We launched from the Everett boat launch. When we got there, Dode tried to use his debit card to pay the launch fee, but the machine wouldn't accept his card. We had to drive up to the bank, towing our boat through downtown Everett and wondering if we'd find a place to park, to get money out of the cash machine. The launch payment kiosk didn't give change and the cash machine only gave $20's so I made a big sacrifice and walked across the street to buy a pastry in order to get bills that would add up to $8 for the launch fee.
We headed off with some excited children. We were surprised to see many bald eagles on Jetty Island. They were spaced out along the driftwood and rocks and as we boated along the island, we kept seeing more and more. Once we made it past Jetty Island, we were able to speed up and were soon heading to the island at a good clip. The water was a bit rough so there was a bunch of whooping and hollering from Miriam and William. Elizabeth hurt herself and spent the rest of the trip to the island crying.
When we got to Hat Island, we weren't sure where to tie up the boat but finally found the correct spot after three tries. Hat Island is a small private island with no stores, just homes. My grandpa lives too far from the marina to be a comfortable walk. When we arrived, we called up to his house and my Uncle Dale soon drove down to pick us up.
It ended up feeling like a mini family reunion. My mom is one of four siblings and three of them were there. The children enjoyed playing at the beach and exploring outside. It was nice to sit and visit, listening to the children who were getting along well with each other.
William's goal at the beach was to gather as many shells as possible.
Miriam went to the beach in style!
The children found this frog at my grandpa's house. Gabriel wanted to bury it in an ash pile but Elizabeth saved it.
Chocolate the bear enjoyed his trip to the island and even made some new friends!
Miriam has been taking Chocolate the bear with her everywhere for years.
Dressed in her island finery.
The boys enjoyed digging up the lawn to look for bugs.
The normal rules of the road don't apply on the island. The cars out there don't need tabs because all the roads are private. Seat belts? Who needs them! The only rule for how many passengers you can take is how many you can stuff in the vehicle.
While visiting together, I remarked that I do not have a normal family. The men were sitting around talking. Assembled was my husband, a land surveyor, my step-dad, retired fireman now a luthier (guitar builder), my uncle, who has worked in the television industry his whole life, and my grandpa, a retired heating and air conditioning repair man. They were discussing a commercial ice cream maker Dode is trying to refurbish and were throwing around terms like, "hard start kit" and discussing tearing into a compressor (with lots of technical lingo that went right over my head!). My grandpa turned to my uncle and said, "Mike, do you remember seeing that hard start kit in the garage?" He knew just where and what it was. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think most men from such varied could sit around and brainstorm how to get a balky compressor working again.
Although it looks like we're arriving, we're actually leaving in this photo.
We'd swung around the marina to be near the ferry so my mom could snatch a photo.
In our boat from back to front: William, me, Dode, Anastaya, Gabriel, Miriam
We traded Gabriel for Elizabeth for the return trip. Gabe really wanted to ride in the boat and Elizabeth really wanted to ride the ferry so it was a win/win.
The ride back was great. The water was glass. What took us at least 30 minutes in the morning took 15 minutes in the afternoon. We stopped to watch some seals resting on a navigation buoy and let the little people have turns driving the boat. I asked Miriam and William if they'd had a good day and got an enthusiastic "Yes!" back as a reply.
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