On July 27, Carol and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. How did I end up with this amazing woman as my life partner? More on that later.

Twenty years is a significant milestone so we wanted to do something extra special to mark the occasion. Initially we thought about having a big blowout, complete with a live band and all of our closest friends at a site in the redwoods. We quickly realized that the logistics of putting on a party like this were more that we were willing to take on, so Carol and I opted for something a little more our speed.

Since our kids came along eighteen years ago, opportunities for us to spend time together away from familial responsibilities have been few and far between. We also wanted to go somewhere new so the usual places (Point Reyes, Mendocino, Santa Cruz) were out. A couple of months ago one of us suggested the Seattle area. Being the travel agent of the family, Carol started researching places around Seattle and stumbled upon Vashon Island. We did some cursory reading up on Vashon, found a place on VRBO, booked our flight and were ready to go.

Our travel day was seamless. We landed at SeaTac airport, got our rental car and soon found ourselves on the Fauntelroy Ferry over to Vashon Island, a mere 15 minute ride across Puget Sound from the Tacoma area. As soon as we parked our car on the boat, Carol and I headed up top to enjoy the ride. The day was absolutely stellar! A cool breeze blew the hair back from our faces, salt air filled our lungs. Off to the starboard side of the boat the awe-inspiring sight of snow covered Mount Rainier dominated the landscape. It’s easy to see why the native peoples of the Pacific Northwest so revered this mountain. The power and energy emanating from Rainier was palpable.

Vashon Island is a heavily forested, peaceful world upon itself. There’s no traffic, no traffic lights, no freeways, no sirens, no crowds, no homeless camps and except for an Ace Hardware and a Subway, no chain stores. The downtown is comprised of small local businesses. There’s even a vintage single-screen movie theater. Most places were closed on the Monday that we arrived, on the other days nothing opened until 11:00am. We had stumbled upon something beautiful and increasingly rare in modern day Generica: a “real” place. The densely populated urban centers of Seattle/Tacoma are within sight of Vashon Island but they may as well be a thousand miles away.

The drive out to our place took us along the coast, up and down rolling hills and through the forest. Our aptly named Forest Cabin is situated at the end of a long gravel driveway. Nestled beneath huge broad leaf maple trees and towering madrones, this was the ideal place for Carol and I to unplug and reconnect with each other. The dappled light that was filtering down through the forest canopy brought to mind a similar location twenty years ago.

We were married in the midst of an enchanting place near our home in Santa Rosa called Griffith Woods. A small creek meanders through this predominantly redwood, oak and madrone woodland, the air is alive with the sounds of mysterious songbirds. On that day when Carol and I promised to love and honor each other for the rest of our lives, the dappled sunlight that played upon everyone and everything is a sight I will always hold dear in my memories of our wedding day. The light at our place here on Vashon and the light at Griffith Woods reach across time to embrace each other.

We unpacked, settled in then set off to explore our surroundings. A clawfoot tub sat just outside our cabin underneath a small cedar tree. It had running hot and cold water and even a showerhead. Strung beneath two massive maple trees were two hammocks. Carol and I would spend much time over the next few days at both of these places. A chicken coop sat on the other side of the hammocks. Several large birds roamed freely about and were the recipients of all our food scraps. A two minute walk from our little haven brought us to a bluff lined with more towering madrones and patches of huge white daisies. We surprised a bald eagle that was perched atop a snag. Dominated by Mount Rainier, the view across Puget Sound from here was breathtaking. It was one of those moments when I was simply speechless, breathing in the beauty and grateful to be alive. Over the course of our three days here we saw porpoises and harbor seals, osprey, Arctic Terns and Great Blue Herons all from our spot on these bluffs. On this first night we watched Rainier slowly be consumed by the alpenglow of sunset, the windows of the houses on the opposite side of the sound burned with the firelight of the setting sun.

There was much to explore on Vashon Island and Carol and I just managed to scratch the surface. One of my favorite things about this trip was our lack of a plan. We knew next to nothing about Vashon so we just let each day unfold on its own. This made for some wonderful discoveries. One day we decided to explore the west side of the island and happened upon Fern Cove. The pullout on the side of the road was wide enough for just a few cars. A short hike through the forest along an enchanting little creek brought us to the cove. It was a minus tide so the vast mudflats were exposed and easy to walk on. We watched an osprey atop a tall cedar tree devour a fish. A Great Blue Heron patrolled the shoreline, its long slender neck periodically shooting out to catch small silver fish in its beak. A pair of belted kingfishers chattered and flew about. Terns and gulls squawked and wheeled overhead. Ravens poked through the mud for clams and other morsels. Osprey were everywhere, their telltale whistles proceeding them. A lone hiker, walking stick in hand, moved slowly across the flats.  

And so it went for three beautiful days-exploring, relaxing, reconnecting. Carol and I couldn’t have picked a better place to celebrate our love and twenty years of marriage. It was hard to leave Vashon. Watching the island recede on the ferry back to the mainland, we vowed to someday return to this very special place. Oh, to answer the question of how I ended up with Carol? I guess you could say that I hit the jackpot!