Island Life

During my first month in Friday Harbor the weather was still cold and rainy. At first I worked only seven-hour days, Friday through Monday, but since I wasn't used to biking to and from work in the stormy weather and punching the time clock anymore, my new schedule was very tiring. I slept a lot that month, taking afternoon naps on my days off and getting to sleep before 10pm every night. On my days off, I would pick up mail at the post office, visit the library to free-load on their wifi, and stock up on groceries. In between naps I did a lot of reading - besides the public library, Friday Harbor has two good bookstores, Griffin Bay and Serendipity Used Books.

Food is expensive on San Juan Island. At restaurants you pay tourist prices, and there are no cheap fast-food places. No Starbucks even! At the few gas station mini-marts prices are shockingly high. The small King's Market grocery store on Spring Street, a block up from the ferry landing, is pricey and not too well stocked, except for liquor, beer and wine.

Farther up the hill on Mullis Street is the larger Marketplace store, where local people shop and prices and selection are better. The first time I stopped in, as I was locking up my bike out front, I heard Merle Haggard, the BeeGees, Foghat and Sheryl Crow over the store's "muzak" system. It's fun to play "Name That Tune" while shopping, though it's a little unnerving to be hearing Jethro Tull in the produce section:  "Sitting on a park bench, eyeing little girls with bad intent. Snot is running down his nose, greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes . . . "

The Spring Street grocery is open long hours daily, but the Marketplace closes at 6pm and on Sundays before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. At home I mostly ate rice and vegetables seasoned in various ways, and granola and fruit for breakfast. For lunch I would either brown bag or buy a sandwich at the Spring Street store. Most mornings I stopped at a cafe before work to have coffee and pastry while (again) free-loading on their wifi. In spite of this almost-daily pastry habit, I lost almost twenty pounds over the summer due to the combination of more bike-riding, being active at work, and eating two sensible meals a day.

Meaning to take a break from digital-itis, and from semi-compulsively recording and documenting all the events, scenes and impressions of my days, I brought only my cell phone and Kindle, leaving my digital camera, laptop, and even my hand-written journal back home. This turned out to be inconvenient for keeping up with bills and banking, since poor wifi reception meant I had to go to the library on my days off to conduct business. Also, using my cell phone for internet access and as a hotspot eventually overheated the battery, so by the end of the summer it wouldn't charge and wasn't much use except for checking the time and date. I regret now that I don't have more photos of some of the scenic rides I took around San Juan and Lopez Islands on my days off, and especially of Victoria BC and the trails on Vancouver Island, where I rode on the way home at the end of the summer (more about that later). Some of the most beautiful views on San Juan Island are along West Side Road at Limekiln Park and English Camp, but I didn't take many photos there, just cruised along soaking it all in. So I just have to remember on my own, and everyone else will have to go there to see for themselves.

But here are a few souvenir shots:

Please Drive Slowly Lane

On False Bay Road

Evening light

Morning Light

What will they automate next? (on Schoolhouse Road 2)