Lopez-- what we've told everybody

Hi guests! Here's the latest digest announcement we've sent to our guests for Lopez. See everybody there!




~ ~ ~

Bring warm clothes. It'll be chilly (mid/low 50s) the evening of the 11th, and the whole wedding's going to be outside.

Your cell phone and 3G probably won't work on the island (you can sometimes get a little signal in the village, but that's it), and neither will ours, so the best way to reach us during the week is the landline of the house where we're staying: (360) 468-3630. (This is the home of Kay and George Keeler; it's also where the wedding will be.)

Transport: When are you coming up and leaving, and where are you staying? Let us know! Do you have seats in your car, or need a ride to the island? Do you need a place to stay? Let us know that, too!

Please try to arrive on the 11th between 1 and 3PM for hang outs before the ceremony which starts at 3. The last ferry you can catch that day to be on time for the wedding, leaves Anacortes Ferry Terminal at 12:35 pm. So: If you're driving on, get to the terminal 2 hours early! (This would mean leaving Seattle by 8:30 am. Lines are long in the summer!) If you're walking on, get there 1 hour early! Walking on is much easier than driving on. You can pay to park at lots ($10 for 24 hours, $25 for 72 hours) right at the Anacortes terminal, and we'll have shuttles meeting every ferry to get people to their hotels/campsites, and to the wedding. Let us know if you'd like a shuttle pickup on Lopez!

The last ferry off the island on Saturday is 8:25 pm. We'll have a shuttle taking walk-on guests to the boat leaving Kay and George's at 7:30 pm. (If you're planning to drive off, it might be good to leave at 6:30 pm-- which is sad!-- another amazing reason to leave your car in Anacortes.) If you want a shuttle off on the night of the 11th, let us know.

We'll have some beer and wine to fuel dancing at the end of the reception, but BYOB if you're in the mood or want whiskey.

The wedding's going to be a half-potluck. We're cooking all the main dishes, but we would love it if guests could bring sides-- things like crackers, dips, veggies, fresh fruit.

If you're coming up the day of the wedding, get in touch: we'd love to have guests bring up flowers (in vases if you have them) for the dinner tables! It can be a hodgepodge, we just want color!

Speaking of things we'd like to borrow: Would you be willing to bring one of the following with you? If you bring it up, thank you! Please label your things, though, so we don't lose track of whose stuff is whose.

    Music stands
    Drink pitchers
    Strings of lights (plain or colored-- to decorate the tent)
    Extension cords


And that, if you can believe it, is all!

Lopez: Getting There and Getting Around

Hi guys! We've been getting questions about getting to Lopez Island and getting around once there. Here's some general info. (Again, if you have questions or concerns, please send us an email!)

Lopez Island is well north of Seattle: a 40 minute ferry trip following an hour-forty-minute drive to Anacortes, Washington.

 

Important information for day-of-wedding arrivals:

 

If you are planning to arrive the day of the wedding, there are three ferries that will “get you to the church on time” – departures from Anacortes at 6:20AM, 10:35AM and 12:35PM. (See ferry schedule here.) 

If you want to drive onto the island, get to the ferry at least two hours early. The 10:35 and 12:35 sailings are typically very full on Saturdays!  (See link about vehicle traffic conditions here.)  

To avoid the wait, you can park at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, and we'll pick you up at the Lopez terminal. This is cheaper, requires much less waiting, and reduces parking issues at the wedding. There are three lots at the terminal. Parking costs $10 for 24 hours, and $25 for 72 hours. (If you plan to walk on, get there an hour early: give yourself time to find a spot, pay, buy a coffee etc.) We will have shuttles meet any ferry which we know will have car-less guests!

How about getting back home, you ask? If you want to leave the island on Saturday after the wedding, the last ferry back to the mainland leaves at 8:25 pm. We'll have a shuttle for walk-ons, leaving Kay and George's house for the ferry at 7:45 pm. If you drove onto the island, we recommend that you find a hotel or campsite on the island rather than try to drive off the same day-- the wait times are too tough to predict. (Get in touch if this puts you in a bind.)

Getting There Without a Car:

Wedding Express Shuttle. We are working on getting someone to shuttle our guests between Seatac/Seattle and Anacortes Ferry terminal on June 10, June 11 and June 12.  Cost would be about $25 each way.  Please let us know if you are interested in this option and we will keep you posted…

Bellair Airport Shuttle. (This also makes a stop in downtown Seattle!) From Seatac airport you can take an airporter to Anacortes. The airporter takes 2½ hours to get to Anacortes. Insanely, the shuttle arrives about fifteen minutes AFTER the ferries leave, so you will have to arrive early and wait awhile for the next ferry.

Other carpools. We'll also have groups of friends driving up. Get in touch if you need a lift, or if you have an extra spot in your car.

Public Transit. Not for the faint of heart, but doable Monday to Friday only. From downtown Seattle, you can take the Sound Transit 510 bus north to the Everett Station. From the Everett Station, you can catch the Skagit Transit "County Connector" bus 90X north to the Mount Vernon Station. From the Mount Vernon Station, you can catch the Skagit Transit Route 615 to the March Point Park & Ride, and from there, the Skagit Transit Route 410 to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. Lord have mercy!

Victoria Clipper. This is a speedy boat that leaves from Seattle Ferry terminal at 7:45 on Saturday AM and goes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  You would then catch the ferry to Lopez which leaves 20 minutes after the Clipper arrives – VERY doable, but if you miss the ferry to Lopez you miss the wedding!  Costs around $65 round trip plus ferry to Lopez. See website here.

Seaplane to Lopez. Kenmore Air has scheduled flights to Lopez with shuttle to/from airport included. The scheduled flight for Saturday June 11 leaves the airport at 10:30 and gets you to Lopez by 12:30.  Cost is near $200.  Kenmore Air website here.  

OR if a group of you are going together you can charter a 6-seater seaplane from Kenmore Air to leave at a time of your choosing at the cost of about $163/person. We meet you at the seaplane port.

OR Kenmore Air also flies to the lovely town of Friday Harbor. This is also Kenmore Air; it would require a ferrytrip from Friday Harbor to Lopez. See Kenmore Air wheeled plane schedules here. There might be options to charter a wheeled plane to land at the Lopez Airport, which is right next door to the wedding site!

Directions:

Directions by Car to Anacortes Ferry: From Seattle you take I-5 north toward Anacortes. Take exit 226 to Rt 536 west, and follow it to Rt 20 west for about 10 miles, to a right turn on Commercial, and a left onto 12th which becomes Oakes. From there, follow signs to ferry terminal. Take the ferry to Lopez Island.

 

Directions on Lopez Island: (See the detailed map of Lopez in earlier post.) If you are on foot, just relax and enjoy the sound of the seagulls and wait for the shuttle. If you have a car, then drive off the ferry, go 2.1 miles on Ferry Road. Continue on Fisherman Bay Road for 5 miles. Turn Right at Airport Road and go 0.4 miles. Take the first left on Shark Reef Road and go 0.7 miles. Look for signs to the wedding!