Today, Toni and I ventured to Friday Harbor via the Anacortes Ferry. We somewhat puttered getting out of the house about 9:30am to make the 2:40pm sailing. Now, Anacortes is about 2 hrs north of Kirkland. But since it was a Holiday/long weekend etc. we thought it would be prudent to leave early. So, we arrived in good time (ok, great time) about 11:30am. Nuts, now we had a 3 hour wait. Overtime, the ferry dock filled up and we were glad we arrived early.
The ferry ride was fine. A glorious day of sunshine and warm temperatures. Toni "worked" on her questions to ask the oncologist. We also spent a good deal of the "waiting on the ferry time" reading to each other from a book entitled, "It's not about the hair." This book was written by a chaplain at the SCCA (where Toni has been receiving her cancer surgeries and treatment). Her name is Debra Jarvis. Good odds we'll meet her in the next few weeks, as she works on the same floor that Toni will be receiving her chemo stuff. Her story is quite compelling and is almost precisely Toni's situation (from the cancer side of things). A very good read. We found ourselves laughing and then crying within paragraphs as we read through the chapters. Somehow this is becoming more real all the time. Ok, enough of that.
So the ferry captain made great time as well and in 10 minutes time we were standing in the bed and breakfast place... if you want to check it out... http://www.wildwoodmanor.com/
We are the guests of Michael and John. As I sought out a place to stay, I ran into a "Trip Advisor" review of Friday Harbor Bed and Breakfast places. Well this place just happen to win the 2009 award as the Best. And we are finding out why. It is a stunning home (borderline mini-mansion). We'll have some pictures later, but oh my... what a view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca (and the San Juan Islands). And the location is private and just serene. Toni was at home in an instant as 5 deer walked into the front area of the property and started feeding (the owners feed them every day). We were frying the camera memory card in no time.
Once we had a snipet of the flora and fauna, we drove to a nearby town called Roche Harbor. The owners were kind enough to get reservations for us at McMillins (long family history in this area). Dinner was impeccable. Yet we were urged to stay and watch "Colors" at sunset. Yes, as a sailor this meant a lot to me. It was my daily routine for several years. It had some twists to it, and three anthems (Canada, Britain, and the US). They played the national anthems of Canada and then Britain, yet kept the US nautical tradition of playing Taps to retire the US flag. At the end, a gent standing on one of the buildings over looking all of the yacht club (the boats in this harbor are in the several $$million dollar range), begins by reading off events and general announcements: an engagement, a one year anniversary, a major who had returned from Iraq, blah blah blah. Toni and I thought... cute, but it is getting chilly, let's go back to the B&B and call it a night. I even made a comment to Toni that "we are not on the list he is reading anyway." Just as we walk off the dock, the guy announces (now get this... he is amplified on a speaker in which you can hear across the harbor and it is being piped into the local restaurants as well)... and "Happy Anniversary to Bryan and Toni Ross, and Happy Birthday to Toni." Toni and I just looked at each other. Toni thought I had something to do with it. But "swearin' on a stack of Bibles etc" I had nothing to do with it. Yes I told the guys at the Wildwood B&B. I am pretty sure Michael and John had everything to do with it. It was a once in a lifetime gesture. And it was a perfect moment, as I was with the one person that I adore and love above all. What a wonderous end to a terrific day!
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