over 100 islands

The San Juan Islands in Puget Sound are a magical, mystical place.  I am, nominally, at a retreat at Indralaya, a Theosophical retreat center. The retreat is based mostly on Buddhist mindfulness practice.

I'm kinda burned out on the trendy mindfulness push.  It doesn't mean whatever anyone wants it to mean, does it?  Maybe.

Fortunately, my friend's fiance is also bored with the retreat and he and I have played hookie today. Instead of spending the day in noble silence, we spent it in noble noise. We took a ferry from Orcas to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We met great folks waiting to walk on and had deep guffaw laughter.

One of the laughing walk-on told us about her son's early grunge rock band that sang 'satan satan satan' and sung of evil, on the beach with the noise drifting up to Indralaya retreatants. That night, her son's band, camping out on the beach, endured one of the harshest rainstorms ever, ruining musical equipment and giving the lads hardship. Karma is a bitch.

This funny woman told us the locals call Friday Harbor Sin City and it used to be that there was a seedy dive bar named Herb's. She said "I don't know if it is still around but it had constant police action."

Guess where my pal and I landed? Herb's is still there. We stumbled around looking for wifi and coffee and found a bar that had both. We decided to eat there, hung out with some of the gorgeous views one sees everywhere in the San Juans.

We met the woman on our return to Orcas ferry. She told us about a great, locals-only restaurant on a distant cove.

Our day in Noble Noise has been great so far. This guy and I only met on Saturday but we both feel like old friends. His fiance is loving the retreat and disappointed that we aren't as into it as her. It is testing their relationship, like all new engagements tend to be tested, eh? 

But Andrew and I are happy campers, having a blast.

And we are headed to Doe's Bay cafe, on the east side of Orcas. No sunset with dinner but it is still gonna be gorgeous cause every where one looks is gorgeous here in this magical place.

I am having a great time but not so much the retreat.

A German healer is going to give me a healing treatment tomorrow. And everyone at the retreat likes me after I confessed last night that I am warm and friendly but an introvert so it is hard to be surrounded by strangers. Now everyone asks me for hugs.  And I am free to say no if I don't feel like it and I am still loved.

I am blissed out and having a great retreat, just not the one officially being conducted.

I have learned a lot about myself this week, including during my visit with Ms. Peggy Sue.

more to come. Doe Bay awaits.