On the way home to – Seattle

After the Broughtons, we made our way south and east toward home. We saw TONS of whales on the return trip. They were either Humpback or Grey whales and while they were quite a distance from our boat, it was cool to see them. We were treated to one whale breaching completely out of the water two times and returning with a splash, as well as lots of tails in the air and blow hole spouts. Unfortunately, no pictures turned out very well, so you will have to take my word for it. Another highlight of the return trip was the voyage back south along the northern coast of Vancouver Island. We traveled north on the sunshine coast of the mainland so this was a different route. We anchored at Tribune Harbour for a few nights. This anchorage is known for the best sandy beach in BC which is reminiscent of the Caribbean. We had hot weather and enjoyed swimming at the beach and a fantastic hike at the neighboring park.

Another highlight of the return trip were Nanaimo bars which we picked up when we went through Nanaimo, These are apparently famous in the area and served on the BC Ferry boats. They have a chocolate/coconut/graham cracker bottom, custard middle and chocolate top. Yum!

We stayed in Montague Harbour on the return trip and took the chance to take the famous Hummingbird bus to the pub. This is an old school bus driven by a somewhat crazy retired city bus driver. We didn’t know exactly where the bus stop was, so we frantically waved him down when we were waiting on the side of the road. The bus veered off the road and skidded to a stop with music blaring and a cloud of dust. The bus passengers were all given musical instruments such as tambourines and shakers and played along to the music while the driver banged on the drums and cymbals mounted at the driver seat. I am pretty sure one hand was on the wheel most times, but other times both feet were in the air. It was a crazy fun experience and we made it to and from the restaurant without crashing.

Our last stop on the trip before heading back into the United States was Victoria on Vancouver Island for a few nights. This is a really cool city and the capital of British Columbia. Our marina was right in front of the famous Empress Hotel where Erik’s mom had high tea with some friends when on a road trip back in the 50’s. We also went to the local museum and saw cool stuff like this life sized whooly mammoth. We walked past their legislature building and visited a friend of Erik that he had not seen for 15 years.

We got in some good sailing in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound on the return trip to Seattle, where we have accepted a slip at the Shilshole Bay Marina. While we love Anacortes, we have been on the waitlist for the marina in Seattle for 5 1/2 years. We figured if we ever want to live in/check out Seattle, we needed to accept the slip. We pulled into our new home on a nice sunny day and are excited to start a new chapter of the adventure!