Out and About on the Boat

For the past 8 days we have been on the family boat cruising the San Juan and Gulf Islands in Washington and Canada. We started our journey where the boat is moored in Anacortes, spent two nights at Friday Harbor, two nights at Roche Harbor, and have spent the past 5 nights at one of our favorite annual travel spots, Victoria, BC. It's quite "cozy" accomodations with 3 toddlers, 4 adults, and 2 big dogs packed onto a 40 foot boat (similar to a large RV) - but you get the "rhythm" down of getting out of each others' way, setting up and tearing down 3 pack n' play portable cribs, keeping your stuff put away, and stacking dirty diapers into a nice, stinky heap on the passageway right outside the sliding door. It's been a little bit of a challenge to let the kids get outdoor playtime - but we have improvised slightly by at least getting them outdoors and off the boat for a significant amount of time each day. They've been able to play at several parks, go for rides on the dinghy with daddy, and take little walks on foot, but I think the neatest thing they have done almost every single day is go on a special 1-2 hour walk with daddy each morning! Robert started working out at 6:00 each morning a few weeks ago and while I thought being on the boat would make his new routine a bit difficult to maintain, he has faithfully woken up each morning, dressed the kids and packed their backpack full of diapers and snacks, loaded them in the huge triple jogging stroller, and taken them with him on a long, hilly walk around the island. What special time with Daddy! And what a great tour of Victoria for them all!