ToG left Garrison Bay (San Juan Island) for Fisherman Bay (Lopez Island) on Saturday (July 20). After dropping the anchor and getting settled, we dinghied in to The Islander to meet up with cousins Beth & Drake and their friends (and our acquaintances) Gene & Rebecca Chao. Very nice to see everyone! After dinner we shuttled Beth and Drake (and their stuff) out to the boat – so nice to catch up with them and welcome them aboard.

We hauled anchor the next morning and motored to Roche Harbor. The weather was not great – it even sprinkled for a minute – so we almost didn’t honor our reservation at Westcott Bay Shellfish. But…we decided to dinghy over anyway and we are glad we did. Great oysters and lots of fun.

Before returning, we pulled into English Camp to experience the Encampment events. Beth used to do reenactment/historical activities in New England so she enjoyed this a lot.

The piper (who serenaded us all from his boat the night before):

The flag ceremony:

A historically dressed couple alongside a replica boat:

Monday morning we departed Roche Harbor early to attempt to beat some wind forecast for later in the day. The cruise across Haro Straight, and then around the corner to Victoria Harbour, got a bit snarky but we arrived at the Causeway Marina safely and headed up Government Street, intending to eat lunch at Ghost Ramen + Bar. Guess what? Closed. So, we turned around and went to the Irish Times – another great Victoria eatery.

Our server/photographer asked everyone to do something crazy. Apparently, I was the only one to follow her directions:

After that we visited the Empress for their famous G&T’s.

We have the next few days to explore, shop, eat, and drink. It’s windy but really nice weather overall.