Travels WithJohn and Janice
Sunset over Mutiny Bay from Will and Cathy's home on Whidbey Island
Washington3 min read

Dateline May 1, 2011, Some Time Has Gone By, Whidbey Island

Washington2011 TravelFamily#washington#whidbey-island#mutiny-bay#will-and-cathy#family#roadtrek#walkabout-canada-alaska
Part of the Walkabout Canada-Alaska series

After the great wines in Oregon, we pointed the Roadtrek north and crossed onto Whidbey Island, where John's brother Will and his wife Cathy have their home overlooking Mutiny Bay. We had been there many times before, often with the same kind of Pacific Northwest weather that lets you sit on the porch and watch the water for hours. This was one of those visits.

Evening view of Mutiny Bay from Will and Cathy's property
Evening view of Mutiny Bay from Will and Cathy's property

The view has always been one of the great pleasures of visiting.

Will, Cathy, and John in front of the home on Whidbey Island
Will, Cathy, and John in front of the home on Whidbey Island

A lot had happened since we last wrote. We had left Florida planning to join the Walkabout Canada-Alaska group at Mile Marker Zero on the Alcan Highway, but family and personal events stacked up before we could get there. John's sister Carol's son Clay was getting married in Hawaii, and that was a date we were not going to miss. Clay was finishing his PhD work in Tasmania, and we had met his fiancée's parents the year before in Melbourne over wine and long dinners. We flew to Hawaii and had a wonderful time. That trip has its own story coming.

While we were in Hawaii, our house in Lake Jovita went under contract and sold. We flew back to Florida, packed everything we owned into PODs (two sixteen-footers and a twelve, with heavy lifting from our friend Bill Dunn), watched the last container hoisted onto the truck, and waved goodbye. As of that afternoon we were officially homeless.

Loaded POD leaving our Lake Jovita home
Loaded POD leaving our Lake Jovita home

Our friends Bill and Nancy Dunn took on the role of wine caretakers, moving our bottles to their house, and we spent the last night with them drinking a few. The next morning, Wednesday, we flew to Seattle.

The Roadtrek had been parked at Will and Cathy's waiting for us. We picked her up and tackled the last bit of prep before the long drive north. The Sprinter chassis needed a new radiator part, which meant a ferry over to Everett to pick it up. With Will's watchful eye on the project, Janice took the wrench end of things.

Janice and John's brother Will working on the Roadtrek
Janice and John's brother Will working on the Roadtrek

We had her back in working order by the afternoon. Will deserves most of the credit.

Tomorrow morning we leave for the Anacortes ferry and Vancouver Island. A couple of days there, then on to Vancouver, across British Columbia, and finally to Dawson Creek to meet up with the Roadtrek group at Mile Marker Zero. The Walkabout was about to begin in earnest.

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