Craig's blog

On the 28th we drove from Squamish to West Vancouver and parked in the Capilano RV Park – which was a parking lot as we expected. We parked, had a quick lunch and then drove in to Stanley Park. We had intentionally planned on being in Vancouver on the 28th because that was one of 4 days when they held the world fireworks competition. Saturday was Canada’s turn to compete. We spent the afternoon at the park – going to the aquarium, having a portrait done of the three girls and then playing by the water. Then we setup our chairs on the seawall and watched the fireworks over English Bay. It was an awesome display. Unfortunately we didn’t have a radio to listen to the music that accompanied the pyrotechnics, but it was great all the same. I had carefully scouted out our exit route back over the Lion’s gate bridge to the RV park (because there are supposedly 1 million viewers) and it worked like a charm. It only took 15 minutes!

Sunday (Patty’s birthday) we packed up and headed to Anacortes in Washington to catch the ferry to Orcas Island. We spent 1 hour waiting to cross into the United States through a poorly designed border crossing.

We managed to catch our ferry and had a great ride to the island.

We had been forced to make a reservation at an RV Park because Moran State Park (which many people had said was the prettiest in Washington) had been completely booked. When we got to the island I called Moran just to make sure they didn’t have any space, but they said they did have a few, so after checking out the RV park (and then going to the grocery store to stock up), we decided to head over to Moran.

The man at the check-in booth was really helpful and told me the sites that were available. One of them was site 1, which he said was one of the very best, but wasn’t really designed for a trailer our size. We checked it out first, and we fit in just fine.

It’s an awesome park and an awesome site. It’s right on Cascade Lake, and it’s like we’re really camping. There’s plenty of room, it’s quiet, there are no hookups and we’re happy as clams.

The first evening we just relaxed and Jessica fished from the side of the lake.

Today Patty went for a long, hilly run while I made breakfast and helped the girls fish. Then I rode my bike up to the top of the Island – Mt. Constitution. It was not for the faint of heart – tougher than the rides up to Skyline at home. It’s 2,000 feet up in exactly 6 miles (and the last mile is pretty flat, so it’s actually 5 miles). It was great to be out and feeling alive. The ride down was great too. The weather was perfect.

Patty and I have been kicking ourselves for not taking the kids on more hikes on this trip. After I got back and had lunch we went for a decent hike. First we went up to Cascade falls – a relatively tough mile and a half. Then Jessie and I headed back down to get the car while the rest of the girls continued up to Mountain Lake, which I’d been to earlier in the day on my bike. It’s a gorgeous spot. Jessie and I got the car, filled it with laundry and then headed up the road to pick up the girls. We got there exactly when they did.

Then we headed into town, started the laundry and went to the kayak rental spot at Crescent Beach. Kelly and I rented a 2 person kayak and went out for a 90 minute paddle during which Kelly counted 483 sea stars. I love kayaking and had hoped to do a bunch of it on this trip. At least I got one paddle in.

We really love Moran State Park. It’s stunning and there are tons of hikes. Also, Orcas Island seems awesome. We really didn’t check out much of it.

We came back to camp and had the latest dinner we’ve probably ever had with the girls – 8:30. They’re now asleep. Tomorrow we pack up, take the ferry back to Anacortes and then go to Deception Pass State Park (which isn’t far from where the ferry lands).