Thurston Bay
Last night after everyone had gone to sleep the skies opened up and it started to rain. It ended up raining all through the night and when I woke up this morning it was still grey and foggy and wet outside. We had saved the roe from the salmon we caught so I decided to experiment and make a duck egg, spinach, squash and salmon roe frittata. It actually turned out pretty good. The salmon roe added a salty, unctuous richness to the frittata that was interesting.
Dent Island Lodge
After breakfast we watched some old TV shows of Bud and Malcolm Smith racing and then some videos of some of the Feldkamps’ vacations. Then we read a little and made some salmon tacos for lunch. After lunch we read our books a little and then Bud, my dad and I took the tender out into the soupy fog to explore a little. We headed over to the Sonora Resort on Sonora Island, which is the next island over. While we were over there we got a tip that some orcas would be passing by the north end of Sonora Island around 4 pm so Bud and my dad decided that we would try and intercept them on our way to Thurston Bay. Unfortunately we didn’t find them so we just drove to the bay and Matt and Ross anchored the boat.
Thurston Bay
After we had anchored Ross took my dad and I out on the tender to fish a little bit. We tooled around for about an hour or so without any bites so we reeled our stuff in and explored the bay for a little while. When we got back I baked some of the salmon from yesterday.
Earlier in the day I had marinated two of the fillets in some mustard, dill, honey, garlic and capers. I marinated another fillet, the bones, collar and head in cilantro, onion, wasabi, lime juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and honey.
The salmon was pretty good and the cheek and eyeball were really good. After dinner was finished we watched Flags of our Fathers and then hit the hay.
Broiled Salmon Head
View From Dent Island Lodge to the North
When they took off for April Point my mom, my dad and I took off on the wave-runners to explore a little. First we went around Dent Island to run through a twenty-foot wide tidal rapid that swept past the island and then we headed back towards the Breanna. On the way back I circled around Jimmy Judd Island because I had seen several bald eagles on the way over and I wanted to get some better pictures. I tried to settle into some calm water between where the swift currents were going past. I was able to get some good pictures, but in the process I had sucked up some kelp into the intake of the wave-runner while trying to stay in the calm water so I was stuck in the kelp beds next to the island between the tidal currents that were whipping around me. Since I was stuck there I figured I should at least try to get some more pictures of the eagles. It was actually really cool watching them because they were all around this side of the island, periodically swooping down from the trees and grabbing fish in the tidal currents and then returning to their perch on the island.
Just Caught Lunch
After spending about forty-five minutes stranded by the island the current shifted a little and started to push me off of the kelp beds. Once I was off I started the engine and tried to clear the intake of the kelp. At this time I noticed that my dad had come back from the boat to look for me. As my wave-runner was still crippled I had my dad follow me across the rapids to Big Bay and the Breanna. By the time I got back from my ordeal we only had about half an hour until we were supposed to go salmon fishing so we all grabbed a quick sandwich before the fishing boats came to pick us up.
Pam and my mom got on one of the fishing boats and Bud, my dad and I got on the other. We headed up northwest past Dent Island to the fishing spot, Denham Bay, to spend the next three and a half hours trying to catch a king salmon. The scenery around us was beautiful and it the fishing was very peaceful, aka, no fish. With about forty-five minutes left to fish we finally got a hit. Our guide, Herb, quickly jumped out of his chair, grabbed the rod and set the hook before the three of us knew what was going on. Bud and my dad had decided to let me be the first on the rod so I got to reel the salmon in.
It ended up being about a 19 pounder, not a monster by any means, but respectable. After that we didn’t get any more bites so we headed back to the Breanna, which had moved to the Dent Island Lodge. When we got back Herb cleaned and filleted the fish for us so we could take it back to the boat.
After fishing we had to get cleaned up for dinner at the Dent Island Lodge dining room. Dinner was very good and they had given us a table that overlooked the marina and had a great view of Stuart Island. My first course was baked oysters with smoked salmon and spinach; my second course was a whole steamed Dungeness crab (HUGE); and for dessert I had pecan pie with ice cream. To round out the evening we went back to the boat and watched the old classic An Affair to Remember.
DINNER!!!
