Our 35th Anniversary

Wintertime is lovely for a wedding. But it’s not that great for an anniversary. You never know what to expect weather-wise. Over the past several years we’ve experienced rain, snow, and dramatically stormy skies on many occasions. One year while we were getting ready for bed at a cute little cabin the wind blew the window into the bedroom. It landed with a thud at the foot of the bed!

Even in Hawaii 0n our honeymoon we had rainstorms and the nearby golf course looked like a lake!

We’ve also explored delightful shops, eaten scrumptious meals, and thoroughly enjoyed one another’s company. All of which you can do any season of the year.

This year we celebrated our anniversary on three islands in Puget Sound—Vashon Island, Maury Island, and Fox Island.

Tom’s family has history on Vashon. They lived there for three or four years when Tom was in early elementary school. Having previously visited Vashon together a handful of times we caught the ferry and made our way to Vashon one more time.

It’s always good to start your trip with a rainbow!

“Land ahoy!” The ferry landing on Vashon.

Getting Settled

We picked up our lunch at the local Thriftway store—a marvelous chicken sandwich with a side of fresh fruit. And popcorn and ice cream we would eat after our dinner at The Hardware Store Restaurant.

We settled into our Little Red Cottage not far from town. It’s a very cute, nicely decorated, and lovingly maintained cottage on a beautiful piece of property. There was plenty of good reading material and a window seat in the upstairs bedroom, but we didn’t have time to enjoy the books.

I love the bright colors in the cottage!

Point Robinson on Maury Island

A land bridge connects Vashon and Maury islands. This was our second visit to the lighthouse at Robinson Point. Wow! Was it windy! Oh, well, it’s still winter—what did we expect?

The lighthouse is no longer a working one, but it hosts tour on summer Sundays.

Besides the lighthouse, we saw lots of driftwood, some choppy waves, and a few people at the beach.

The sign that welcomed us to Point Robinson Park, drew our attention.

A small sign nearby pointed the way to The Troll. We chose to ignore the “tiny little troll that would probably be a disappointment,” and drove on. A poor choice, as it turned out. My cousin Michelle had taken the time to walk to the Troll, just 100 yards from the sign. She posted this photo on Facebook:

Checking Out Tom’s Childhood Home

Next stop, the house of Tom’s childhood. It is in an area called Cove. Tom’s dad made the cupola on the rooftop of the garage where young Tommy is sitting. In the second photo is the house at Cove today. The cupola is still on the roof, though slightly modified. And the wooden fence in the front marks the area for the gorgeous dahlias that Dad K grew each summer.

What a cute guy!

Eating on Vashon

Dinner for our 35th anniversary was at the Hardware Store Restaurant. Our food was delicious and the wait staff gracious. Back at the cottage our popcorn and ice cream dessert topped off our great day.

Monday morning we met our friend Lisa for breakfast at Sporty’s. We swapped stories about overseas adventures, music, and violin making. We said our good-byes and headed to Fox Island.

Oh, my, I didn’t notice the spike sticking out of my head nor the tree growing from Lisa’s!

Off to Fox Island

The Tahlequah ferry at the south end of Vashon Island makes a 15-minute run to Point Defiance. From there it is a 27-mile drive to Fox Island. As we explored the island it appeared to be a retirement community. We stopped a local walking his dog and asked him where we might get good photos of the Tanglewood Island lighthouse. He gave us directions to the Chapel on Echo Bay.

We found the chapel easily.

The front of the Chapel on Echo Bay

The back of the Chapel on Echo Bay

An invitation for visitors to the Chapel

A corner of the garden at the Chapel on Echo Garden

Tanglewood Island Lighthouse

We had a great view of the Tanglewood Island Lighthouse from the yard of the church as well as another spot we found on Fox Island. On a clear day Mount Rainier is prominent behind the lighthouse. In this picture it shows only slightly.

Tanglewood Island Lighthouse taken from the Chapel on Echo Bay

Tanglewood Island Lighthouse

Heading Home

Our normally short anniversary outings provide us with new scenery, a glimpse of the local culture, and a sweet time together. This trip did not disappoint. We turned the car north and enjoyed the drive home.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

Seattle Skyline

Thanks for coming along on the trip with us,
Ginger

In 1970 the youth of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the Free Methodist Church attended a week of camp on Tanglewood Island. To my knowledge, Peach was the only one of our family to attend the camp. What little I heard about it really intrigued me. So when planning our anniversary trip I suggested we go to Fox Island. I hoped we might also get to go to Tanglewood Island. But the island is only accessible by boat. This 2021 article by David Haglund gives some of the interesting history of Tanglewood Island, the lighthouse, and the facility where the youth camp was held.