San Juan Island, Washington, U.S.A.
Day 1 ~ A Fly, Drive and Sail Kinda Day
After a short flight, we made it to Seattle and you guessed it! It was raining! It looked like the weather on San Juan Island was horrendous so it was a good thing we ran into my brother-in-law, who lives in Belgium but was on a business trip in Seattle. What are the odds! We drove to Serious Pie and Biscuit to eat breakfast consisting of biscuits topped with just about anything. (fried chicken, ham, eggs, gravy, bacon, pepper relish, peanut butter…) Now that our stomachs were happy, we dropped off my brother-in-law and his coworker at the train station before continuing on to the ferry terminal in Anacortes.
Because I was unable to purchase a ticket to drive on board the ferry, we parked the car and simply walked on.
By the time we made it to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, it had stopped raining. We checked in at our hotel The Island Inn at 123 West, a sparkling clean, contemporary decorated boutique hotel within walking distance of the ferry terminal. Next, we walked to M&W Rentals to pick up our used rental car. And old and used it was! The a/c didn't work and windows had to be rolled down manually. That this pre-1990’s car didn’t have a central locking system also took some getting used to!
At Lime Kiln Point State Park, a.k.a. Whale Watch Park, we were hoping to glimpse humpback whales and orcas. Sadly, we had no such luck. But, the evening light was soft and we were able to take beautiful pictures of the in 1919 built, picturesque lighthouse. At the bird feeder, Bert had fun taking pictures of the many visiting Rufous Hummingbirds.
We had time left to visit the Whale Museum. While cute and very informative, it was mainly geared towards kids. Nevertheless, I bought a very cool looking water bottle with a Haida orca design. Haida Art refers to the Pacific Northwest Coast native art style. Drawings consist of very structured and gracefully flowing lines in striking colors. Often, the ocean is used as inspiration in the art works.
At Cask and Schooner Public House we ate dinner. It was a perfect place to eat pub food and sample local brews.
Day 2 ~ Orcas!
Skies were blue and the sun was out. It was a perfect day for our orca watching trip with Maya’s Legacy. Right outside of Friday Harbor, on a small strip of rocks, we spotted a colony of the world’s largest sea lions. Every winter, these Steller Sea Lions migrate to their feeding areas in the Salish Sea. Perched next to these giants, were at least a dozen Bald Eagles. It was a mighty sight!
Captain Jeff, the captain of our vessel, was constantly in contact wit the other boats. So far, only 2 humpback whales had been seen and no orcas. So the passengers were given the choice of continuing the search for orcas or heading to the place where the humpback whales were hanging out. The vote was unanimous! Orcas it was! It took another 2 hours before we were rewarded with a glimpse of the T101 Bigg’s (transient) Killer Whale family . This family, that will stay together for the rest of their lives, consisted of mom and her 3 humongous sons ages 22, 26, and 35 respectively. The boys’ dorsal fins were gigantic and were the size of a fully grown man! It was simply amazing to see these majestic creatures gliding through the water!
Spending time on the water made us hungry so we bought a sandwich and decided to have a picnic at the San Juan Island National Historical Park, more specifically at American Camp. At this location, in 1859, U.S. soldiers build their camp during the American/British occupation of the island. The joined occupation was agreed upon until the water boundary line between the two nations could be settled. The British established their camp on the opposite side of the island.
The views from our lunch area were incredible and I could totally understand why this is a prime spot for whale watching. Unfortunately, we were not that lucky and on top of that the loud people rather spoiled the peaceful scenery.
We drove to where the road dead-ends and walked the short trail to the gorgeous lagoon. We didn't encounter a single soul! Aaaaah, the perfect way to enjoy nature.
We skipped a visit to South Beach, the longest public beach on the island, because there were so many tourists on the beach, it wasn’t even funny!
Instead, we headed to the Cattle Point Lighthouse, a small white beacon perched on the top of a cliff. Views from the bluff were magnificent and the vista of the Strait of Juan Fuca with the Olympic Mountains as its backdrop were phenomenal.
On the walk back we noticed a deer and a black red fox. The latter was incredibly cute and fluffy with its white-tipped bushy tail.
Bert found a map that showed a tour along local artist’ studios. It was very disappointing because no signs could be find indicating the location of the studios. I guess we can say we really saw the interior of the island.
Our dinner reservation was at Downriggers, a family owned restaurant conveniently located across the street from our hotel. Even though we enjoyed our food, it wasn’t very spectacular. However, the water and ferry views from the dining room and the deck cannot be beaten!
Day 3 ~ Back Home
In the morning, we dropped off our car, ate a breakfast sandwich, walked back to the hotel to pick up our bags and made our way back to the ferry. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed the views on route to Anacortes. Our drive to Seattle was uneventful., except for the many traffic jams. by the time we were at the airport, it was dinner time. We ate a quick bite before boarding and flying back to the crazy Bay Area.