Shaw Island...

Hey y'all!

As I mentioned earlier, Emma and I traveled with the Johnson family to Shaw Island, where we had a silent retreat with the book "Consoling the Heart of Jesus."

It was such a good retreat! The theme of "rest" had been on my heart for a while...probably because I so needed it. ha! I was exhausted and aching for both physical and spiritual rest up here. Well, I got it...and God is still blessing me with it!

We left Bremerton on Thursday after lunch. It was raining, we got a late start, we were hungry...luckily this did not set the tone for the trip. It was the feast of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. So encouraging.

We drove from Bremerton to Port Angeles, took a ferry to Anacortes, and then took a second ferry over to Shaw Island. People here take the concept of ferries for granted, but I still think it's the coolest thing to be able to drive onto a platform, park your car, get off, walk upstairs and eat, work, play, etc, with a beautiful view while at the same time getting where you wanna go! So much better than driving. :)

Josh, one of the twins :)

A view from the ferry dock in the rain.

  There is also the option to walk outside and feel the breeze, smell the sea, soak up the sun, and have a glorious view. Whale pods come through sometimes (I haven't seen any) but Emma did see some seals!

We drove off the first ferry with the intention of driving right onto ferry #2, but unfortunately there was a line and it was full! This was 2 hours before its departure time. So some of us walked on to the ferry, while some stayed back with the car to drive onto the next ferry. Funny story...Josh (who stayed behind) met a guy from FOLSOM, LOUISIANA! It's a small world, isn't it? That's ridiculous. I laughed really hard when he told me. Guess where they met? At a BBQ stand. Sounds about right. ;)

Are you wondering why the ferry to Shaw Island was booked two hours in advance? Lemme tell you about Shaw Island. It's a tiny island of the San Juans (Archipelagos) with only 150 inhabitants. Yes, tiny. It's about 7 miles around. The only way to get there is by ferry or private boat. And the ferry only runs a few times a day.

Most of the people who live there are retired and rarely leave the island. They farm a lot and help each other out. It's a cool, sustainable community. The only official commercial property is a quaint General Store at the ferry dock...the same couple who owns the store works in it and they manage the ferry landing as well. The island's educational system consists of a 2 room schoolhouse; grades 1-5 are in one room and 6-8 are in the other room. The kids have to leave the island to attend high school!

We stayed at a retreat center with the Religious Sisters of Mercy. There are two RSM's on the island: Sister Mary Danielle and Sister Maria. I think they were really excited to have visitors! Emma and I stayed in their little retreat house, which was beautiful! It was fresh and crisp and clean and woodsy.

Stairs to the loft room.

The beautiful stained-glass door of the loft bedroom!

My room...taken from on the bed

I was really happy to stay in the loft. It was cozy and the perfect getaway for the silence. One of the greatest blessings in the room was the sunlight that streamed in through the little windows, especially when I woke up in the morning. :)

More to come!