A REAL VACATION! Part 1

It's pretty unusual for me to get an actual vacation. I know teachers seem to have the coolest schedules ever -- random holidays off, 2 weeks for winter break, 1 week for spring break, 2 months for summer break... But it's quite rare for me to really get to go anywhere or have time when my schedule is clear. School might be over, but the business of the district goes on (and on and on and on). And Mr. Chandler and I foolishly sign our summers away to run day camps for children, which keeps us Portland-locked the entire time. As school was getting out this year, I kept telling people, "Feel free to call me. I'm the only one who's not going anywhere. I have no life. I'm here all summer..." (*depressed sigh*)

HA HA! I was wrong! We had a rare and glorious 4-day weekend because of the timing of July 4th this year, so we rented ourselves a little cottage on Samish Island in the San Juans of Washington. It's cheap, gorgeous, deserted, and within 30 minutes of several small and medium towns with all the necessary amenities (like espresso). Our cottage is on a 7-acre estate owned by some people with a LOT of gardening time on their hands. They have created a beautiful English estate-style garden/yard/expanse of pretty green right on the edge of the island. We can see the water from our cottage window, and if we walk to the edge of the garden, we can look out Samish Bay.

Here are the peaceful grounds and water view.




This is our little cottage.




This is the main house and part of the gardens.