Is this real?

George and I are best friends, but we are very different people. Often we come up with dissimilar, even conflicting, ways to solve problems, and each think we typically know best. The first two weeks of this trip were probably the hardest. We were together, in a very small space, 24/7, doing something new with very stressful moments, trying to figure out what the next few months looked like. We had some struggles, disagreements, frustration, and tears (mostly me) and a few times I questioned if this trip was going to be what we wanted it to be. But shortly after that time, and after some very productive discussions, everything started to get easier. Now we are working together well, enjoying each other’s company and having a great time. We both recognize this is a choice. There are things he does that bother me, and I am sure I do things that really bother him. The choice is in letting those things go, assuming we are doing our best, and avoiding any rude or judgmental remarks. We are not perfect, but we recognize in each other the willingness to try, and it is making all the difference.

There is this weird thing that happens in my head. We go from stunning place to stunning place to stunning place, and sometimes I get there and think, "Ho hum, another stunning place, no one wants to see more pictures of blue water and sky and green trees." But then 2 minutes later I'm in disbelief at where we are and just want to share every photo I take with everyone I know.

The reflection of the mountains and trees and especially the rocks along the shore is so beautiful. It's like you could flip the pictures upside down and they would look the same.

George and I have discovered that our favorite way to explore is not by hiking but going for a ride in our dinghy exploring all along the shoreline and in the shallow water. We also love the tide pools. We usually see tons of jellyfish, bottom fish, crabs, seals, etc. Yesterday we saw some Pacific Sea Nettles. They are both beautiful and frightening at the same time.

We stayed one night at beautiful Sullivan Bay Marina. We topped off water and fuel and restocked some groceries. Most marinas I have been in you can look into the water and see the sea floor at low tide, but this is a deep-water marina which means it is built on water that in some places is almost 200 ft deep. We saw several people fishing from their boats, in the marina, and catching huge salmon and halibut.

You are seeing something I never thought would happen. George and I are both wearing Crocs. A friend shared that they are great boat shoes so we took a risk and guess what? They really are. They are comfy, work well for wading, dry fast, grip wet rocks and the boat deck, are great for hiking, and are totally non-slip. That is more than I can say for my 'real' boat shoes.

Pulling into Kwatsi Bay a few days ago brought tears to my eyes. This is the most beautiful place we have visited. Here we sit at the bottom of craggy cliffs and huge mountains and I can't get over it.

On the way toward the bay we passed many sheer granite cliffs. These in the picture are no more than 150 feet away while the next picture shows our depth there. Amazing.

The areas we have been in lately are true fjords. Huge mountains, deep water, and beautiful stone cliff faces. They are not easy places to anchor since they are very deep and have few shallow places along the shore. The deepest we can safely anchor is about 80 feet, and we have done that. We prefer anchoring in 20-40 feet.

Our second night at Kwatsi it poured rain, but I knew from reviews good things would come from it. We hiked back to a little waterfall yesterday that from the boat we could hear but not see. This morning we could hear many more waterfalls long before the clouds thinned, and then we saw these beautiful falls, plus several others as we made our way out. It is magical.