10 Year Anniversary

Wow. What a huge occasion. Kate and I hit 10 years since we first started seeing each other and we knew we had to do something super special. Kate came up with an amazing idea to go on a kayak whale watching trip around the San Juan Islands in Washington. We drove down on our anniversary, Friday the 26th and stayed at Friday Harbour at the Island Inn. It was really nice, and presented so well in a "social media" kind of way. The staff were really friendly too.

On Saturday morning we got up for a really nice run around Friday Harbor. It was beautiful running through the countryside amongst farmland, forest and old American colonial houses. I could totally live here. From this point the real adventure started. We got picked up by our Kayak guide at 8:30 and headed for our campsite on the far side of the island. So on day 1 we headed out for a 13 mile Kayak trip. We saw some beautiful scenery and sea life. At halfway we stopped for some epic sandwiches for lunch then headed back up the coast to camp. It was a solid 6hr kayak or there about but was super fun. The water was so still and clear. Absolutely pristine.

That night our guide cooked up an amazing pasta feast with delicious fresh berries for dessert. We then watched the sun set, with Vancouver Island in the distance. Up here at this time of year the sun takes a loooong time to set! Then, although pretty pooched from the days activities, we went ut for a night kayak paddle to see the bio-luminescence that this part of the world puts on. It was amazing. Like nothing I have ever seen before. It was so beautiful and amazing. The kelp forests were just oozing this green light into the water, our oars would flare up the water each time we paddles, and under water sea life would shoot past with a flare of light. It was absolutely amazing.

Sunday started with a lackluster attempt to wake early for a run - this led straight to bed for another 2hrs of solid sleep, just to be woken by our guide letting us know that breakfast was ready. How's that for service. Fresh fruit, granola and the most amazing fritata. We then hit the water, setting out for a shorter trip this time around. We headed the other way up the coast this time. The water was beautiful and clear. We made it to an amazing little pebbled beach for lunch, after a slightly bumpy channel crossing, but team work and strong paddling got us through this :-) Lunch comprised of an amazing Greek salad in wraps, with fruit on the side.

For the trip back the wind had kicked up, and the sea fog had rolled back in. This made for some solid effort, but we dug deep and made it back in good time. A brief drive back accross the island after packing up all our equipment, and then is was a few hours chilling at Friday Harbor before setting back to Anacourtes to pick up Clancy, our trustworthy Honda, and to jey back up the I5 to Vancouver. What an amazing weekend, perfect weather and such an amazing place to explore by Kayak. An anniversary that we will remember for ever, thats for sure :-)