For some reason, perhaps because it was so quiet and rainy all day, I've had Friday Harbor on the brain. Friday Harbor is located on one of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. I visited there when I was 12, and it still ranks as one of the most fantastic places I've ever been. It's most definitely the best family vacation I can remember.As I recall, my dad was going to Seattle for an expo of some sort, and my parents decided to make a trip of it. The four of us flew into Seattle about a week in advance, rented a car, and immediately caught the ferry (which I loved). We explored the town, went whale watching (saw a whole pod of Orcas!), went ocean kayaking (where we were stalked by a young sea lion), happened upon an alpaca farm, and then got soaked to the skin in a rain storm. All four of us ended up buying brand new sweatshirts, which were quickly proclaimed the best any of us had ever owned. Seriously. I have never had a sweatshirt which kept me so dry in the rain.
From Friday Harbor, we traveled to Ruby Beach, with which I fell in love and which started my collection of beach stones. It's a magnificent place. We headed into Canada and spent the night in a tiny bed and breakfast outside of Victoria. All I remember of it was that there was a tray of cocoa outside my door in the morning and that my brother and I discovered a deer nibbling a tree outside who was so clam she let us walk right up to her.
There is so much of that week which remains crystal clear in my memory, but I can't help but wish there was more. Returning to Friday Harbor is something I've thought about for a long, long time. One of these days, I'll cave in and just go. Days like today bring me ever closer to that precipice.
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