The Cabin was built in '62. Dad built it. After a summer job on Orcas Island in the late '40's, Dad fell in love with the San Juans and vowed to return. In the early 60's he and Mom had a young family and wanted a summer retreat. They looked on Orcas and San Juan, trying to find a spot with a view and a beach. Rocky shores typify the islands and a good beach isn't easy to find. One rainy October day in '61, they bushwhacked off the road to a waterfront parcel for sale. That was it. The thought was 'if it looks this good in October in the rain, think of what it will look like in July'.
After a winters worth of planning, a foundation went up and a flat bed truck full of precut tongue and groove cedar logs arrived. Using no nails, the walls went up and after scavaging Goodwill, the cabin was furnished. Grass mats, an old coffee table, and a $5 claw footed tub from a cow pasture formed the early furnishings.
Dad built the original kitchen cabinets, but forgot the toe kick. For years anyone going to do the dishes would step up to the sink and stub their toes against the base of the cabinets. For those first few years, Mom did the wash on a washboard in that old tub.
My early summers started the moment that last bell rang at school. Running out to the school parking lot there would be a white surburban loaded to the gills with stuff. Stuff crammed in back, stuff tied on top, stuff everywhere. The only empty place was a patch of seat just big enough for my rear with my feet resting on the family dog. Off we'd go, headed to the island for the summer. A summer full of beach combing, eating peanut butter sandwiches in the tree house, and building rafts on the beach. I think back then I had a short attention span. I could only spend 8 or so hours on the beach at a time.
Today the cabin is different, but just as special. The original coffee table is still there, but the top has been refinished. The $5 tub is still there (with a cool brass faucet and shower head that was nearly 100 times more expensive than the tub). The grass mats are gone.
The kitchen was redone a few years ago. Nice cabinets have been installed. With a tow kick. The 60's era yellow cone shaped fireplace has been replaced with a vintage looking propane stove operated with a remote control (push button fire - still amazes me). We put in double pane windows a few years ago and each year something is replaced, renewed or refurbished. It's now very comfortable. As is the house Mom and Dad built next door, demoting the cabin to 'guest house' status.
The view is something I'll never get tired of. I remember when I was about 5 catching my first ling cod out in front and looking at that view. Nearly a half century later, the view is still the same. The style of boats going by in front has changed, but the view to the east framing Mount Baker rising over Jones and Orcas Islands hasn't changed at all.
