A few weeks ago,  we had a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest. Many people think that since I’m from Miami I am used to heat waves of over 100 degrees.

Well, not really. When I grew up in Miami, we had heat waves that would take temperatures into the 90’s. Rarely did it go into 100 degrees and up. Besides, most  homes have air conditioning in the South Florida area.

So, when my husband and I found out it was going to go up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit in Seattle, we both said, “Yeah. No.”

My husband planned the perfect cool get away for us! It was a family trip with our four-year old son and we were headed to the picturesque San Juan Island. It was supposed to only go up to 83 degrees! YES!

As we drove the hour to the ferry boat, we checked the temperature of San Juan Islands. The cool 83 degree forecasted weather had shifted to 91!

Despite the weather being almost ten degrees warmer than we expected, we were wise enough to remember to be thankful–thankful that it wasn’t 116 degrees!

One of the highlights of our time on the island was our visit to Pelindaba Lavender. It was fragrant, beautiful and  so serene. My son, husband and I enjoyed their lavender flavored ice cream. Yummy!

We got home later that night and were glad that it was cooler. Ahhhh.

Sometimes technology makes us feel like we can outsmart Mother Nature. We weren’t able to escape the heat wave, but we were able to get away to a cooler part of the scorching heatwave.

Isabelle Hardesty has always had a love of magic and nature and weaves this into her books.  Her favorite things include silly socks and yummy chocolate. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Hardesty is a Miami native and writes OWNVOICES work. Find her novel THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR on Amazon.