Matt started us moving earlier today since we would be going about 100 miles, by far the longest haul of the trip. Our route would be out Princess Louisa Inlet, past Malibu Rapids, through Princess Royal Reach & Prince of Wales Reach, through Hotham Sound and Jervis Inlet, up Malaspina Strait, and into Desolation Sound and the Discovery Islands, where Stuart Island is one of the northernmost islands. The total trip time was about ten hours consisting of several naps, some bald eagles and a few chapters read.
Princess Louisa Inlet
On the way there we took a little detour into Toba Inlet to a big waterfall that the Feldkamps had visited before. The waterfall seemed to spit straight out of the rocks and down the cliff before crashing into Toba Inlet. In my opinion is was a more spectacular waterfall than Chatterbox Falls, especially since Matt could pull the Breanna’s prow right into the deluge and soak all of us in the front of the boat. I asked Bud if the falls had a name and he said no, so we decided to start calling it Breanna Falls.
When we were done taking pictures and getting a little wet (particularly Ross) we headed back out of Toba Inlet, through Pryce Channel and Calm Channel to the northwest side of Stuart Island, where Big Bay was located. Matt and Ross anchored Breanna just off the shore and we ended the day with dinner and the movie Flyboys.
Ross Getting Pummeled
This morning I woke up to the sound of laughter and the wavy reflection of sunlight off of the water coming through my porthole. I went upstairs and had breakfast with everyone while we were still in Secret Cove. After breakfast Matt and Ross pulled anchor and we headed out for Princess Louisa Inlet where we would see Chatterbox Falls.
Secret Cove
On the way up we saw quite a few bald eagles and at one point three were all in the same tree, but they were pretty much all too far away to get a good picture of. The trip to Princess Louisa Inlet took about five hours during which we read, relaxed, and ate lunch (prime rib & lamb sandwiches again….mmmm). The mouth of Princess Louisa Inlet is very narrow and can be difficult to navigate if the tides are not in your favor and is aptly named Malibu Rapids. Thanks to Matt’s planning though we arrived at slack tide and there was no sign of any rapids in Malibu Rapids. Right at the entrance I finally got a halfway decent shot of a bald eagle.
After passing through Malibu Rapids it took us about twenty more minutes to get to the end of Princess Louisa Inlet where Chatterbox Falls awaited. Unfortunately, it was hazy due to a forest fire in the area so the grandeur of the scenery was slightly muted, but it was still spectacular. The falls were pretty amazing, starting with several waterfalls coming down from high elevations (maybe 4,000 to 5,000 feet) and then meeting up along the way before all coming down one large, wide waterfall that was about 100 to 150 feet tall. Once Matt and Ross had anchored they got the tender down from the roof and we all went to shore for a walk.
Ross Looking at Chatterbox Falls
There was a short trail that wove through the woods and ended up near the base of the falls. When we walked close to the base of the falls the impact of the water created a tremendous roar along with thick mist and a stiff breeze, which, at first was very refreshing and then became a wee bit chilly. After viewing the falls we followed another trail that was quite a bit steeper and longer (2 hours up) that led to an old trappers cabin. Within the first 400 yards or so I found some red huckleberries, which I had no idea existed until I read Langdon Cook’s blog Fat of the Land. Pam had just finished her water so we used her water bottle as our “berry receptacle”. The trail had become a little more difficult so Pam, Auntie Bev and Auntie Shirley turned around to go back to the boat. Bud and my dad kept going while my mom and I spent about forty-five minutes picking the red huckleberries along with a couple of regular blue huckleberries.
Mom Picking Huckleberries
Once we had filled the “berry receptacle” to the brim my mom and I started to hike up the trail till we found Bud and my dad. The hike was amazing as well as quite a lot of fun. As we climbed higher the trail continued to get steeper while winding through the woods, over and under fallen trees, up granite faces and around knobbly tree roots. When we finally met up with Bud and my dad they said they had hiked up to the half way marker and turned back so we headed back with them.
