Shaw Island 2013

It's March and that means our annual trip to Shaw Island!  This year, we decided to spend Friday night in Mt. Vernon so we were closer to the Anacortes ferry and didn't have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning.  It was a great addition to our tradition and I think we'll do it again next year.  We met up with the rest of the group on the ferry to the San Juans.  

Excited? Of course!

Friends on the ferry...the hour ferry ride is great for visiting.  Ross tasked me with taking as many pictures as I could.  I didn't get one of everyone and I won't post all that I took, but I think I did a decent job of capturing the day.

We remembered to bring our coins to flip into the bulls-eye at the Lopez Terminal...

Ben got it into the middle, but it bounced out! 

Arriving on Shaw, we piled into the trucks. Even though it was cold and rainy, the kids still enjoyed riding in the back of a pickup. I, on the other hand, did not want to ride in the back of a pickup in the rain, so I hopped in front with Father Scott.

The mothers were waiting for us when we arrived and asked for the Priest and the two Bishops to each give a prayer. Father Scott is their visiting priest and I enjoyed talking to him on the ride to Our Lady of the Rock. He is on sabbatical here and said he's amazed at how many sad people he sees when he goes into Seattle.  He feels the lack of spirituality in their lives is a big contributor, even more than the grey weather.  He said that if you have faith and God in your life, you can be happy no matter where you are.  

After the prayer, the mothers were quick to hand out assignments. Ben and his friends were assigned to work on the wood pile making kindling with Grandpa Tom.

When Mother Hildegard said she needed three hard workers to clean out the sheep barn, these three eagerly agreed.  I love these kids! 

I was busy making sure Ben and Jillian had their rain clothes (it was POURING!) and missed getting an assignment, so I headed to the garden with a few other ladies.  Weeding in the rain felt more like playing in the mud.  Extracting the weeds from the clumps of mud they clung to was nearly impossible.  I did manage to clear the buttercups from the raspberry bushes and hopefully didn't do too much damage to their roots. After a few hours of mucking about in the garden, Denise, Tiffany and I were sent on a snack run.  We got to bring snacks to the various work parties around the farm, so I was able to see pretty much the entire place.

These guys were working down at the waterfront clearing out old rail ties that had been buried in the bushes for ages.

After we made our first stop, we ventured up the road to find a place to turn around (dirt roads + lots of rain   = don't get stuck!) We finally found a spot, but I was a little nervous, especially since I wasn't driving my own van, so Denise offered to hop out and make sure the ground was solid enough.  Let's just say it was still quite muddy, as you can see from the splattering I gave Denise when the tires spun out!

Our next stop was by the pond where they were clearing out the smaller trees and brush so Mother Mary Grace could have a bird watching area.  Tiffany's husband was working up there with several other men and most of the Boy Scouts.

This is Mother Mary Grace's cabin. It's quite a way down the road from the other Mothers.  Very "Little House on the Prairie-ish," except it's in the middle of the woods.  

Another group was working on cleaning out the pig area after they had done the same for the sheep.

There were other groups working in various locations, but I didn't get pictures of them.

Elisa, Sharon & Betty Jo preparing lunch.

Ben and Hiram admiring the pigs.  It finally stopped raining after our work was done.

Me and my dad

Dennis, Ross, Mother Felicitas & Father Scott

Nathan, Kylie & Aubrey enjoying a break.

Some of the scouts eating lunch.

Ben and I soaking in the sun.  It felt so good to finally dry out!

Brad and I

  

And of course, a trip to Our Lady of the Rock isn't complete without a ride back to the ferry in the Llama Van!  It actually smelled good this year.  Father Scott said he had taken it on himself to freshen it up a bit.  Even with all the rain, we enjoyed our day on Shaw Island tremendously and can't wait to go back next year!