Family Vacation on Orcas Island

Orcas island in October is off the beaten tourist track. We took advantage of its rain shadow and a week of fine weather to rent a cabin usually reserved two years ahead. We had the three bedroom, full loft, full kitchen, wood stove cabin and fire pit to ourselves -- the neighboring cabins were unoccupied.

The ferry from Anacordes threaded its way between the San Juan islands and stopped at several of the larger ones. The terminal at Shaw Island used to be staffed by nuns, but the order was closed a few years ago. Instead, we were greeted by a bagpiper hidden in the woods.

Someone had painted a target on the landing, and passengers pitched their pennies for no reason other than the challenge of it. No doubt the money went to a good cause.

Ocean water this far north is too cold for swimming, even in the summer, but it's just right for rowing. The local boathouse had already transformed back into a pottery studio, but they let us rent a rowboat for two days, charging us for only one of them. Karen, Lisa and I rowed to nearby Picnic island and rested by the tide pool before rowing back.

The boys brought their fishing rods and improvised a crab trap from a soda can and some salami. They caught a crab that had tangled itself in the fishing line, which they freed and threw back. Low tide lowered the shoreline dramatically by about thirty feet, and we got up to go exploring by flashlight at 2 AM, but even the tide pools on the reef had little to offer except for an occasional neon blue starfish.

Our four days and three nights was spent productively, sleeping late, making fires, roasting marshmellows, drinking wine, and watching the sun set. We played board games, read books, took turns cooking, and played tourist in the nearby almost deserted town.