A Vacation in Plain Sight

I have never had a vacation where I could look out from my cabin and see my house across the bay. But that’s what happened this weekend. Living at my house is already kind of like being on vacation. My front door is 100 feet above Jamestown Bay, and I have sunset views half the year, I can see our volcano from home and can watch whales, sealions and fishing boats.

**My house is the blue dot in the upper right. Twin Island is marked in the lower left.**

But at Twin Island Retreat, I can hear the tide run, gurgling through the rocks outside my window and under the boardwalk that leads to our cabin. Looking from cabin my window I see the intertidal zone’s colorful “garden “ It’s almost like snorkeling, which some guests here do. On Saturday morning the sun came out after a day of storm and reflected off the water casting patterns on the cabin ceiling. That doesn’t happen at 100 feet. For the weekend we had the micro view rather than the macro. Being at Twin Island Retreat brought back memories of sending the kids and their friends out camping on Minett Island in Jamestown Bay, which sits between our house and the resort. They could row out in the dingy, build their fire, and feel independent and never be out of our sight.

We won Sitka Chamber of Commerce promotion to persuade folks to get their COVID jabs. If you got the shots, you were entered into a drawing to win prizes. For those who had already gotten jabs they had a special drawing. I got drawn and won two nights at Twin Island Retreat, four cabins connected by boardwalk to each other, a lodge, a gym, sauna and hot tub.

Merri and Larry pampered us. Merri is a great cook, fresh baked scones in the morning, and meals made with an eye to my allergies. They also have a good wine selection. We caught up on reading in and conversation with Larry and Merri, who have some great stories to share in front of the fireplace. I guess we have some to share too. Then there were the sweats and soaks. Because of a storm we did not get to have the wine cruise (or the half day of fishing, our choice) but on the final day the storm had unexpectedly moved on and we had a beautiful sunny morning to enjoy before heading back to town.