San Juan - A Island Far From Texas
It is not unusual to have life long friends, but other circumstances might be seen as a coincidence.
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| About to eat some fine Dungeness Crab |
Martti and I have been friends since Jr. High School in Ft. Worth, TX. There were lots of other things going on in those days of the late 60's, Martti and I seemed to be involved in a lot of it together. We , had the same part time jobs, hung out together several days a week, and sometimes every day of the week. Later my girlfriend and now my Admiral joined our small circle of close friends. Several of that small circle of friends all went to University of Texas at Arlington after graduating our West Ft. Worth High School. The circle of friends were simply extended family as we found ourselves supporting each other as we navigated the early days of adulthood and increasing responsibilities mixed in with Woodstock, the Vietnam War, incredible racial tensions throughout the U.S., Women's Lib, Kennedy, Johnson, then Nixon.
Martti married Cookie and they raised a family where Martti's interest landed him in the center of Dallas, TX, We threw the anchor out in the center of Austin, TX, where we raised our family. Our time together with Martti's family evolved to a few times a year then once every few years. and then only meeting on social media.
Much later when we were out cruising on Wand'rin Star I saw that Martti & Cookie took a vacation to the San Juan Islands. We knew nothing about the San Juan's then, our eyes were on the Caribbean. The Pacific Northwest just was not on our radar. Later I remembered Martti was born in the Seattle area and grew up there before his family moved to Ft. Worth where his dad took a engineering job with General Dynamics building the F-111 jets. I also new and loved Martti's mother who was of Finnish decent and since moving to Seattle we have discovered a huge Scandinavian community that settled here over the course of the last 200 years since their skill set matched the Puget Sound region of shipping, forestry, and fishing. The area is part of Martti's DNA for sure.
Just Two years ago Martti's family were again vacationing in the San Juan's. We met with them as they past through Seattle on the way to the Islands. I ask him when he planned to retire, he pretty much indicated Never! Well I guess Never meant in about three more years. Perhaps building a home in of of the most incredible spots on San Juan Island tipped the scale. They found a place with a small cove just off the water on the East side of the island where there was some protection for small boats. and an incredible view looking Northward straight down Presidents Channel with Orcas Island to the South and Waldron Island to the North
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| You step into the San Juan's the moment you step on to the Anacortes ferry. This was July 4th weekend so we elected to walk onto the Ferry rather than take our car on a very busy weekend. |
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| About 1500 walk on passengers, we walked off at Friday Harbor with the Hords. |
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| We met Martti & Cookie a short walk from the Ferry dock at the Ice Cream Shop and A very pleasant drive from Friday Harbor, Here entering the driveway to there just finished Island home. |
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| Well it certainly helps to be an Architect, while his main line of work is downtown Dallas (and other metropolis) skyscraper interiors, it is evident all his time vacationing on this particular island has him completely honed in on the environment. |
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| His Scandinavian ancestry prevails. |
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| While every view point in the San Juan's are spectacular, this one can't be beat. |
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| There are very few coves along the shoreline that can support moorings in these islands, very fortunate to have one at your doorstep. |
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| The foot print is minimum, you can see how the home blends in to the hillside unlike the home on the right. |
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| The next day we went for a hike on the Southeast shore. |
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| Looking West towards the inlet from the Pacific. |
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