Sunday, October 19, 2008

Kenmore Airlines to Camp Orkila

As far as I know there’s no law forcing us to do it, but for some reason it seems like all Mercer Island fathers enroll in the Y-Guides program of the Lake Heights Family YMCA, a highlight of which is when we dutifully schlepp our kids to Camp Orkila, in the San Juan Islands each October.  Usually they try to schedule it on a cold and rainy weekend, but this year it was absolutely beautiful.

The fathers in my tribe were too busy at work to take the 4+ hour trip via ferry, so instead we did something different: we flew on the Northwest’s own Kenmore Airlines, which has a fleet of seaplanes that take off from Lake Union.  I can’t believe I haven’t done this before!  Instead of a long, roundabout drive up I-5 and over a ferry, we were at our destination in only 40 minutes.

Camp Orkila from the air

The prices are pretty reasonable, considering the time saved.  For about $100/person each way, we saved about a day of our weekend in travel time.  The plane literally landed us right on the beach of Camp Orkila.

Kenmore Air at Camp Orkila beach

Getting there is half the fun, of course.  Nothing like flying around the Space Needle in 9-seater airplane.

I haven’t had this much fun in the air since last year when a friend took us up in his private plane and we flew over Mercer Island.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mention the great job of our Chief in taking a refreshing dip for the team.

Anonymous said...

Flying certainly contributed more to your carbon footprint. Better to carpool and walk on in Anacortes. Not every family, even on Mercer Island, can afford a $400+ plane ride to Orkila.

Richard Sprague said...

How do you know it contributed to my overall carbon footprint? Did you account for overall time saved, the fact that the plane would have flown anyway, other damage caused by alternative driving on the freeway, etc.?

Anonymous said...

You certianly rationalize any plane trip with that argument. I can't quantify it, but I imagine if you drove your Prius and walked on to the ferry your carbon footprint is less than flying in an airplane, even taking into account the car's emissions, wear on the hightway, the ferry, etc. You are right flying saved you time, but sometimes it takes more time to have less of an impact on the environment. With that logic I should always drive rather than walk or ride my bike because it "saves time." Just some thougths. When my son is in third grade we plan to fly to Orkila as a treat for his four years with Y-Guides. Until then, it's the ferry for us.

Richard Sprague said...

But wait! The time I saved was spent at work, developing a new technology that's going to have a much bigger impact on carbon emissions than the puny, immeasurably small amount of my plane ride.

With so little time to waste before the planet is ruined, wouldn't you prefer I maximize the time I spend working?