The
Travelogues of Diane and Dave
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The
Travelogues of Diane and Dave
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Introduction: This is Part 1 of our 2 week summer vacation in Washington state. We were looking for a location that the whole family could enjoy and which was near Seattle, which is where Diane’s over-worked sister lives. After some research and interrogation of friends, we decided on the San Juan Islands north of Seattle, The San Juan Islands are a small archipelago located between the Washington coast and Vancouver Island. Access is via air or ferry. For ferry access check out the Washington State Ferry system website. We rented a small, 5 bedroom, 6 bath mansion on a hillside overlooking Eastsound on Orcas Island. We found the house via ReMax San Juan Realty. [ Note: the property is no longer available for rent, 2/2006] Day 1 (Saturday): Upon arrival at SeaTac airport in Seattle, we drove to Kathy’s apartment (Diane’s sister). Her Seattle apartment is on the western shore of Lake Washington. On a clear day, you can stand on her expansive balcony/patio and look eastward over the lake and easily see Mt. Rainier majestically rising above the horizon down to the south. Day 2 (Sunday): We got up leisurely in the morning and drove about 1 ½ hours north to Anacortes to catch the 12:00 Washington state ferry for Orcas Island. The 1 hour ferry ride to Orcas took us past several of the other small scenic islands. The islands reminded Dave of the Maine coast, rocky and forested with tall pine trees. Spotted here and there along the coastline were some very nice homes tucked into the woods with views out over the water. Looking back over the ferry wake we could see majestic Mt. Baker rising above the flat horizon.
When we got to Orcas Island in the early afternoon, it was too early
to check into our rental house, so we stopped off at the village of Eastsound,
ate lunch, and shopped.
Day 3 (Monday): Today was designated Whale Watching Day. We had reservations with Deer Harbor Charters to go on their whale watching cruise which left out of the harbor at Rosario Resort. Rosario Resort was a short 15 minute drive south of our house. It took about an hour of westward cruising thru the maze of islands to get over to Haro Strait which is between the San Juan Islands and Vancouver Island. There were already several other whale watching cruises out there floating about each jockeying for a good position. Two whale pods (pods are what they call a group or “herd” of whales) were heading south down the strait . The tour boats would position themselves ahead of the whales, turn off their engines and wait for the whales to pass close by. After the whales went by, the boats would power up again, scoot ahead of the whales, and repeat the process. On one pass, a large Orca whale passed right underneath our boat. That was when Dave realized just how large the whales were. He could see the dark shadow just a few feet under the water approaching the boat. It kept coming and went right under the keel. It must have been huge based on the size of its shadow! Other than that experience, most of the time we saw the whales from a distance as they surfaced to breath. Their large dorsal fins were breaking the surface all around the ship. We were told that the fins on the older whales we were seeing were as large as 6 feet tall. The dorsal fin is the whale’s “cooling system”. They use it as a radiator to control their body temperature. After a few hours of watching the whales, we followed the maze back thru all the small islands back home to Rosario Harbor.
Some of the Orca Whales we saw. Some of the dorsal
fins are 6 feet tall ! Day 4 (Tuesday): Sea kayaking with Shearwater Adventures was today’s activity. They too operated out of Rosario Harbor, among other locations. After a short class on kayaking techniques and safety from our guide
Harold, we were off. Harold lead us to the quieter, western Harold also introduced us to a type of seaweed that had “air sacs” on it. It was very prevalent in the water around the rocks. He told us to take it back home and bake it in the oven at 360 degrees F for about an hour (I may be wrong about the time and temperature, I’m going by my memory, don’t try it without knowledgeable adult supervision). It was supposed to be very tasty, kind of like puffed potato chips. We took some home but after cleaning it in the sink, finding large roach sized amphibious bugs clinging to the branches, and feeling the slimy, mucousy exterior we all chickened out. We instead processed it in the garbage disposal {:- ).
Day 5 (Wednesday): Today was Kathy’s last day with us on the island. She
had to return home to Seattle and her job. Per her last request, we planned
a family picnic in Moran State Park. The main attractions in Moran State
Park are Mt. Constitution and Cascade Lake.
Day 6 (Thursday):
Day 7 (Friday): Today was something of a free for all. Nothing was planned. We first wen exploring nearby Madrona Point. It was a wooded peninsula with a rocky shoreline that extended out into Eastsound. The kids wanted to see more seastars. So we spent some time crawling along the shore searching for the biggest seastar we could find. Below you can see the results of our seastar safari.
