Weekend at Anderson Island

We spent last weekend at a cottage on Anderson Island, in the southern part of Puget Sound. The cottage belongs to the parents of one of April's friends, and they let us use it for the weekend.

The island isn't very big so we were able to see most of it just in the couple of days we were there. There are two freshwater lakes in the interior of the island, one small grocery store, one coffee shop, and one restaurant. It was definitely more laid-back than Seattle...on the rare occasions when cars passed us on the roads, the drivers would give us the classic Iowa one-finger wave. Our cell phones only worked when we were at the tops of hills.

The weather was perfect...in the high 70s and sunny. We spent most of the time outside exploring the island. On Saturday afternoon we visited an old farmstead called Johnson's Farm where they preserved the barn and chicken coops which were built in the late 1800s. They also made a grass maze which Nora and April enjoyed.

Saturday afternoon was spent kayaking along the east end of the island. This was Nora's first time in a kayak...we were in a big tandem boat and she sat in the front with April. Nora did quite a bit of paddling by herself! Nora kept a lookout for crabs, jellyfish and starfish in the crystal-clear water. We had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier and even saw a couple of eagles flying around in the trees nearby.

In the evening April made cobb salad with the lettuce from our raised garden beds, and we roasted marshmallows in a small firepit in the front yard. After dinner we hung out in the hot tub for a little while before going off to bed.

Jake, Cooper and Levi came out Sunday morning and we took the kids swimming at the lake. After lunch, we walked along the beach but unfortunately the kayak people were not around. There is only one kayak rental place on the island, and it is run out of the owners' home.

A weekend in the sunshine was exactly what all of us needed and it was such a great chance for us to relax a little after an incredibly hectic time.