My trip to Washington a week ago lasted a brief 48 hours. I flew up on Tuesday and flew home on Thursday. From the moment I arrived I felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind. As I mentioned in my previous post, I looked at several properties, met with Clipper’s new trainer, met with my lender and future employer. Despite all the activity my few precious moments of peace were spent at this bed and breakfast on Camano Island. My room (the Eagle room as it is decorated tastefully with bald eagle art) faced the bay so I could lie in the raised 4-poster bed and gaze at the view. I was reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on this trip but I took breaks from the text to enjoy the smooth water, the herons and gulls fishing in the shallow embayment. The mountains Three Fingered Jack, Whitehorse, and possibly Pilchuck were visible if I turned my head slightly to the left. Mount Rainier was visible if I scooched over to the right side of the bed. The full moon rose over the southeast mountain into my picture window view before it was fully dark. Several times in the night I awoke to moon beams shining into my windows and across my bed. I wanted the view more than the sleep so I didn’t bother shutting the blinds.
The sun rises early up there this time of year so I awoke for good around 5:00 a.m., which isn’t much of a stretch for me anyway. Breakfast wasn’t for another couple hours so I made some decaf coffee and enjoyed my view. The sun was too far to the northeast for me to see it come up without getting out of bed so I just waited for the world to turn enough to see the sun turning those mountains an early morning gold. I watched a man hunt for crabs in the shallows of the bay. He had the tell-tale plastic bucket and a pitchfork and wore shorts for shallow wading. The idea is to step (gently) on an unsuspecting crab, because you can’t see the bottom after you’ve stirred up the mud and silt from wading, then slide your pitchfork or shovel under the crab that is under your foot. Make sure it is a male before you drop it in your bucket, otherwise release to ensure the female will be around to spawn future generations so your grandchildren can enjoy catching crab this way.
The location of this B&B was handy for me since my dad lives about 20 minutes away. However, since the B&B is on an island and a popular residential island at that, there is only one road on and off the island. If anything, like road construction, line painting, or an accident disrupts the flow, you’re stuck either off or on the island. In any event, not getting to where you want to go. Last year when we were up there for my 20 year class reunion, we looked at a 10-acre property on the island. However, after a few days of getting off and on the island in a long line of traffic, no matter what time of day, we said no thanks. It’s lovely and we like to visit but we wouldn’t want to live here.