This month we flew out to Seattle and spent a week in the San Juan Islands with our cousins, and it was perfection. As kids, my cousin Lauren and I used to dream about a couples trip someday, and this trip to Lopez Island & Whidbey Island completely knocked it out of the park. We hiked, saw orcas, enjoyed the late sunsets, played lots of cabin games and enjoyed a perfect mix of adventures and cozy slow days together. We will be reminiscing on and enjoying memories of this special week for years.

We started out on Whidbey Island, and enjoyed several days at an airbnb perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. We hiked Ebey’s Landing, the boys braved the cold water to paddle board, we cooked delicious dinners and enjoyed wine on the porch with the late sunsets (the sun set past 9pm!).

We then took the ferry to Lopez Island for the second half of the week, and very quickly all said to each other that we’d come back there again anytime, it’s so special. We did a whale watch and spent time with a pod of orcas (there are three lined up in the picture below!), wandered the farmers market, bought some fresh bread, and played many many round of Anomia. If you haven’t played this game, I highly recommend it. It was new to me and wow it’s hilarious and competitive and we could play for hours on end.

In coaching we talk a lot about values. We spend time identifying values, and explore what it looks like and feels like to live a life honoring your values. Time spent aligned with your values is often associated with a feeling of resonance, that life feels like you, and things have meaning, whereas orienting toward values that perhaps aren’t yours can create a sense of dissonance.

This week in the PNW was a time of living a life aligned to my values, through and through. I have a strong value of specialness. To me, specialness is a version of quality time that’s tender, unique, perhaps fleeting, but feels like a moment you’ll treasure forever. Slow days spent with our cousins, was this to the core.

Part of what made this trip so special, is it also honored my value of legacy. Growing up my cousin Lauren and I heard stories about an epic ski trip our parents took together as a double date vacation to Europe. We’d heard about the endless laughter, the wrong turns, the four of them rolling with whatever came with such joy of togetherness. This story became even more precious as my mom died when I was a young kid, and I held on to stories like this. Lauren and I grew up promising each other we’d do an epic trip with our husbands someday too.

This trip was a long time coming, we got to have our own double date trip, and also feel the love of seeing our husbands become such good friends. I felt such a savoring sense of legacy.

We toasted one night to the good old days we’ll look back on is that moment, together.