By Ferry to The Gulf Islands...

Our Visit to Pendar...

Later that day, we traveled to Land’s End and got on line for the ferry to Pendar. That, too, proved to be a wonderful trip since we met Jeff at the ferry terminal which was a truly serendipitous coincidence….

Jane we learned was already at the house having just flown in from Toronto and changing plans in BC. We arrived towards the later part of the day so we couldn’t make out to much except for the great sunset we shared over a great Merlot that I brought from the mainland that even Jeff could not help but comment on…

Tuesday and Wednesday were a delight. We had traipsed all over the island. On Tuesday, we managed to go to the fanciest new resort on North Pendar which is connected by wooden bridge to the southern island where we stayed.

It was lovely!....and the views breathtaking.

From there, we went to the Mall which is a lovely spot to hang out and partake of good conversation and convenient book stores and shopping.

The next day, we took our time and just hung out til the afternoon when Jane took us around to see other malls and art pavilions and some of the highlights of the island.

That night, Jeff barbecued again and we helped reduce his store of good wines and beers…
Again, another blasted beautiful sunset. When does it end?
Just kidding!....

One thing you couldn’t help but note: The weather was absolutely beautiful; it was sunny and dry, not a bit of humidity; no strong winds…It made you feel good to be alive—after three months of high humidity and temperatures, it was a complete surprise and a wonderful delight!...

Originally, thinking that it would be too much, we thought about going back via ferry to Anacourtes which was about 90 miles north of Seattle. But when we discovered that Rose was up for it and Jeff and Jane both said we have to see Vancouver, we changed our plan…Vancouver it would be.

We took the first ferry out from Pendar in the AM and then back to Land’s End where we lined up for the Vancouver ferry which by itself was a pleasant treat replete with bar, restaurants, cafeterias and the whole nine yards…

We got into Vancouver late in the afternoon and made it just south to the Park hotel outside of Vancouver. That night, we got a good tip on an authentic Chinese restaurant and we headed there. Authentic it was. We were the only Caucasians there; but it didn’t stop us. We ordered food until we nearly collapsed and could not eat another crumb; it was that good!

The next day we headed back across the border and we ran into our first light rainfall. Yet, if anything, it made the ride even more grand with the mountains on the eastern side
Drenched in billowy clouds that made this look like something surreal, out of an Irish story book about legend and myth… I was waiting for a dragon
To pop up somewhere before this was over…

We drove down to Anacourtes and decided to take another detour for about twenty miles to see the Port.

We found a genuine Indian trading post and hung out there awhile picking some things up for the kids. Rose bought a hand made silver charm on a necklace that was charming for its craftsmanship and detail.

It was a nice drive but we were saddened to see that we could not take the sea route all the way down since there was no apparent connecting link to route 5 and no sign that at the end of the island we could pick up a car ferry. So we backed up the twenty miles, and drove down the conventional way—also beautiful and visually compelling.

We got back to Pikes market about five o’clock and got to a gourmet food store, picked up some deli sandwiches for the flight back and headed back to the hotel by the airport.

All in all, a memorable day and a memorable trip.

As we took off the next morning what we saw was incredible. It was the peak of Mt. Rainier sticking through the clouds and filling up the entire window…

And it was above us….


What a sight! They couldn’t have planned it better for the perfect cap on our trip that scored an A from every conceivable angle. It was almost as if it were planned….

All we can say is Thank you, lord, for making such a beautiful planet with such beautiful places!