The pictures from our epic trip have been floating the web for weeks, it's time I give some details of this one of a kind Murray family reunion.
First and foremost- I was just glad to get 2 weeks off work. Taking a break from work really does wonders for the soul. And Washington is the perfect place to visit for this type of time off.
All the Murray's (11 of us now!) made it to Anacortes by Saturday the 14th of August. We packed in a BBQ, family pictures (poor Kacy), a bike ride, a few games of settlers, church, two boat debriefings a "captain's fireside", a little bit of sleep a lot of ice cream before departing from our respective marinas on Monday morning. Michael, Steph, Erin, Alex, and Kacy took our boat, the MurrMaid, while the rest of us were the crew of "Surprise" a 39' beneteau we chartered for the week.
We stopped at Cyprus Island for the lunch the first day (the Surprise had all the provisions, so if the other crew wanted food, they had to find us) and hiked around the edge of the island for a bit. We made it to Rosario resort on Orcas Island that night and stayed for the next day as well. There is a small marina, but the resort is awesome! It's this old historic mansion turned into a nice hotel.... with quite a few pools and a daily organ concert. After departing Rosario we took Jones Island by storm- playing wiffle ball and exploring the island- then docked at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Thursday was rest day at Roche: resting in these terms means playing at the resort and not actually sailing. Tennis took precedent, as well as a naps, kayak and dinghy rides, window shopping, bocce ball, and a fabulous performance of Henvy V by Island Stage Left at an outdoor theater. That was definitely a highlight.
Friday we stopped at Friday Harbor to stock up on groceries as well as check out the lavender shop and bookstore (my new favorite place at FH). We moored to a buoy and rafted the ships together that night near Lopez Island. We had a great family fireside that evening, and sailed home the next day!
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| Roche Harbor at night |
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| relaxing in the "therapy pool" |
Bjorn really is holding a live crab in the above picture. He and I put the crab pot out and then he went with others to retrieve it. It was the first time I've ever been crabbing! Bjorn showed us all how to kill it (quite horrific actually) then we cooked it and enjoyed the meat (those of us brave enough to try- my family's still not big on seafood). I actually liked it!
We both learned a lot about sailing: which lines to pull when, reading charts, steering and navigating. It was fun to pass the MurrMaid when we were under sail, but they always caught up to us when motoring. We all got great at docking (the most stressful part of sailing) and pulling away from port.
The family togetherness was good. It definitely feels different to have suddenly have 3 extra people. But we love them all. Gavin is especially attached to Bjorn. He thinks Bjorn is the one sane person in the family. Our nightly games of cards, beat the intro, talent show, and illustrations probably helped verify that.
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