After spending February through May working on the rivers of the Chesapeake Bay we wanted to get a bit of sunshine and relaxation before heading up to Nome, Alaska for another charting project. We’d heard good things about the island of Roatan, Honduras for the excellent snorkeling and diving. Roatan’s coral reefs are part of the Mesoamerican Reef, the second-largest barrier reef system in the world.

ROATAN ISLAND, HONDURAS

Since we were already on the east coast it was a fairly easy flight directly to the island of Roatan with a quick stop in Florida. We found a sweet rental house for less than $1,500 a month and were able to rent a 4×4 through the hosts for $800. Everything sounded perfect but we hadn’t counted on just how hot it would be in the middle of summer. The house was 30 steps from the water with a nice reef just beyond, and we even got to use our neighbor’s boat on occasion. Every few days we’d drive to one of the nearby resorts for a little change of scenery and pina coladas. Most resorts are happy to let you use their amenities for the day as long as you spend some money on food and drinks.

Our rental house (above) is just behind the dock on the right in the center of the drone photo below. Breakfast views from our porch Heading out for a snorkel with the neighbors from the dock we shared with a few other houses. The shallow water in front of the dock was well over 95 degrees. Further out it “cooled” to about 84-86.   One of the nearby resorts and our favorite: Paya Bay  Roatan has lots of over-water restaurants to take advantage of the Caribbean breezes. Another resort. This is where Mike got his scuba certificate. We took a day trip to Pigeon Key to snorkel.

Another resort. This one made an excellent Rum Punch. If you want more info on where we stayed send us a message.

WORKING IN NOME, ALASKA

After a month in Roatan, we headed back to Washington State to pack up for two months on a research ship in Nome, Alaska. When we arrived in Alaska the sun never set. By the end of the project, darkness was lasting several hours and on our last night aboard, the northern lights made an appearance. What an epic way to finish out the season.

HOUSESITTING IN WASHINGTON

Since leaving Alaska we have been doing some pet/house-sitting back in Washington. We are currently on our second sit and loving it. Both houses have amazing water views and the sweetest dogs. If you want to “hire” us to pet/housesit check out our profile. To get 25% off your own membership and become a pet sitter click here. A few of our friends have already signed up and found great places to stay.

MINIVAN CAMPING IN VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC

Between our two 2-week sits we had a week to head up to Vancouver Island. We did some camping in the minivan while the weather was nice and then headed to a little cabin in the forest with a hot tub when the rains came. We brought the inflatable kayak and paddle board and while out for a paddle, we saw Orca for the first time from a boat that small – wow.

For many more photos please visit our Photo Albums.

SUNSET OVER THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS

We made a full-length, real-time video of a sunset over Lopez Island. It’s 2.5 hours long and set to relaxing piano music. It’s great to play in the background on a big screen. Check it out and please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thank you!

GEAR USED TO FILM THIS VIDEO

GIMBAL CAM: https://amzn.to/3QNmP9i
FLEXIBLE TRIPOD: https://amzn.to/3rHhdFu

Thank you for watching!  If you like what you see, there are lots of ways you can show your support.