highly recommend date nights.

What a relaxing day…which, naturally, meant the following day would make up for it. 

Checkout was at 11:00 a.m. Our ferry reservation? 4:00 p.m. No problem.

Our brilliantly engineered parenting strategy was simple: clean the Airbnb, pack the SUV, then spend a couple hours driving around the island while both girls peacefully napped in their car seats. They would awaken refreshed just in time for the ferry, and everyone would live happily ever after. The plan was flawless however reality disagreed.

We managed to clean the house, pack everything, and check out on time. Then we set off on our scenic island drive, fully expecting two sleeping children within minutes. Instead, after nearly an hour and a half of driving, Joni managed roughly thirty minutes of sleep before being awakened by her little sister’s passionate objections to napping. So much for Plan A.

We stopped at Downriggers in Friday Harbor for lunch before wandering over to the Whale Museum. While we didn’t find any actual orcas, Joni was perfectly content riding a little whale-shaped seesaw, which in toddler terms is honestly just as exciting. 

Next came one of her favorite vacation traditions: the local library. She wandered from toy to toy with such enthusiasm that the librarians completely fell under her spell. Before we left, they had unofficially enrolled her in the summer reading program just so they could give her a free children’s book. 

Eventually it was time to line up for the ferry. Which meant sitting in the car. With two children. For an hour. Waiting.

If you’ve never experienced this particular form of endurance sport, count yourself fortunate. Once aboard, all of the adults were running on fumes, so Vidah stayed behind in the SUV to catch a well-earned nap while Emily and I took Joni exploring.

She was, once again, the unofficial entertainment for the entire ferry. She toddled nearly every hallway on the ship, waved enthusiastically at strangers, and spent long stretches standing proudly on the bow, staring out over the water with the wind in her hair. Passengers smiled everywhere we went. She was adorable. 

But beneath the endless curiosity were the unmistakable signs of a toddler who was hanging on by the tiniest of emotional threads. Every parent knows the look.

They’re still smiling…

…until suddenly they aren’t.

The unraveling began the moment we drove off the ferry. Both girls decided they had reached their absolute limit. The chorus of crying began before we’d even cleared the terminal and continued all the way to Costco.

By the time we arrived, everyone was exhausted, hungry, wearing increasingly questionable diapers, and wondering why traveling with children had ever seemed like a good idea. Fortunately, Costco pizza exists.

Never has a greasy slice of pepperoni tasted so restorative. Miraculously, food solved almost everything. The crying stopped. The adults regained the ability to think. We bought groceries, drove to our next Airbnb near the beach, unloaded what felt like seventeen thousand pounds of luggage, and collapsed into bed. 

Sunshine, Sand, and a Portuguese Polar Bear

 The San Juan Islands have been exactly what we needed: a slower pace, beautiful scenery, and just enough adventure to keep things interesting.

After a surprisingly decent night with Evie, we awoke with a plan.

The first stop of the day was the Sculpture Park near Roche Harbor, an enormous 20-acre property filled with winding pathways, open meadows, ponds, and enough sculptures to make you constantly ask, “What do you think that is supposed to be?”Joni absolutely loved it. 

She spent the morning wandering through the grass under the warm sunshine, investigating every path, flower, and interesting object she could find. Her enthusiasm was boundless. Her endurance, however, was not. Eventually the wheels came off.

Before long I found myself carrying Evie in a chest carrier while simultaneously transporting Joni on my shoulders, a configuration that probably will cause back pains later but got the job done.  We wandered through whimsical forest trails, circled ponds dotted with water features, and crossed open fields where strange sculptures seemed to emerge from nowhere, inviting equal parts curiosity and confusion. By the end, everyone was happily exhausted.

We returned home for our now-sacred afternoon siesta, resting up for what would become one of the highlights of the trip. South Beach.

The afternoon was unusually warm for the Pacific Northwest. The sun was high, the sky was cloudless, and the beach stretched out before us in postcard-perfect fashion.

The water, however, remained committed to being Alaska-adjacent. While the air was warm, the ocean was absolutely frigid. Joni barely noticed.

The sand instantly became the greatest discovery of her young life. She dug, ran, scooped, built, destroyed, and repeated the cycle endlessly. Hours disappeared as she played with the sort of complete commitment that only toddlers can achieve. 

