Winding Down Our Orcas Stay . . . For Now

Tomorrow we reverse our epic journey, returning to Seattle towing our boat, with the added complication that we need to wash and wax it before hauling it to the ferry line. We had planned to take it out of the water this afternoon, which would've made sense if we were interested in having an easier time completing all our tasks, but it's been so satisfyingly delicious to be out on the boat on the living sea that we decided to eke out one last ride tomorrow morning.

Part of what has been difficult about this trip is that we decided, about a month ago, to begin the process of actually moving to Orcas full-time. We're ready to leave the city and become true island dwellers. This new direction has made all the things we love about being here--adventure boating, clear and dark night skies, sawing down little trees, quirky neighbors--all the more poignant and difficult to leave. "I want to stay!" my inner child cries. "I want to have my house here NOW!"

Part of what has been delightful about this trip, however, is that we decided to begin the process of actually moving to Orcas full-time. We've had dinner with two different sets of neighbors and discussed contractors with each (amongst other small-community gossip); we've had our fields mowed by a long-time islander who is a pillar of the community and a real nice down-to-earth guy; and we've had the owner of Island Excavating come down to look at our land and discuss timing for digging. Paul says July 5th is generally a good date--dryness-wise--to start major excavation projects, so I'm marking my calendar for next summer.

Some friends came up on the early ferry this morning. Two came out with us to do a tour to James Island (no room on the dock), and ice cream (plus five gallons of gas) at Blakely. We're all going over to Friday Harbor for the county fair this afternoon, which means we have even less interest in packing things up tonight.

But we'll be back in September to meet with a contractor and saw some more trees, and in the foreseeable future, our dream house (or an affordable facsimile) will be built, and we'll be in the much-anticipated counterpoint position of CHOOSING to leave Orcas for other climes, instead of HAVING to.

See you soon, Gma!

xox, Calin

one-fingered on my phone