Labor Day sailin'

Two things I love about Ryan: First, he knows how much my family means to me and he always makes sure that we are making trips to Seattle and doing our Sunday Facetimes with them. Ryan is the youngest in his family, so his family is in a different stage of family-ness than the Krops – spread all over the world with their families and kids, keeping connected electronically but lucky to all get together more than once a year. But with me being the oldest, the Krops are in a much earlier stage, where kids are still at home and we’re still reeling from the first missionary leaving (can you say LESS THAN SIX MONTHS until he comes home?!!?!?!). And we’re so close-knit to begin with. I love my family and I’m so grateful for Ryan’s support in making sure we see them often.

Second, I love our travel budget! It makes dropping the needed cash on flights for a little vacation so much easier when I know that we’ve already planned for it to disappear from our bank account. As soon as we got back from the quick weekend for the Potts wedding in the PNW, we knew we had to head back for a more extended stay and more actual time with my family. So we booked tickets for Labor Day weekend and planned on doing ONE thing – SAILING.

This view always means great things are ahead! Hi, marina! Hi, Syntony!

Once we were all packed up, we headed out of the marina to a place that my family had discovered once I had already moved to college, and that had become of favorite of theirs – Watmough Bay, a gorgeous little cove on Lopez Island. It’s definitely now a new favorite for Ryan and I, too! It was perfectly peaceful, with a cute little beach, the classic San Juans mix of Douglas fir and madrona, and towering rocky cliffs above us.

 Man I love the ocean. I love the San Juans. I love being with my fam on the boat! 

When we pulled in and snagged a buoy, nobody was super keen on getting to shore right away, so we relaxed, read, and hung out on the deck talking for awhile. We enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine, passed around the binoculars and watched wildlife like cormorants and eagles, and caught up on life. Eventually we dingeyed to shore and went for a walk just Mom, Ryan, and I, before we were joined by Dad, Lyd, and Sarah. One thing that always helps me know I am truly home in the most beautiful place in the world is the smell of the forest. It always has the perfect cool, earthy, pine-needly smell that I’ve only been able to find in the higher parts of Utah’s mountains. Boo.

Sooo dreamy!

Next we decided to head up to Canada for one of the best beaches in Puget Sound - Sydney Spit! Always on our list when we have time, this place has Hawaii-grade sand and feels perfectly isolated even though it's just across the bay from Sidney, BC. And our favorite part - it's perfect for bocci ball.

Hours well spent in the perfect weather in a perfect place. I can't remember who won each game, but I do remember that Ryan and I once had back-to-back throws that squarely and quite purposefully hit the bocci, so we totally lost that match, but we were all laughing to hard to care too much ;] haha.

We headed from Sidney to some little cove I can't remember the name of (Poet's Cove? Author's Cove? Something like that) to meet up with some people who possibly wanted to buy into the boat partnership. "The kids" were required to get out of the way and go sit up on the deck so we snuck some chips out of the kitchen and peaced out.

Best seat in the house if you don't mind the wind! It was great to chill with Ryan and my two babe sisters and look at stunning houses on the coasts while we motored along. Also sorry you weren't ready for this picture, Ry... ^^^

Then off to Friday Harbor. Always a classic. Some of my earliest memories of sailing are here.

The Syntony looking all pretty on the breakwater.

We went for a walk before dinner, up through town and farther up into the island. It was beautiful. 

We ate dinner at a place owned by a friend of Mom's from high school, stuffing ourselves with homemade pasta and other Italian goodness. And then I think Ryan and I convinced some family members to play Catan with us at some point... Finally. ;]

Sunday morning meant hurried showers and a walk in the rain up to the cute little LDS Friday Harbor branch that we love so much! It was fun to see familiar faces and especially to have Ryan see where we get go to church during all our sailing trips.

The next morning's destination was Fisherman Bay for some more exploring and nice long walk to the general store for all-you-can-pile-on-your-cone soft-serve ice cream. It was hilarious to see who could swirl the most onto their cone without their creation TIMBERRRRing to the floor. I think Ryan went back like three times. Also, bummed to realize I didn't get any pictures of this stop. Especially considering the island was literally OVERRUN with rabbits, and I feel like I would have taken at least one picture of that. It was a little insane...

Chatting in the cockpit on the way to Spencer Spit for the night. It's the best place to be while you're on the move, with the flaps open and the breeze coming in, and the beautiful coast and wildlife going by. Oh I forgot to mention that we saw some humpback whales at one point on this trip! THAT was cool. We also saw porpoises but sorry little guys, the incredible big whale tails kinda showed you up. But thanks anyways.

I love these parents of mine. They are the best anyone could ever hope for. We got so lucky. They've taught us Krop kids so much about being active and healthy and loving the outdoors. I can't imagine a more perfect way to grow up than learning to love our little blue planet and spending all that time exploring, backpacking, skiing, running, sailing, and everything else we've done as a family.

Life is good. Thanks, San Juans. You'll always be my happy place.