When he hears that fire alarm...

We had such a great time at Lonesome Cove on San Juan Island last fall that we booked a return trip this year.


For Miles, this meant an opportunity to take a much-anticipated ferry ride!

He was all set to join the crew.

Leo was pretty jazzed about it, too.


But the day's real excitement didn't begin until we landed in Friday Harbor. Because we had caught a much earlier boat than expected, the Saturday Public Market had not yet opened, so we parked ourselves at the friendly Mi Piace Coffee House. There was even a comfy couch and a DVD player for Miles to watch, so Mommy and Daddy could finally relax their guard and enjoy their coffee. Of course, they didn't notice that just behind Miles was a fire extinguisher. And just above that was a fire alarm.

No one saw it happen, but as soon as the alarm began bleating, we knew that somehow our little angel must be responsible. Unfortunately, it turns out that fire alarms--at least fire alarms in Friday Harbor--can't be turned off by anyone who is not an actual firefighter. No one in the shop fit that description (the closest thing we had was merely an aspiring one, and he had not exactly earned a merit badge by pulling the alarm). Still, as patrons clutched their ears and left half-eaten meals to drift into the street, Miles was the only one who stayed completely calm, reassuring anyone who would listen, "It's O.K.! It's not an emergency!"

We apologized profusely to the staff and, downing our coffee as quickly as humanly possible, left the largest tip in proportion to the bill that we had ever given in our lives. Out on the street our mortification only increased, as every shop on the block had emptied, and the alarm was seemingly audible throughout the entire town.


We drove sheepishly toward the market, only to see the entire San Juan Island Fire Department mustering for a sortie in full battle regalia. We stopped to assure them it was a false alarm, just an overeager toddler, they could put the truck away, really it would be quicker if someone just walked the two blocks over to the coffee shop and turned off the alarm. But no. They had to respond with every piece of equipment at their disposal. Standard procedure.

Miles didn't let the now infamous "Fire Alarm Incident" slow him down.

There was too much to do!

We arrived at beautiful Lonesome Cove and immediately began exploring the surroundings.

Yes, this place would do quite nicely.

Leo was in an expansive mood.

As the sun set over our little bay, we didn't dwell on the morning's misadventure. Nor did we put to much emphasis on any lessons to be learned, lest the correlation between pulling a fire alarm and the appearance of fire trucks become too obvious.