Surprisingly, we have had less access to Wi-fi since we've been in civilization than when we were in the wilds of BC! Either there is none available or it's for rent only. Back in the wilds, there was often free Wi-fi available from a harbor or business.

If Victoria was delightful in meeting our (high) expectations for a charming place to visit, then the San Juan Islands delighted us further by exceeding our expectations for beauty. After leaving our friends the Goransons and their lovely house on Orcas Island, we toured Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, anchored up in a pretty bay off Shaw Island and visited friends on Decatur Island.

Our first stop was in Friday Harbor to check in to the US. As can sometimes happen, the Customs and Border Patrol officer we dealt with in Friday Harbor was thoroughly unpleasant: officious and authoritarian, humorless, and one of those types who should not deal with the public because he apparently gets his jollies out of trying to be intimidating. It was not the courteous and respectful reception we expected when re-entering our own country and we could only compare this guy's welcome with that of the Canadian Customs and Border Patrol people in Prince Rupert as we checked into their country. The Canadian CPB people were certainly official and asked all the right questions, but there was a basic friendliness and courtesy to their interview. They made us feel welcome to enter Canada, in direct contrast to our "Ranger Rick."

In Friday Harbor we made first use of the reciprocal mooring privileges of our yacht club membership, and were able to stay at the guest dock of the San Juan Island Yacht Club without charge. The Club manager was a delightful gentleman and we traded him the official burgees (flags) of the Kenai Fjords Yacht Club and the William H Seward Yacht Club, of which we are members, for two burgees of the San Juan Island Yacht Club. All clubs love to display the burgees of visitors from distant clubs, and we'll mail the SJIYC burgees back to our home clubs for display there.

While in Friday Harbor, we suddenly got the notion to try and find the errant Raymarine connection cable that Bill needed to complete some electronics projects. Without going into the deficiencies of the USPS, the box had finally arrived at its destination (Anchorage to Orcas Island by Priority Mail took two weeks). Eureka! We spent a night in Blind Bay off Shaw Island, just across from the small town of Orcas back on Orcas Island. We awakened the next morning and motored over to Orcas, I leapt ashore, ran to the PO, and claimed my box. Shaw Island, we should mention, is known for historically being largely owned and run by a sisterhood of nuns.

After installing the long-awaited cable, Bill was finally able to deliver AIS information directly to our chart plotter. Wonderful! In addition, I have been able to deliver better heading information from the steering brain to the chart plotter. I've been planning this project since well before we left on Anchorage and it's great that it's installed and operating properly.

Conni had wanted to visit Roche Harbor on San Juan Island since a bike-touring trip through the San Juans thirty years ago when she was in law school in Oregon. She finally got her wish, and we spent a lovely day at this half-resort, half-town, strolling through the gardens, reading the interesting historical displays from its days as a lime quarry and cement factory, and visiting the mausoleum of the McWilliams family that established the lime kilns and built the pretty buildings. The evening flag-lowering ceremony, familiar to everyone in this area, was fun to watch from our spot at anchor in the harbor.

From San Juan Island, we visited the home of Janet Wheeler and her husband Lee on Decatur Island. Janet is a lifelong friend of our dear friend Holly McLean, who had arranged the visit. Janet and Lee drove us around the very pretty island they call home for most of the year, and fed us smoked Homer, Alaska halibut (caught by Lee and smoked by Janet) on their deck. What a lovely place and what delightful and welcoming people! Decatur Island presents a very different view of Island life: without ferry service, it's not a tourist destination and is, therefore, comparatively undeveloped: no stores of any kind, no gas station, and a one-room school for the two students. If you want a loaf of bread, you jump into your boat, motor across the two miles to Lopez Island, get into the vehicle that you thoughtfully left parked there, and drive to buy your bread. Of course, you retrace your steps to get home. Janet and Lee have electricity via cable and great phone and Wifi service, to say nothing of incredible views and a very quiet lifestyle.

We need to thank Lee Wheeler in print for his help in disengaging our Hydrovane rudder from a mooring buoy in which we got entangled. Thanks, also, to his friend Mr. Doan, whose mooring buoy we were allowed to use. Bill: "Oh, let's just use this mooring buoy. I'm sure he's not here." Mr. Doan, a hundred feet away at the community dock and watching us tie up to his buoy, prohibiting him from the use of it WITH HIS OWN BOAT, "Welcome to Decatur Island. Use the buoy as long as you want." Sorry, Mr. Doan, and thank you for your generosity and understanding.

After leaving Decatur, we motor-sailed to Whidbey Island, passed under the picturesque Deception Pass Bridge, and dropped the hook in Cornet Bay at about 8:30 PM. Our old friends, Art and Karen Arians, live close by in LaConner, WA. We'll drop by there, then on to Seattle.

Bill: I made sure to call my father this morning to wish him a very happy 86th birthday. That's very impressive and we wish him many more.