Thanks for the read as written as only you can.enjoyed ****
chad
"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
: You guys who live where it's 100 degrees or more all summer long don't
have any
: idea what you're missing. I'm polishing this item up a bit, and thought it
: might be fun to share with folks from "inferior" climates.
:
: Friday Harbor
:
: I think I've finally found Friday Harbor. No, it was never really missing.
It's
: always been just off San Juan Channel, reasonably well protected by Brown
: Island. The marina is near 48.32.39 N and 123.00.87 W. I've been going to
: Friday Harbor for about forty years, and perhaps fifteen times in the last
: twenty. The Friday Harbor experience has always been two dimensional, like
: something projected on a screen. There has never seemed to be a warm,
human
: heart behind the planked facades of the tourist shops clustered around the
: ferry dock. Friday Harbor is one of the most popular marine destinations
in the
: Pacific Northwest, so I have always suspected my failure to develop an
affinity
: for the commercial center of the San Juan Islands was a personal
shortcoming. I
: was right- I have been wrong about Friday Harbor.
:
: Jan and I visited Friday Harbor in August of 2004. I motored up single
handed
: from Seattle on a Friday morning. Jan's professional obligations kept her
in
: Seattle for an additional day, and she planned to arrive by seaplane early
on
: Saturday. Just north of Edmonds the VHF crackled, "Environment Canada has
: issued a gale warning for the Strait of Juan de Fuca." Although the
conditions
: seemed pleasant enough, the barometer was falling off and experience has
taught
: me that the professionals guess the weather better than I do. So much for
the
: outside run, and a potential arrival at Cornet Bay would be two and a half
: hours prior to slack in Deception Pass. I made Friday Harbor after a
ten-hour
: trek through Saratoga Passage, the Swinomish Channel, Guemes Channel, and
: across Rosario Strait.
:
: The marina at Friday Harbor often fills up during July and August. It is
: advisable to arrive as early in the day as practicable. When I arrived at
4:30
: on a Friday afternoon, the only remaining spot was on the outside of the
north
: breakwater. I was too pooped to drop the hook, inflate the Zodiac, and
dinghy
: ashore. "Indulgence" became the breakwater's breakwater, and we bounced
around
: considerably until boat and ferry traffic subsided in the late evening
hours.
:
: I had heated a can of chili enroute from Seattle, certainly as much of my
own
: cooking as any reasonable antibodies would be able to neutralize in a
single
: day. I went uptown to grab a bite, and must have accidentally discovered
the
: worst Chinese restaurant in North America. While most of the Friday Harbor
: eateries had diners' queues out the doors and onto the sidewalks, there
were
: perhaps ten people sprinkled around the cavernous dining hall of the
Chinese
: joint. The lack of attendance should have warned me off- either that or
the odd
: smell. The lukewarm food was, frankly, awful and the Chinese "tea" tasted
like
: hot dishwater. The indifferent, distracted waitress forgot to serve my
soup
: course, but she forsook her slothful ways when she flew across the
restaurant
: to snatch up the signed credit card slip. (She was checking to be sure
that she
: had been adequately tipped.) She was tipped appropriately, if not
adequately,
: and no advance math skills were required to calculate the percentage. I
: remember competent service and much better food at this restaurant in
previous
: years. Perhaps it has changed hands.
:
: I spent a restless night aboard. At first light, wake and wave action
began
: slamming "Indulgence" against her fenders at the breakwater. An
impenetrable
: fog had engulfed the harbor, morphing from black to silver and finally
white in
: the invisible sunrise. I peered out the cabin window, concerned that Jan's
: seaplane might be diverted or delayed. I took the very long walk from the
: breakwater to the center of town, and on that foggy Saturday morning, I
finally
: discovered Friday Harbor.
:
: The majority of the shops were still closed. The first ferry full of
whirlwind
: tourists had not yet landed, and most of the boaters in the marina were
still
: aboard- breakfasting or sleeping. Autumn sends some scouts ahead of her
gradual
: invasion of September and unchallenged occupation of October, and such a
: stealthy spy was taking the measure of Friday Harbor. The fog wafted down
the
: nearly vacant streets, reducing structures 100- feet away to soft
suggestions
: rather than angular shapes. Swirling white and yellow auras surrounded
blurred
: electric fixtures. A baritone fog horn churned and shook the shimmering
cloud,
: so far off course and come to ground in Friday harbor.
:
: The street grid and much of the downtown energy flows down slope to Front
: Street. An old man with an aromatic pipe and an impatient little dog sat
on a
: bench at Memorial Park. We did not speak, but we listened to the same
mournful
: horns warning one and all of stealthy poltergeists and ethereal ghost
ships
: enveloped and camouflaged by rudderless vapors.
:
: I had breakfast at the Front Street Café, near the ferry landing. The
woman and
: daughter immediately ahead of me in line were out of sync with the morning
: rhythm. Rude, demanding, and impatient, they must have arrived by
automobile.
: They gathered an order to go and seemed to flee the premises. Most of the
crowd
: appeared to be locals gathered for a few moments of coffee gossip before
: dispersing to jobs and businesses of their own. A woman hammered out
messages
: on a laptop computer, while two men discussed the impending retirement of
a
: popular barber. (Breakfast was the "basic scramble" with toasted beer
bread.
: The eggs were extremely good, and the toasted beer bread nothing less than
: fantastic!)
