Privacy RV-Style and a Trip to Ship Harbor

Laura enjoying the grass near site #118.

Privacy RV-Style

Laura doesn't like the openness of most pull-thru sites, so we usually select pull-in, or back-in sites.  One exception was a pull-thru site we had at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend.  The site created a lot of privacy.

The concept of privacy in the context of RVing is interesting.  Consider for a moment that different cultures construe privacy in different ways.  Even within the same culture, your experience of living in a city versus living in the suburbs may affect your expectations around privacy.  Privacy is often concerned with the appearance and functions of the body, property, thoughts, and emotions that an individual wishes to keep to themselves.  When we become more tightly compacted, we rely on the rules of politeness and good conduct to make the situation tolerable and to give us the illusion of privacy even when none physically exists.

The picture of Laura and her umbrella is a study of RVing privacy.  While Laura's piece of lawn is part of her site's slice of the pie, it is also next to her neighbor's and all of their outdoor furniture.  If we were all out there at the same time we'd be either speaking in hushed tones or trying not to eavesdrop on each other's conversations.  Unlike a crowded restaurant, there isn't enough white-noise to mask your conversation.  The experience I got a kick out of was when I lifted the mini-blinds one day and caught the attention of the five-year-old in the motorhome next to us twelve feet away.  He instantly says "hi" and starts chatting with me.  His grandmother, seated next to him, looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock and hide.  The five-year-old had broken through the invisible privacy wall we had constructed where we pretend like the other one isn't there.

Privacy RV-style.

Ship Harbor

Ship Habor is a strip of beach that faces Guemes Channel, and it is the home to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal that services the San Juan Islands.  In addition to having a wonderful nature preserve with boardwalks to explore, its beach is a great place to set a chair and watch the ebb and flow of the day.

The remains of the fish processing history of Ship Harbor.

The top of a piling shaped by sand and water.

The bits of sand, rocks, and shells move over the surface as the tide changes, and slowly sculpts the piling.

Remains of a salmon cannery.

Washington State Ferry.

A nice way to spend an afternoon after work.

Dale Mack at Ship Harbor, Anacortes.

After Dinner Walk

The two-mile walk out toward the oil refinery and back has become a favorite of Laura's and mine.  We enjoy all the wildlife we encounter, especially the seals.

Sunset on the train trestle.

Dusk calm.

It's funny how returning from a walk feels like returning home.  "Home" not something I thought about when we purchased the Safari motorhome, buy home it is.

Live well, Laugh often, Love much