Know what never happens? Me, cracking open my laptop on a flight. But here I am – flying from Seattle to Newark. Alistair to my left, napping in his own seat. Jurgen to my right, napping in the Ergo on top of Jordan. I’m just sitting here in the lap of luxury.
We’re in the midst of what I’ve dubbed the 2018 Joneswolf North American Tour. We started out on Vashon Island, and now we’re making our way to visit my family in NJ. Then, we’ll wrap things up in Vermont, where we’ll spend a long weekend visiting friends. This isn’t a typical vacation for us, but so far we’re loving it.
Alistair, on lookout.
Our time on Vashon, surrounded by Jordan’s family was really enjoyable – especially for Alistair who had a lot of other young kids to play with and a lot of adults who doted on him. Vashon is an island in the Puget Sound, just a few miles west of Seattle. It’s only accessible via ferry – so even though it’s within sight of a big city, it’s rural. Some trip highlights so far:
Snapdragon – a restaurant in the little downtown area of Vashon. Everything is scratch made and vegetarian, and the flavor combinations are incredible. The baked goods are some of the best I’ve ever had. My favorite dish (ok, the only one I tried…I got it twice) was the potato flautas.
A real life meal: need not be fancy to be delicious.
Our rental house on Quartermaster Harbor was the perfect launching point for all of our daily excursions, plus the water in the harbor is warmer than that in the open sound, so we could enjoy a refreshing dip after our runs each day. It’s a big house (6 bedrooms!) and was perfect for our big group. There were 3 sets of French doors on the front of the house that opened up to the harbor and made the inside feel like the outside. It was also the most fun color scheme I’ve ever seen inside and out – purples, yellows, blues, and gold everywhere – it felt celebratory, which was good because we were there to celebrate Alex’s life. It felt appropriate, and I could easily imagine him there with us.
Our view every morning.
That’s really it. Our days on Vashon were simple, and often capped with quality family time. On Wednesday, we spent the early evening with one of Jordan’s stepbrothers and his wife, in their gorgeous yard that backed right up to a lagoon off the harbor. Before dinner we all went for an impromptu paddle, and it felt paradisiacal.
Jurgen at home in the rental house.
Another simple highlight was playing with Alistair and the garden hose in the big front yard of the rental house. It felt quintessential American summer – it’s a little hard to feel that in Colorado where I feel immense guilt running the hose (constant drought) and the grass just doesn’t feel the same on my toes.
Alistair and Carrie on the ferry to Vashon.
We’re talking about coming back next summer, and I hope we do. Not only would I love to spend more time with the family, but there’s a lot we didn’t do, that I’d love to. Such as:
- more berry picking. We picked a lot of blackberries from bushes that run rampant everywhere on the island. I’d also like to try some organized strawberry picking on a farm. There’s also lavender picking, which sounds novel and I can just imagine the smell. Mmmm.
- On the above note, I would like to be here for the annual Strawberry Festival sometime. We just missed it this year.
- More paddling – I’d like to kayak from the rental house to Jordan’s stepbrother’s house on the other side of the harbor (about 3 miles). This will be a fun adventure to do with the boys in a few years.
- Explore other islands in Puget Sound, maybe via ferry, or dream scenario: sea plane.
- I’d also like to kick around Seattle, as I’ve never really been, aside from a few hours one afternoon in 2007.
The thoughts flooding my mind as we leave Vashon: good vibes and the desire to enjoy the simple, most basic things in life, namely family and shared experiences, and to try to slow the pace of our lives overall so that we can enjoy those things and afford ourselves the indulgence of time well spent – time not spent yelling “Hurry! Get in the car! We’re gonna be late!” It seems – and there are always exceptions – that Vashoners (is that what they’re called?) really enjoy the simple things in life and have their priorities straight, and I really respect that.
I’m so glad we get to continue on the trip, to New Jersey, for more family time.
