Seattle to Nanaimo

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6/14-17/2014 Seattle to Nanaimo



Our trip to Alaska in 2012 was our “trip of a lifetime” and I thought it would probably be a “once in a lifetime trip of a lifetime” but here we go again! We found the trip enjoyable, doable and both the Little Liza and her crew were fit for the journey. This time were not trying to “do it all” and we’ll stay in the SE of SE Alaska, which gives us plenty of time to see bears, glaciers and whales and enjoy good the good company of the families who will join us.



BJ and I drove over a few days early to finish outfitting Little Liza, to celebrate our 34^th anniversary and Father’s Day before heading out. We left Sunday afternoon (6/15) after a wonderful Father’s Day brunch at Ivar’s and from our home in Lake Union it was a quick drop in the small locks to the ocean with the lock master singing, “Oh Little Liza, Little Liza Jane.”



The short blustery hop to Edmonds for the night set us up to go with the tides on Monday. As there were small craft advisories for the Juan de Fuca’s Strait we took our small craft up Saratoga Passage, the inside of Whidbey Island and Deception Pass and into the San Juans. The weather turned warmer, the skies clearer and the wind abated in the San Juans. Stuart Island is in the North West corner of the San Juan Islands, which is pretty much the Northwest corner of the United States (Cape Flattery is further West but not further North.) We spent the night in Prevost Harbor and took a leisurely kayak tour of the bay.



Prevost Harbor has become our jumping off point to the Gulf Islands, BC and the city of Nanaimo, at the other end of the Gulf Islands is our gateway to “the north.” Beyond here forests come down to the waterline instead of fine homes, the shoreline is rougher, and the mountains grow right up from the coast. From here on stars are more visible than streetlights. I honestly don’t know of any Starbucks north of Nanaimo (oh, well one in the Safeway in Ketchikan).



Strong winds are predicted in the Northern Straits of Georgia tomorrow so we will either get up early and make wake for Desolation Sound or drown our expectations with double talls and Nanaimo bars at the Java Junction here on the boardwalk.

Internet sites along the Inside Passage are rare and slow thing so I will collect my musings and post them when I can. The next spot will probably be Port McNeill.

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