When we got back to the Breanna my dad and I got on the kayaks and went up to the outlet of the falls and got a nice close look at them. Afterward we headed back to the boat and got ready for dinner. We had a great dinner on the back deck of the boat, enjoying the scenery, the company and of course, the spaghetti. For dessert I cooked down the huckleberries with some sugar, agave syrup and water for a quick “compote” to top our vanilla ice cream with, and I have to say, it turned out better than I had anticipated. After dessert we watched the movie, The World's Fastest Indian.
Today started a little earlier than the previous few days. JuLee Sievers told everyone that wanted to go could meet her at the boathouse at 8 am and do a hike/walk around the island. She took us all around the 82 acre island on paths that Jim had made. After walking all the way around the island and going down to a couple of the beaches we went back to the boat for a little while before brunch. Jim and JuLee set out another great spread for brunch with the usual and not so usual suspects. We had some toast, bacon, fruit, fruit cobblers, leg of lamb and prime rib. Once we had all stuffed ourselves silly we all talked for a while and my dad did the dishes again.
After we had said our goodbyes to everyone and all the boats had left the Sievers’ dock we started off for Secret Cove, which is where we would anchor for the night. It was a nice relaxing trip with a beautiful sunset to end the day with. After we had a dinner of leftover prime rib and lamb sandwiches we watched Edge of Darkness with Mel Gibson and then went to bed.
Thimbleberries
Once we got back to the boat we waited to hear from Auntie Bev and Auntie Shirley to see where they were. It turned out there was a big fog bank in Seattle so the floatplane they were planning on taking to Roche Harbor was indefinitely delayed. They ended up taking a ferry to Anacortes and then another one to Port Sidney in Canada, where we would pick them up. After we found this out we pulled anchor and headed up to Port Sidney where we had to clear customs.
Roche Harbor
When Auntie Shirley and Auntie Bev arrived and cleared customs we left Port Sidney and motored over to the Sievers’ island, Forrest Island, which was about ten minutes away. Once we docked and greeted everyone we headed to the house and got things ready for dinner. Jim grilled a few (12) chickens and boiled some corn and JuLee had bought several salads.
After dinner Jim Sievers and Bud started a big bonfire for everyone and my dad dazzled everyone with his dishwashing skills. Everyone sat around the fire talking and having dessert and playing with dogs. As the night wound down Bud suggested that Matt get some fireworks he had on the boat. It has to be said that these were some Mexican fire works and had a short fuse to say the least. Jim and Bruce Erickson rooted bud and Matt on and the first bottle rocket went off without a hitch. Bolstered by the success of the first explosive they decided to set off a second rocket, which ended up being a little more than they anticipated. As the rocket launched and arced over the water another part of the firework went off on the ground and sent little white streaks into the surrounding crowd sitting around the bonfire. It was entertaining to say the least and it provided a great finale to the evening in my opinion.
Roche Harbor
La Conner
When we all finally reassembled back on the boat we headed through the rest of the Swinomish Channel. We ate a filling lunch of smoked salmon sandwiches with chips and Judy had bought some Norwegian crepes filled with butter, sugar and cinnamon and some Norwegian pudding with berries. As we finished lunch we traveled through Deception Pass and then made our way to Friday Harbor again to drop off Judy.
Deception Pass
After dropping Judy off we left Friday Harbor and circled around to the northwest part of San Juan Island to Roche Harbor. Roche Harbor became famous for their pure limestone and the concrete industry that followed. Matt and Ross dropped anchor on the outskirts of the harbor and we took the tender in for dinner. The town itself consists mainly of the dock and marina, a hotel and a large house that is now McMillin’s Dining Room, which is where we had dinner. The food was quite good at McMillin’s with yours truly ordering crispy razor clams sautéed with tomato, capers, garlic and white wine for an appetizer and halibut cheek piccata. After dinner we headed back to the boat and capped off the evening with The Green Zone.
Roche Harbor
When I woke up today there was a thick layer of fog surrounding Friday Harbor, which gave it a surreal feel. We had some breakfast and talked for a little while before we headed into Friday Harbor to the Farmer’s Market. The market was small but effective. There were plenty of purveyors of stunning produce fresh from the farm. I found and bought some duck & chicken eggs laid that morning. There was also a local goat cheese maker called Quail Croft. They had several types of fresh goat cheese and a couple types of aged cheeses. I ended up buying an aged variety that was seasoned with cumin called Kumminost. We stocked up on all kinds of produce for the week ahead as well as some for tonight when we eat at the Miller’s house on Orcas Island. After the farmer’s market we needed to get some bread and dessert so Judy showed us San Juan Bakery where we picked up a pecan butter pie, apple brown butter pie and some bread.
