Heather, Hayden and I had a BLAST making the Round Shaw race into Hayden’s first camping adventure, and all-around awesome San Juan experience. We lined up for the Friday afternoon ferry in Anacortes the recommended 2 hours early, and spent the time taking turns on the stand-up paddleboard in the bay next to the ferry terminal. Another car in the line unloaded onto the lawn an entire bluegrass band and played an incredible free concert for us tourists. It was the best wait ever!

Hayden LOVED the camp-out, and is still going on about it this morning. On race day, he and I teamed up (with the help of a front-carrier) to time the racers ripping through 14 miles of flat water, while Nick Zeegers expertly stood in for his dad as official race manager.

As the last boat pulled in, we unloaded a box of ribbons to the 20 hardcore entries in this rootsiest of races. Then we spent the next few hours telling stories and sharing laughs with Jimmy and Nadja, before they loaded up and paddled off to camp on yet another San Juan island beach. Those two are charging life so, so sweetly!!!

We made one more stop before heading home: at the home of our extended family, the Ayers, on San Juan Island for a night of feasting and fine wine. We caught the late ferry and a nice nap before driving the 1 hour back home, fell promptly asleep dreaming of the incredible adventure, and woke up to the most pleasant of nature’s alarm clocks: A mid-August Pacific Northwest storm!!! Ahh, life is good!

Overall:

1) MX-2X Evan Jacobs and Susan Kinney, 1:42:50

2) MX-2X Rob O’Brian and Theresa Batty 1:44:24

3) M-2X Adrian and Rainer Storb, 1:45:36

4) M-1X Robert Meenk, 1:46:55

5) M-HPK Joost Zeegers, 1:48:30

6) HPK2-M Larry Goolsby / Rick Lingbloom, 1:54:40

7) M-HPK John Day, 1:55:40

8) OC-6 from Friday Harbor, 1:57:09

9) W-HPK Heather Nelson, 1:59:43

10) MX-2X Howard and Amanda Lee, 2:00:54

11) M-HPK Mike Gregory, 2:01:48

12) M-HPK Reivers Dustin, 2:03:57

13) M-RIII Bill Jaquette, 2:11:56

14) M-RIII Ben Stevens, 2:15:30

15) PB-1 Michael Lampi, 2:22:18

16) M-RIII Bill (Armstrong?), 2:22:55

17) SK2 Jimmy Zimmerman and Nadja Baker, 2:24:19

18) M-HPK Roger Lamb, 2:25:28

19) PB-1 Todd Loony, 2:48:17

20) W-RIII Martha Conn, 3:13:37

Brandon Nelson, Realtor

RE/MAX Whatcom County, Inc.

913 Lakeway Dr.

Bellingham, WA 98229

Office: 360-647-1313

Cell: 360-319-0696

Fax: 360-671-8022

E-mail: brandon@...