A day of hiking around a part of San Juan island, exploring the British Camp at Garrison Bay. So beautiful to walk through these gentle wooded trails, talking and laughing at little Flash galloping through the woods. Foraged a bunch of really hard pears from the trees near the old garrison to take back for dessert. Back onboard for a smorgasbord lunch of cheeses, fancy crackers, veggies and hummus, leftover soba noodles, cured meats and figs and cherries. I could eat like this all the time.
After lunch I went with Willi in the dingy to pull up the crab pots…learned a few things about which crabs are legal and which get returned to the sea, got windblown and had a moment of feeling so overwhelmed with gratitude to be out there on the water, filled with fresh air, with love all around me. Willi stopped the dingy and held my hand while I cried a bit, reassured me that my feelings are completely valid and not scary to be around. That he understood, and is happy to hold that energy for, and with, me. We continued out to drop the crab pots in a new spot, full of the wind and the salt spray and the sun shining on the water. Wishing I could give this feeling to all of my friends who are struggling or battling health issues or feeling blue or displaced by the fires or sad or exhausted. Salt water..tears or the sea…gratitude and someone’s hand to hold when things are hard.
Spent an hour peeling and chopping the rock-like pears with Patti (Willi’s mom) while Willi and his dad talked up on deck. Cooked them until they were soft and fragrant in a simple caramel and then baked them under a crumble, while having a good heart-to-heart with Patti. I feel very welcomed.
Tonight’s dinner is oysters on the half-shell, Patti’s seafood gumbo with clams, shrimp and fresh caught crab, and warm French bread, followed by the pear crumble. Feels incredibly decadent.
We have another day or so out here… I am pretending it’s not going to end soon. We will be going to visit Willi’s brother and sister-in-law and baby nephew before we head home, but right now I am wishing this time on the boat was going to last a lot longer.
I hope that everyone is finding some moments of gratitude, some time to yourself to heal and take care of your body, some fresh air and moments of peace. I know that life is throwing challenges at us right and left, and I wish I could bring you all some of this air and water and good cheer. Hug yourselves for me. Xoxox