Friday Harbor Farmers' Market
Now that we were finished provisioning for the trip Judy took us to Cattle Point and gave us a tour of their newly remodeled/getting remodeled house. Out the back window is a great view of Lopez Island and off to the right was Goose Island where loads of seals live. Unfortunately, there was still a fair bit of fog so we didn’t get the full view of Lopez Island, but there was a little seal swimming around right in front of the Jacobson’s house. After looking at the Jacobson’s house Bud, my dad, Ross and I headed back to the boat while the ladies went to the store to round out the shopping before we left Friday Harbor for Orcas Island.
On the trip to Orcas I ended up taking a nap, but it was only about a 45-minute ride over. When we arrived Ross and Matt, the captain, dropped anchor just offshore from the Miller’s house and Bud, my dad and I took the tender and drove around the coast of Orcas for about ten to fifteen minutes while the ladies made some salad to take over for dinner. When we got back from roaming we loaded up and headed over to the Miller’s for dinner. Warren and his guests had set some crab pots earlier in the day and unfortunately they only got one keeper.
Orcas Island
Once again Laurie threw together a last minute feast for about twenty people since the crab catch was lower than expected. We dined on some roast chicken, grilled halibut, roasted beet salad, shrimp scampi and of course a crab. During dinner one of the guests from Orcas told a great John Wayne story. He had been a cop in Newport and one of his first years on the force he stopped a drunk driver who turned out to be John Wayne. When the cop asked Wayne to get out of the car he kept saying in his distinctive voice, “You don’t want to be doin’ this kid.” To make a long story short, when the cop brought Wayne down to the station he ended up getting an hour-long lecture on the meaning of discretion. It may have been one of those stories that you had to be there for. After we had finished with dinner and dessert (where mom promptly miscounted people and cut too few slices out of each pie) we said our goodbyes and retired back to the boat. For a nightcap we watched The Most Dangerous Man in America, a movie about the Daniel Ellsberg Story.
The Breanna
Getting delayed on the first leg of your two-flight voyage isn’t the greatest beginning to a vacation, but I guess you can’t complain after being on vacation the previous week. So when we got delayed an hour on our flight from Sun Valley to Seattle it made my parents and I a little nervous about catching our puddle-jumper flight from Seattle to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The nerves were unneeded as we checked in for our second flight with ten minutes to spare.
The flight to Friday Harbor was very scenic with one stop on Orcas Island. When we dropped off a majority of the passengers at Orcas there was a man waiting at the airport for a package that was on our plane. Subsequently, I heard a sentence I don’t believe I will ever hear again. The man sauntered up to the pilot and said matter-of-factly, “Hi, I think you have some semen for me.” He quickly looked up at those of us on the plane and added, “It’s horse semen.” To which the pilot threw out that he was a horse breeder. But I digress, after leaving Orcas Island we flew ten minutes to Friday Harbor. As we made our approach I looked out the window at all the boats in the harbor and tried to pick out the largest one, which was fairly easy, and thought to myself, “Hmm, that might be the Breanna.” Once we landed, took a taxi to the marina, and met Ross the deckhand/first mate we walked down the dock to find the Breanna. As we walked I once again picked out the same boat as being the largest and lo and behold, it ended up being the Breanna. It was a different feeling knowing that you’re getting on the biggest boat in the harbor, kinda like everyone was watching you.
On Approach
Once we got settled and visited with Bud, Pam and Judy we ordered some food for take-out from Downriggers, a restaurant right at the marina. I had cod fish and chips, which was good, and my mom had a cornmeal crusted halibut salad, which was tasty as well. My dad got an Asian halibut entrée that ended up having a creamy sauce on it that I found a little different, but it wasn’t horrible. After dinner we watched the classic movie Roman Holiday and then hit the sack.
