Strawberry Festival 2015

Just some photos from the parade.

Vashon Fireworks

This is an odd post really.  You see we have never actually spent a 4th of July on Vashon Island.  In fact, we have never celebrated Independence Day in the Seattle area!  Every year, on accident we find ourselves traveling elsewhere.  Without too much recollection we have spend 4th of July in Whistler BC, Wenatchee, Chicago...yup we are always travelling.

Every year though the social media networks of Vashon are loaded with the question, "Where is the best place to watch fireworks on Vashon?"  So based on other people's responses and experiences I offer advice from them!

• If watching from a distance try KVI
• Park your car and walk down to Jensen point on the Burton Loop
• Apparently you can sit on one of the hills on the Country Club Golf course and enjoy the show!

Good luck finding a place to view the show!

Heights Water

Vashon's water supply is divided into districts.  There is water district 19, Westside water, dockton water, Heights water to name a few.  Anyway, yesterday there was apparently there was a water main break in the Heights Water line.

For more information look here.

Apparently they are hoping to get it fixed today (June  25, 2015).

A neighbor mention it to our childcare provider that we were on a boil order. We had a little trickle for awhile but alas for over 24 hours now we have not had water.  This sucks.  I have children.  Dirty children and children who take bottles, and who poop their pants need baths or at least wet washclothes.  Mamas who get spit up on and who are cleaning up children's messes need to be able to wash their hands.

I am also somewhat concerned that if there was a boil order in place for the water that was part of our trickle...that they didn't do a better job communicating that? I mean, was my infant exposed to e-coli??

Either way no on is sick. So I don't need to escalate things but for the first 20 hours it was an inconvenience.
For the last 4 it has been a pain in the A$$.

I hope it gets fixed soon.
For more information look here.

Oh, and of course I realize that water access is a serious issue in many parts of the world and that this is a tiny experience of what many experience regularly in terms of scarcity of water...yes yes. #firstworldproblems

Vashon Realtors

So  I don't know how people usually choose a realtor.  Maybe they read reviews and such, but we received a recommendation from a friend and it worked well for us.  We have only purchased a house- never sold- and when we bought our house there was so little on the market that I just feel like we cannot know if our realtor was good or not- Her job was easy when it came to our house purchase...

But here is one of the best things about realtors on Vashon- a lot of them let you use moving trucks for free! As if moving isn't expensive and a pain enough it's great to save a couple of hundred bucks and have a truck at your disposal. We did all of our move in just one day but I know a couple of people who have borrowed it for a couple of weekends in a row.

M/V Sally Fox- Vashon Water Taxi

So we have a new Water Taxi (as of April 2015).

The M/V Sally Fox is a lovely vessel.
In the past the 5:30 has often been full during midweek rides.  Thus, being turned away after the last minute and having to wait an hour for another boat.  However, with the larger capacity (over 200!) of The Sally Fox  no one will beturned away from a full boat.  Ridership is up (so maybe over time we will fill it??) and I get why.
No more super stinky bathrooms.
No more damp (and moldy?) carpeting.
No more anxious fear that you aren't going to get on.
No more leaving work a bit early to make sure you get in the front of the line...


Thanks King County Tax Payers.
I really appreciate your support!

Want to know more:

King County Water Taxi
Wikipedia link on the water taxi

Tranquil and Peaceful Island life

Sometimes the view isn't so clear....

There is a mythology that people have about Vashon...that is it peaceful & tranquil.  The idea that all your neighbors are nice, all people are watching out for each other, and that kindness abounds is no more true here than it is anywhere.

In fact, when you have relationships with people you don't like here (aka enemies) you are more likely to run into them here than you are in a larger and more cosmopolitan area.  My partner was recently accosted by a former (and probably mentally ill) landlord.  My anxiety skyrocketed when I saw a former employee who I had to "let go" at the park today....all in all it's not perfect.

The reality is that life can be wonderful wherever you are....and life can be miserable wherever you are...and for most if it life is in the middle!

On a greater scale the dysfunction of non-profits, businesses, and other things are more present, simply because in a small town one possesses a greater awareness of their surroundings.

On the other hand the care that neighbors possess for one another reveals itself to a greater degree here on the Island.  On Vashon you wave at your neighbors, you learn the faces of grocery store employees, you trust that you would find each other in the case of an emergency.  All in all though  I think that this is the case in cities as well...we just aren't as aware of it.

What do you think?

Easter Sunday Ferry Traffic

So I cannot say that traffic is always bad on Easter during the late morning.  But I can say that in 2015 we were desperate to get home to Vashon sometime around 11 and the line was long in Seattle. Very long.