Mt. Baker - snow capped in the distance
*
We headed north again from Portland and this time to meet my childhood friend Mary-Ellen and her husband, Peter on Lummi Island. Mary-Ellen and I met when we were 5 years old ...... and althou we have stayed in contact over the years we had not seen each other in 29 years!
I was pregnant with Tyler when we last shared an afternoon on a beach in San Diego.
Obviously some catching up was needed.
View from Lummi Island
*
The POD took it's first ferry ride - from Bellingham, WA to Lummi Island. A pretty simple 5 minute journey and yet suddenly we were "someplace else" - detached from the mainland, seemingly drifting in the sea. Lummi is a small island of approximately 24 sq miles and a population of around 800 people..... plus the various chickens, goats, cattle, llamas, etc.
It truly was the quietest place we have been on this trip.
Raw coastlines strewn with pale driftwood, buoys and small crafts and dense forests of sky reaching pines surrounded by ferns and mosses that cling to the forest floor.
Shoreline, Lummi Island, WA
*
The four of us walked and talked. And stopped and talked. Walked in twos and in fours .... spreading the time equally between us. So much ground to cover.
Finding a swing in the woods
*
Mary-Ellen and I took a long hike together thru trails in the Otto Preserve, one of the island's conservancy sites. Peter volunteers for the Lummi Island Heritage Trust to acquire, manage and preserve over 1,000 acres on the island. Otto Preserve is a wildlife refuge of native old growth forest. Dense, damp and oh so quiet - just the two of us exploring the woods ..... and the past 29 years.
Perfect.
Otto Preserve, Lummi Island
*
Along the coastline
*
It has been so satisfying to have the opportunity to visit so many family members and friends along this journey and to find each and every one of them happy and content with their lives. Each one has carved out a place, a solitude, a life. And it is beautiful to see ... and share.
Althou each may face a struggle, a change, or a new horizon - each one was looking straight ahead and meeting it with great dignity.
Self awareness + Self reliance = Power
Mary-Ellen and Peter
*
Peter fed us very well - 3 meals a day (!) which was way more than we are used to ....
We did not complain.
Curried shrimp, chicken fajitas and delicious beer - I was a happy camper who, just so happened to not be, technically, camping.
Mary-Ellen's favorite fishing shack on the island
*
It was a brilliant two days - like a jewel - so precious I don't even know how to catalogue it yet. It meant so much to me to be there , to share and to reaffirm that "yes!" - some friendships can actually be forever!!
Tim and I - Lummi Island
*
It is special to have a friend in your life that has known you forever. I am so fortunate for that.
No artiface
No hiding
No judgement
Just us ..... 5 years old and continuing to figure it out.
With laughter.
A little reminder along the way....
*
Thank you my friends - for being there...... Always!
No comments:
Post a Comment