After my Interstate 5 exit lane zebra stripes visit with Tony, I got back on the road, and finally made it to the SEA-TAC airport to pick up my pal RJ. We drove up to the dock at Anacortes, and were ferried over to Orcas Island where we had four nights in the West Beach Resort. It was really sweet to have a friend from home come out to join me, since I was becoming a bit road weary.
We had expected to hike together, but I was still quite short of breath at this point. On May 18th I’d returned from a visit to see the kids in New York, and a couple days later, realized that I had a strep throat, and I ended up with bronchitis. I guess it was overly optimistic of me to expect that I could hike up Turtleback Ridge. The trail went upward right away, and only rarely leveled off for a minute.
It must have been lonely at the top... :-(
RJ is a very patient woman, but I’m sure it wasn’t much fun, stopping every few minutes for me to catch my breath. I was thinking the trail would soon stop being so steep, or that I’d hit my stride, but no. Eventually, I just couldn’t go on, so I parked myself on the side of the trail, and told RJ to pick me up on her way back down. That, dear reader, was the best idea I had all day. Unless you count the idea of my parking us in the spa when we arrived back at the resort. I’d call that brilliant.
Before RJ returned to NY, I was able to walk with her a bit, on relatively flat terrain, and in another couple weeks I was up to two miles a day, with no trouble. This is a pretty low bar, but I was ill for two months. Makes sense to not push the limits too far, too fast.
On Orcas Island, there was a Canada goose daycare center on the beach. The moms stood guard all around, while the little ones napped in a pile, or cropped the grass next to the park roads. So fuzzy and cute!
One evening we walked to the dock to watch the sunset, and a harbor seal came to feed in the cove. She was difficult to photograph with just my cell phone—really needed a serious zoom lens.
We had dinner in town and walked around to see the art in the many shops. My favorite place had their wares beautifully curated, and one room had works displayed on old doors. These glass mosaic fish were stunning.
RJ and I had a great visit—with the luxury of time to catch up with each other, cook and eat some good food, and discuss life as one only can with a friend you’ve known for twenty-plus years.