The Heart of the Salish Sea

Orcas is one of a kind. I know, I searched for many years. At age 18, I fell in love with Martha's Vineyard. I remember vividly sitting on the bow of my family's boat after a long day at sea, and seeing the cliffs of Gay Head in a bright array of colors. It took me 4 years to manage to move there, and 18 months to see we did not have the skills to survive on the Vineyard. That was the 70's.

It was there that I met my friend of a lifetime, Cecily. She was scalloping for a living with her husband. She washed their clothes by hand, drying them on the line where they would freeze long before drying. For years we have joked about 'Clem the Hired Hand', which refered to the frozen red long johns blowing stiffly on the line outside her cabin. They were true Islanders, I envied them.


Fast forward 20 years. Ken and I were living in the most unspoiled county in NJ. The Amwell Valley Hunt galloped through our backyard on mist-shrouded mornings. The master of the hunt rode a 17 hand dappled gray warmblood. We were surrounded by small farms and almost half of the land was in conservation. Former members of the USET retired here to raise and train horses. It was beautiful; but 20 minutes away were malls, congestion, Route 1 and the Jersey Turnpike. And worse of all, the sprawl crept closer as each day passed.

We wanted to live in a more rural area, more wildlife, fewer people, cleaner air, better weather.  We never wanted to go to a mall again, sit in a traffic jam or watch fields sprout condos. We could not afford the Vineyard, Nantucket, Aspen or Jackson Hole. We felt out of place in West Virginia, couldn't see how we'd survive in the mountains of North Carolina.  We wanted like-minded folks; artists, writers, philosophers, entrepeneurs, free thinkers. We also needed to work and make a living. We wanted a safe, healthy place to raise our daughters. We needed to be surrounded by nature.  It was a tall order.


It was a typical hot, muggy and buggy summer in NJ.  Summers were NEVER what I hoped them to be in NJ. Temperatures in the 90's and often up to 100, with high humidity, and did I mention the gnats? Ken and I were renovating houses that summer. I actually set up a fan outside by the table saw, so that when we were cutting boards for siding the house, the gnats would not get in our eyes!  We were slathered in 'Skin so Soft',  we were sick of bugs, heat and humidity!  When the local grocery store offered tickets for $79 to anywhere in the US with a purchase of $200 in groceries, we began dreaming of a trip west.

We had heard about the San Juan's. I loved Islands, and best of all it was cool there in the summers. We needed cool, ocean breezes and in 'Let's Go, The Pacific Northwest' they said there were no bugs!   My cousin, Lisa who grew up sailing on the east coast and  San Francisco Bay raved about sailing in those protected waters. My parents loved how green and how charming the islands were when they stopped on their way to Victoria, BC.  It was remote but close to both Seattle and Vancouver. There were snow capped mountains and whales.  Ken also had a family reunion in Sandpoint,  Idaho.  All good reasons to head to the northwest corner of the US.


We took the 4:30 am bus from Seattle to the Ferry Terminal in Anacortes. But, even at that hour it was light!  I wore a flannel shirt and we carried backpacks. Mist hung between the islands. It was magical and so very green! As the breeze came up the mists cleared. We watched seals, heard an eagle cry, Mount Baker glistened white with snow. The water was cold, clear and green. People were friendly. But, still I was not prepared for what I felt when I put my foot on Orcas Island.


"This is it!"  I said. "What do you mean?" questioned Ken. "This is it, I NEED  to live here!" 'How do you know? You haven't even been here!". "I  just know!"


For some people it just happens like that. Orcas feels like home. It can feel more like your home than where you were raised or where you live. It's one of a kind. And if it fits, you'll know it! Just listen to your heart. I had found my home in the heart of the Salish Sea.