We follow the line of cars over the ramp and to the left side of the boat. We turn off the ignition, step onto the deck, and head upstairs to the open air where we’ll have a view. With two long “tooooots” of the horn, the ferry leaves Seattle and begins its 35 minute journey across the Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. Our new home.

Over the last three and a half years, we’ve journeyed to some of the very furthest corners of the Earth. The entire time, we’ve been on the lookout for the place that would truly feel like home to us. Our return to Los Angeles this past winter brought us exactly where we needed to go–on a number of levels–in order to prepare for one more move before we become a family of four.

For us, Bainbridge seemed to have it all, and since moving here in early June it has only gotten better. We are immersed in nature. Incredible Pacific Northwest forest–reminiscent of what we found in New Zealand–is everywhere, and we are surrounded by the calm waters of the sound. In the distance, to the West, are the snow-capped peaks of Olympic National Park, with Mount Rainier to the South. And to the East is Seattle, a short commute in one sense, but worlds away in another. Most importantly, there is a sense of community on this relatively small island that feels like it is almost of another time; and we’ve felt welcomed from the minute we arrived on the 5:45 ferry.

Like most experiences in life, the journey which brought us here included many ups and downs, moments of joy and moments of disappointment, times of ease and times of fear. As one of our friends likes to often say, “Fortune favors the brave.” It definitely feels like we pushed ourselves way outside our comfort zones and took some pretty bold chances along the way to landing in this place. Now that we are home, we feel grateful for having had the courage to take the steps we had to in order to get here (before baby #2 arrives!), and for everything else the universe has brought and continues to bring us.