This year, we decided to spend our week vacation exploring by boat the Canadian Gulf Islands. They lie just west/northwest of the San Juan Islands and Washington State. There are a number of spots in the Gulf Islands that are public land - part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve - and they offer various recreation opportunities.
DAY ONE: Launching at low tide is a little tricky at Lummi Point. This was the first time we used their lift system - it worked great!
We stopped at customs before coming through this man-made cut between North and South Pender Island.
Our home base for the week was at Port Browning Marina and Resort which is just northwest of the cut in the islands.
We picked it because it had a pool - and we were super happy to learn that it had a pretty big area for little kids that was only 2' deep!
Not to mention, it had a great view and a huge, grassy lawn.
Edison liked playing Go Fish with dad while I put Charlotte to sleep each night.
DAY TWO: Every day we went out to explore a new spot / island and check out potential future camping spots. Our first day we stayed close and went to Bedwell Harbour on Pender Island. Great little beach, easy to get to shore from the Whaler, a few nice camp spots near the beach, and even protected anchorage.
As we were leaving, we saw a pod of orcas on the south side of the island. They are following the salmon which are running right now.
It was pretty surreal and amazing.
But if you look the other way, you see all the commercial whale watching boats which is kind of disturbing.
Every afternoon we'd do a dip in the pool before dinner.
DAY THREE: We took the boat for a lap around Saturna Island - the furthest east of the Gulf Islands.
The waves against the soft sandstone make for some really amazing formations.
We explored Narvaez Bay for camping potential but found that its super shallow beach was not conducive to landing the Whaler. Most people bike or kayak into this spot.
We took a picnic to Cabbage Island and enjoyed some time on the best sandy beach we found all week. The whole island is park of the Gulf Islands Reserve and there are some great camping spots and tide lands.
A beautiful view of Mount Baker through the marsh dividing the island.
The exposed north side is a bit rough, but great for driftwood walking.
Twenty-eight weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good.
We finished our lap by coming through tiny Boat Pass on the west side of Saturna.
Check out the crazy tidal currents - it is about a foot difference as the water rushes through. Definitely wouldn't do that in a sailboat.
Enjoying our perch of a camp spot above the rest of the resort - giant grassy lawn below and boat dock in the distance.