Meanwhile, the heat eventually convinced me to attempt a swim. The first few steps into the water were uncomfortable. The next few were regrettable. The rest were oddly invigorating.

Cold enough to make life choices flash before your eyes, yet somehow refreshing once you surrendered to it. 

Joni watched my swim with great interest and decided she would do the same. Her confidence lasted right up until the moment the icy water touched her feet. She immediately reconsidered. Though in the cutest fashion she stood frozen, freezing with her feet in the water looking up at me with pleading eyes to rescue her. 

Perhaps my greatest achievement of the day, however, was convincing Vidah to join me. She bravely entered the water. She bravely submerged. She emerged speaking Portuguese at a speed I had never previously witnessed. While I cannot verify exactly what was said, I am reasonably confident none of it was complimentary toward the temperature of the Pacific Ocean.

We spent hours soaking up the sunshine before finally returning home tired, sandy, and completely content. After a quick dinner and another respectable night of sleep from Evie, we were ready for another day of exploring.

The following morning brought us to Lime Kiln Point State Park, home to one of the most iconic lighthouses in the Pacific Northwest. 

The area owes much of its history to the lime industry that once dominated the islands. During the late 1800s, limestone deposits were quarried here and processed in large kilns overlooking the shoreline. The resulting lime was shipped throughout the region for use in mortar, plaster, agriculture, and construction. What remains today are the restored kilns, a lighthouse, and some of the most spectacular views in the San Juan Islands. 

After a few short hikes through the park, we found ourselves staring out over Haro Strait toward the Olympic Mountains. The views were priceless.  The area is famous for orca sightings, and we spent plenty of time scanning the water hopefully. No whales this time. Still worth every minute. 

Unfortunately, both girls chose this particular day to stage a coordinated rebellion against naptime. By lunchtime everyone was operating on diminished reserves, which resulted in a slightly tense, but undeniably delicious, meal in Roche Harbor. Thankfully, Roche Harbor itself is hard to stay grumpy in. 

The resort traces its roots back to the 1880s when entrepreneur John S. McMillin built one of the largest lime-producing operations on the West Coast.  The company town that grew around the industry eventually evolved into the resort destination visitors enjoy today. Historic buildings, manicured gardens, marinas filled with impressive yatchs, and waterfront views make it one of the most picturesque spots in the islands. 

We spent the afternoon wandering the grounds, admiring the harbor, and imagining what life must have looked like when limestone was mined.  Eventually we headed back to the Airbnb for some much-needed relaxation.

Only one day remains in this little island paradise. 

Father’s Day Recovery Mode

It was another rough night, which was probably not helped by the fact that we’re visiting during the summer solstice when darkness is apparently just a rumor in the Pacific Northwest. Between the endless daylight and being in a new place, the girls’ internal clocks seem to be operating on pure chaos.

We rallied because it was Father’s Day.

After enough coffee to make reasonable decisions seem possible again, we headed into downtown Friday Harbor for a diner breakfast. The place was packed, which is always a good sign. 

The breakfast was fantastic, good enough that we briefly forgot how exhausted we were.

Both girls were in great spirits. Joni charmed everyone within a 50-foot radius while Evie took a temporary break from her anti-sleep campaign. For one glorious meal, we almost looked like a family that had everything figured out.

We wandered through town afterward, exploring parks, shops, and whatever caught Joni’s attention for more than six seconds. She happily marched all over Friday Harbor, determined to inspect every flower, rock, and patch of grass available. 

Eventually we returned to the Airbnb for the sacred vacation tradition known as the midday siesta.

 

Refreshed, or at least less exhausted, we headed back out for a brief beach excursion and some wine tasting. The day felt less like an adventure and more like a recovery mission after the previous night’s sleep deprivation. Nobody was trying to conquer mountains or break personal records. We were simply trying to remain functional adults. 

Mission mostly accomplished.

As the afternoon settled in, we mapped out plans for the upcoming week and returned to the Airbnb for what turned out to be one of those simple vacation evenings that ends up becoming a favorite memory.

The girls played happily while we enjoyed some wine, a great dinner, and the increasingly rare feeling that nobody urgently needed anything.

