The
topic for September is “Feeling Nostalgic…kids going back to school…sharing our
roots, families and Fall traditions.”
I
want to talk about September as a boater, which is intricately tied to the
‘back to school’ calendar. Turns out, no
matter how old we are, we’re forever dependent on the ding-danged school
calendar!
Not
only was I a student in the public school system and attending college when
September was ‘a beginning,’ but I also taught high school English, followed by
several years as a high school principal.
The last week in August and the first week in September always signaled
a time for hard work, angst, excitement and tension.
You
would think that after I retired from my principalship, I’d be happily ignorant
of school starts. I wish!
For
the last fourteen years, the beginning of September means my husband and I,
aboard our forty-five foot trawler, Intrepid, turn our boat south and make way
to our marina slot in Anacortes, Washington.
On purpose, we hold back in British Columbia, waiting for the
‘get-ready-for-school’ boaters to head back to the U.S./Canadian mainlands. You should know that both countries share
the labor day weekend holiday, so the majority of boaters cruise south BEFORE
that weekend.
Parents,
grandparents and students alike, want to reach home a good week before school
starts. That means the oceans are ours
the last week in August. So we plan
carefully around the boat stampede. For
instance, we hit the gorgeous boating haven called Desolation Sound the last
week of August when the crowds have left.
Next we putt through the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands, gleeful not to
to dodge boats and their wakes. Once
we’ve slid into our slip in Anacortes, we’re smiling about a stressless,
traffic- free three month sojourn to the hinterlands of B.C. and back.
So
our Fall tradition, given the lovely temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest
in September, is to let the school-focused crowds empty our ocean playgrounds
so we can enjoy a pleasant trip south.
Have
you noticed this phenomena? Have you
tapped into it like we have? Are
resorts, cruise ships and other touristy venues empty by the last week in
August? If so, are prices down and
opportunities abounding? Curious minds
want to know!
Happy
Fall, everyone. Let’s hope the pace is
slower for you in the Fall as it is for those of us who are boaters! Rolynn
