Gibsons Landing

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

We spent the day with brother, John, and his wife, Joanne, and had a homecooked dinner of ribs and berry pie. YUM! The next day, we left Oak Harbor after a break in the 40 knot winds to head to La Conner. It was still a little breezy when we left, but after we rounded Strawberry Point, the seas were calm and the wind was behind us.

Brother John and Wife Joanne In Oak Harbor

We spent one night in La Conner then headed to Bellingham, where we stayed two days. Our friends, Tom and Louise Greene, came by for a visit and we went out for dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant. We stayed the extra day in Bellingham to let the weather calm down a bit.

Tom & Louise With Dexter

We met Graeme and Wanda Manning on “Electra” from Point Roberts and traveled with them from Oak Harbor to Bellingham. They gave us tips for entering Point Roberts as it can be rather shallow. We went to dinner with them at a quaint little restaurant on the water after arriving in Point Roberts. The food was good and we enjoyed our visit with them and Diesel, their sheep dog. They also brought along some of their “private reserve” wine which we shared with them. We spent a quiet night at Point Roberts Marina and left early to catch the favorable tide and calm winds to round the Fraser River Delta on our way to Vancouver. The sea gods took pity on us traversing the Straits of Georgia after our “crossing from hell” last year. We have never seen the Straits of Georgia so calm!

We were not lucky enough to get reciprocal moorage in Coal Harbor in Vancouver, so we stayed in False Creek at the government dock for a mere $60 a night! We met up with Carrie and Steve Hales, our friends from Yuma that live in Richmond, BC. We went to dinner with them at “Earl’s” and did a little reprovisioning at Safeway. “Earl’s” is a trendy, reasonably priced restaurant with very good food. Carrie brought some Tim Horton’s donut holes that we enjoyed along with some almonds and wine they brought before going out. We made the mistake of leaving them on the table when we left, and Max and Maddie took that as a sign that we meant for them to have some while we were gone. Needless to say, Max and Maddie were thrilled! I think we must have gotten home a little early as one of the donut holes had to be quickly hidden under the stuffed rabbit behind Ron’s chair to save for later. We were sure we would see those donut holes again, but we got lucky. However, we did see the almonds that they had also eaten on our walks over the next two days - undigested!

"Violet A" Secured For The Day

We left early on Monday morning to head north to Gibson’s Landing Marina. We are enjoying traveling a different route and staying in new destinations to Desolation Sound. Our usual route takes us up through the Gulf Islands with a trip across the Straits of Georgia. Heading north from Bellingham to Point Roberts is not the preferred route for boaters because of the windy conditions common from Point Roberts to Vancouver, but it turned out great and we saved a day by taking it.

Gibson's Marina

We left early on Monday morning to head north to Gibson’s Landing Marina. We are enjoying traveling a different route and staying in new destinations on our way to Desolation Sound. Our usual route took us up through the Gulf Islands with a trip across the Straits of Georgia which can be challenging. Heading north from Bellingham to Point Roberts is not the preferred route for boaters because of the windy conditions common from Point Roberts to Vancouver, but it turned out great and we saved a day by taking it.

Gibson’s Landing is a popular tourist destination with a large fishing fleet. Molly’s Reach was the back drop for the longest running Canadian television series, “The Beachcombers.” There is a museum, fun shops and a variety of restaurants along the waterfront within walking distance of the marina. Most are closed on Monday’s, so plan your trip to Gibson’s. The marina suggests reservations in the summer and they have good amenities, fuel and a pleasant, helpful staff. We also had sunshine while at Gibson’s (finally!) and there is a gorgeous view of the snow covered mountains to the northeast from the bay.