Today I Am 71

Holy cow! How did that happen?

I am in a beautiful rental house on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands with my friend Kizzie. We are on a writing retreat which doesn’t stop us from touring the island and enjoying all the sights and shops and eateries. Lopez has a wonderful bakery where they should know us by name already. We visited Agate Beach and hiked out to Shark Reef. We ate Halibut tacos with mango salsa and went to a jazz concert at a local winery. Today we took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and wandered around the shops there. I had a delicious crab BLT at the Downriggers restaurant with a view of the harbor and marina. What a wonderful life they live here. The pace is slow and everyone seems to have time to wave and take time to talk.

We have a lovely view from our rental and have converted the kitchen table into our computer desk. I can write and look up to see the ferry go by as well as numerous small boats and sail ships. The water is a lovely shade of blue and calm with just enough of a breeze to fill the sails of the little ships tacking around the bay. The only sound is the quiet lap of water below our perch on the cliff and the occasional toot from an arriving ferry.

I think I could get used to this. I suppose the charm would diminish when winter arrives and the storms roll in, but even then the view would be beautiful. A quick look at the local real estate magazine reveals that I can only live here if I win the lottery so I will have to settle for an occasional visit and store up sweet island memories of a slower, friendlier life.
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