After bedtime, the adults migrated to the back deck overlooking the lush Pacific Northwest forest. With glasses of wine in hand, we sat under the lingering summer-solstice twilight while Vidah attempted the impossible task of teaching us Portuguese.

There was a lot of laughter.

There was very little actual learning.

At various points we were convinced we’d mastered a phrase, only to discover we’d accidentally said something completely different. Vidah was remarkably patient as we butchered her language one pronunciation at a time.

The setting couldn’t have been much better: towering evergreens, cool evening air, birds settling in for the night, and a sky that stubbornly refused to get completely dark.

It wasn’t a big excursion or a major sightseeing day. In fact, most of the day was spent recovering from the previous night’s chaos. But sometimes those are the best vacation days, the ones where nobody is rushing anywhere, everyone is together, and the biggest challenge is figuring out how to pronounce Portuguese words after a couple glasses of wine.

Eventually the wine glasses emptied, the Portuguese lesson mercifully ended, and exhaustion finally caught up with us.

Most importantly, it also caught up with Evie.

For the first time in what felt like forever, everyone slept.

Happy Father’s Day indeed. 

Planes, Ferries, and Tiny Dictators

We finally made it to Sam and Mary Jo’s for a quick overnight before heading out to the islands. Getting there, however, felt less like travel and more like a reality TV challenge called “How Many Things Can Go Wrong Before Lunch?”

The first lesson of the trip: airlines apparently frown upon putting two lap infants in the same row. Something about oxygen masks and wanting everyone to survive an emergency. Details. So after carefully booking our seats together, we were scattered throughout the plane like contestants in a very stressful game of hide-and-seek.

Then, after successfully navigating airport security with two children, mountains of gear, and our collective sanity hanging by a thread, we discovered Alaska Airlines had somehow canceled Vidah’s ticket. Naturally, this revelation came after security. As we frantically tried to figure out how to keep our childcare provider from being stranded in Juneau, Alaska offered us the generous opportunity to buy a new ticket for the low, low price of $1,600.

Thankfully, a cheaper option emerged via points and a later flight. Crisis temporarily averted.

We boarded. We buckled. We settled the kids. We started to believe we might actually leave on time.

Then the captain announced that the previous night’s crew had failed to properly secure the aircraft.

Which meant every single passenger had to get off the plane.

Yes. All of us.

Back through the jet bridge. Back through security. Back through the entire process. Hundreds of people collectively questioning their life choices. Missed connections everywhere. Our simple two-hour flight magically transformed into a four-hour adventure.

And somehow, against all laws of parenting and aviation, the girls were absolute superstars.

No meltdowns.

No disasters.

They made it all the way to Seattle like seasoned travelers. Joni then immediately switched into cousin mode, playing for hours before crashing harder than I’ve seen in months. 

The next morning, we packed our SUV to absolute maximum capacity. If we’d brought one more granola bar, we’d have needed a roof rack. We pointed ourselves toward the Anacortes ferry terminal and set off for our first extended stay in Friday Harbor.

Boarding the ferry was smooth.

Getting out of the SUV once parked was not.

The ferry attendants packed vehicles with such impressive efficiency that opening the doors became more of a theoretical possibility than a practical one. Our exit from the vehicle involved twisting, crawling, and squeezing through impossibly small gaps like a family auditioning for a circus act.

Once free, Joni spent most of the ferry ride running herself ragged while the adults enjoyed spectacular views of the San Juan Islands. Sunshine. Blue water. Forested shorelines. The kind of Pacific Northwest scenery that makes you wonder why anyone lives anywhere else. 

By late afternoon we arrived at our Airbnb, which turned out to be quaint, comfortable, and exactly what we needed.

We enjoyed a calm dinner.

The children were tired.

The adults were tired.

The house was quiet.

Surely everyone would sleep.

Evie, unfortunately, had not been consulted on this plan.

She spent the night reminding us that she is, in fact, an infant and therefore immune to logic, reason, and vacation schedules.

So while it wasn’t exactly the restful evening we’d imagined, we’re finally here. The travel chaos is behind us, the islands are beautiful, and with any luck the next few days will involve more ferries and sunsets, and fewer canceled tickets, surprise deplanings, and midnight baby conferences.

Stay tuned.