050. escape to anderson island
slow travel pod trip
It’s summer, which means it is time for our annual Pod Trip. As difficult as it was to wrangle four stupidly busy schedules, it worked out this time that all four of us OG Podmates got to go on our little camping adventure this time — which hasn’t happened since 2021.
Read about the Pod Trip tradition and what it means to me on my 2024 post about it (unpaywalled for all!):
Anderson Island was the destination for our little getaway this year. While it is only 1.5 hours from Seattle, it was still remote and intriguing. None of us had visited it before or even knew much about it.
The area where I grew up was lacking in islands, let alone islands accessible by public transit, so it still feels novel and exciting to access a chunk of land separate from all the rest. Each one is its own little world.
However, these little worlds are often not trying very hard to entice people to come visit. To quote visitandersonisland.com: “There’s nothing here.”
Anderson has 1 cafe, 1 restaurant, 1 general store/post office, 1 historical museum. There main attractions there are some hiking trails, but none are so special to be worthwhile to cross the water for. There is also a derelict ferry rusting away in a bay — but again, maybe not worth going too far out of your way for.
But there was a Hipcamp site (basically Airbnb for camping) that looked decent, and no better ideas, so we booked it. If nothing else, it would help me advance my goal of taking every ferry in Washington State.
With the short list of things to do on island, the trip would be more about Quality Time than fulfilling a busy itinerary. Time together like that is such a luxury.
We drove our packed-to-the-gills car onto the ferry at Steilacoom dock. The boat was much more full than I expected for a late morning on a random Tuesday. On the 30 minute ride, we got a nice view of some harbor porpoises swimming in the Sound, and gawked at the forbidden McNeil Island just north of Anderson — the only thing on it is a controversial Special Commitment Center. (Getting on that ferry is going to be tough!)
The day was clear, so at the campsite we got to enjoy an amazing view of Tahoma (Mt Rainier) from a different angle than we usually see her. Stringing up two hammocks between douglas firs, we relaxed in the shady, flower-filled meadow and caught up on life, and learned some swear words in Mandarin. (“P R” — IYKYK.)
Even though it wasn’t far at all from Seattle, I felt much relief to be away from the day to day grind and calmed in the presence of my friends.
We hiked, lounged, ate a campsite dinner, and played rummikub by headlamp (as is tradition), and went to sleep. The next morning we packed up and had a slow cozy morning.
But then, just before we were supposed to leave the island, disaster struck.
Paid subscribers get that story in their inbox tomorrow.
I’m so bad for that cliffhanger lollllllllllllllll
It’s July already! Almost exactly a year ago, I was invited to present at the 2025 Chicago Sketch Seminar, and the event is finally here — So I’m going to Chicago this week for that. Last time I visited dear Chicago was in 2017 for the Urban Sketchers Symposium, which changed the course of my life. So much has changed since then, and I’m so excited to visit again.
Immediately after Chicago, then it’s time for Sketcherfest in Edmonds, Washington. On top of the wonderful programming at that event, there are also many ad-hoc sketching outings. I absolutely LOVE showing visitors the best of Western WA, so this is a special treat for me.
ALSO I have some work in the window at ArtSpot in Edmonds this month and will be hanging out at the shop for Edmonds Artwalk on Thursday July 17. Come by if you’re in town! It’s a great art supply store run by the sweetest (and best organized) people around. I have a workshop in September there too.
Those things have been a lot to prepare for… but that means it’s going to pay off soon and be a great time 😮💨
I have several Substack pieces languishing in the drafts folder for a while and it’s time to get them out in the world... So look out for those coming soon. Thanks for reading y’all.
— Eleanor (linktree)
I'm arriving in Edmonds on Thursday afternoon for SketcherFest, so I'll definitely swing by ARTspot that evening and say hi! Do you know if there are any adhoc sketching gatherings on Friday?
Dang... gonna pop some corn for the next episode! 😆 I assume you've taken the water taxi to/from West Seattle? I love it that only pedestrians and bicycles are allowed... it feels so easy, like a bus or light rail (but on water, of course)! And so much more pleasant than driving on the W. Seattle bridge.