:
: The fog began to clear, rather quickly. It appeared that Jan's plane would
be
: on time, and all would be well within the world. As I strolled on through
the
: relatively empty streets and considered the old man on the bench and the
: breakfast crowd at the café, it occurred to me exactly how I had failed to
: appreciate Friday Harbor. I had always tried to make some sense of the
physical
: infrastructure of the place, forgetting that here, as everywhere, the
streets,
: the buildings, and the geographical characteristics are like rocks in a
river.
: The rocks define, deflect, direct, and may even contain the course of the
: river, but the fluid, dynamic energy of the river is the water. In a
sense, the
: people of a town are the water in the river. I had always experienced the
human
: dynamic through the perspective of tourists frantic to "do the San Juans"
: between ferry departures, or the stressed merchants often overwhelmed by
the
: same. In the early morning hours, without the surging crowds, (and when
people
: were fed, rested, and going about the ordinary business of the day), the
bricks
: and sticks, the rocks and the river, and the pulse of Friday Harbor made
: obvious sense.
:
: A formation of five seaplanes splashed down in quick succession. Jan
: disembarked in a crisp moment of blazing blue daylight, an atmosphere soon
to
: be in short supply. I was glad to see her. No Hollywood starlet ever made
a
: more beautiful entrance.
:
: We relocated "Indulgence" to a freshly vacated slip inside the marina. I'd
had
: my fill of rock 'n roll for a while.
:
: The rain began. A few stray drops at first, as gentle and exploratory as a
: lover's hopeful foreplay. The spritz became a sprinkle, the sprinkle a
drizzle,
: the drizzle a shower, and soon Friday Harbor was engulfed in a soaking
storm-
: frenzied with passion. We got a pair of rain jackets from the hanging
locker
: and proceeded to do what any pair of rational humans would do when the
streets
: of Friday Harbor became literal rivers- we hiked half a mile to the San
Juan
: County Fairgrounds.
:
: The fair runs five days every August and it is a traditional,
agriculturally
: oriented event. The Grange and 4-H are prominent here, while the aluminum
: siding, storm window, and hot tub salespeople are nowhere in sight. In
this
: election year, various candidates and parties had erected tents and
display
: booths, all extolling the specific virtues of widely contrasting political
: philosophies.
:
: The 2004 fair was clobbered by the Saturday deluge. Small groups of
dripping,
: sloshing, and squishy-shoed people lingered in the indoor commercial areas
and
: covered animal barns. Vendors with tent space attempted to smile
: philosophically as the sparse crowds literally splashed past, bolting
between
: one indoor venue and another. We scooted under an awning to speak briefly
with
: a volunteer from the Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The
Center
: rescues approximately 800 injured and orphaned birds and animals each
year,
: restoring as many as possible to health and returning them to the wild
: environment.
:
: Rain swept the fairgrounds like a push broom clears a shop. Disappointed
: carnies chain-smoked under faded red and orange-striped canopies: the ball
and
: bottle games, the ring toss, and the dart throw rackets all but abandoned
by
: the crowd.
:
: At regular intervals, a carny would raise a push broom to dump the
collected
: water from the awning of his booth. The strain on the canvas would be
relieved,
: but the mud bog in the midway was correspondingly recharged. The
Tilt-A-Whirl
: neither tilted, nor whirled, but the empty passenger pods collected water
like
: scuffed fiberglass bowls. Raindrops sizzled, steamed, and splashed against
ten
: thousand circus-colored carnival bulbs.
:
: We found the heart of Friday Harbor, once again, at the fair. Despite the
: weather, the 4-H market auction was packed. 4-H rules allow every young
member
: to sell one animal or unit of produce per year. The proceeds are awarded
to the
: aspiring farmer to help offset the costs of participating in 4-H. Many of
the
: winning bidders immediately "resell" the animal or produce in the same
auction,
: with the funds from the second sale going to the4-H organization for
programs
: and facilities. The auction had been scheduled for an outdoor venue, but
: relocated to a standing room only tent.
:
: We watched in citified amazement as the crowd eagerly bid the first
offering,
: (a dozen eggs), up to $90.00. The next dozen must have been superior,
somehow,
: at least to the educated eye. It brought $130. Three laying hens sold for
an
: astonishing $150, but perhaps that's a shrewd investment in an economy
where
: eggs bring over ten bucks apiece. In many cases, the auctioneer would
conclude
: a sale by thanking King's Market, Friday Harbor Hardware, or some other
local
: business. It isn't every community where prominent businessmen support the
: local kids by setting aside a Saturday afternoon to jam into a damp tent
and
: pay 100 times "too much" for eggs or several multiples of the going rates
for
: pork and steers. The young farmers must surely feel more appreciated when
the
: community turns out for an event like the market auction. It has to be
more
: meaningful than a businessperson simply telling the bookkeeper to write a
: check.
:
: Slogging back to town from the fairgrounds, I enjoyed my fresh perspective
of
: Friday Harbor. Yes, it's still that frantic tourist town with an awkward
: transition between the municipal marina and the shameless hustle bucks
around
: the ferry dock. When one comes to appreciate Friday Harbor as a mixture of
very
: real people in a slightly unreal place, the focus is suddenly clarified. I
had
: found Friday Harbor, and appreciated that it had been there all along. The
: fault was entirely mine- confusing a handful of oddball rocks with the
fluid,
: renewing, energy of a river.
:
: (no portion of this item may be reproduced without permission)
:
:
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