After checking out Madrona Point, Diane and I wanted to check out the rest of Orcas Island and so we took Mom and Dad with us. Orcas Island is shaped like a horseshoe with the opening pointing down or southward. Our first destination was the southeastern end of Orcas Island. We found several nice small harbors at Doe Bay and Lieber Haven Marina . At Doe Bay we met up with our friendly sea kayaking guide Harold. Shearwater Adventures runs kayaking tours out of there also and he was running the office there that day. There was also a gentleman there, out on a point of land, blowing large 2-3 foot diameter soap bubbles. They were the weirdest things to watch as they gently drifted past us undulating and changing shape as if they were alive and breathing At Lieber Haven Marina we visited the small country store where we bought a cluster of dried barnacles that had been removed from their pier. Each barnacle was about the size of a shot glass. From there we drove back up over the top of the island and down to Deer Harbor. By then it was getting late and we had to return home for supper.
Day 8 (Saturday): This morning was the Eastsound Volunteer Fireman’s Pancake breakfast down at the firehouse. They do a fantastic job of feeding everyone with pancakes, sausages, and eggs. Right after the pancake breakfast is the town’s annual Fourth of July Parade They also had a farmers market and craft show going on in the town square area afterwards. We spent most of the day walking around town. That evening was the Lion’s Club Salmon Bake. They held it outside under a large tent. Talk about a fantastic Salmon dinner! Mmmm Mmmmm Good ! You could tell they’ve been doing this a long time and were very good at their jobs.
Day 9 (Sunday): Today was spent packing up, and clearing out of the house. With 8 people
and 5 bedrooms and a kitchen full of food it took us awhile. We had to
hustle though because you need to get to the ferry early to get on line.
They recommend about 1 ½ hours ahead of time. Don’t forget, it’s
Sunday and everybody else also wants to get off the island and get back
home to Seattle or wherever. Unfortunately, we just missed the cut-off
for the 12:00 ferry by 3 cars and had to wait another 2 hours for the
next ferry. While waiting, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and shopped in all
the tourist trinket shops clustered around the ferry terminal. Day 10-13 (Monday - Thursday): We spent these days backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area by ourselves. For the complete trip report description, see our separate Alpine Lakes Wilderness Trip Report. Day 14 (Friday): We were originally planning on being out in the woods backpacking today. But since the mosquitoes had been so bad, we cut the trip short (see the separate Alpine Lakes Trip Report). Since we found ourselves with an extra “Bonus Day”, we decided to make good use of it and visit some old friends of Diane’s who lived south of the Seattle area. She has known these friends since her volunteer days in Louisiana with the Mennonite Central Committee. It was about a 2 hour drive down to Chehalis, WA, where we had lunch with her friends Mary and Neil. Then, it was 2 hrs back up to Seattle for supper with the family. Day 15 (Saturday): Today we drove about 2 hrs to Mt. Rainier with Diane’s parents and sister for a quick picnic lunch at Rainier’s Paradise Visitors Center. We had just enough time to eat before Diane and I had to part company with Kathy, Mom and Dad, and hurry back up to Seattle to meet other old friends of Diane’s, Paul and Aileen, at the downtown ferry terminal. There we took a ferry to Tillicum Village on Blake Island where we enjoyed another good Salmon dinner and a native American Indian show. Day 16 (Sunday): It was finally the end of the trip. After spending the morning packing, we drove to the airport and flew back home to BWI, arriving home about 11:00 pm. It was off to bed quickly because we had to get to work the first thing the next morning. Orcas Island Pottery: Searching thru some tourist brochures, we read about this pottery studio to the west of Eastsound where anyone can try their hand at throwing pottery. For $5 you get a lump of clay, and time on a potter's wheel. The studio then fires the pots overnight. The second day you can come back and apply your glaze. Then they fire it again overnight and you can pick up your finished piece of art the third day. They have an assistant who sits beside you and offers guidance. It's a great idea for kids, even adults! Megan, Amy, Diane and I all tried it.
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last revised
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February 16, 2006
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side
of Eastsound, away from the boat traffic in the harbor, where we slowly
cruised along the shoreline. He showed us zillions of Sea stars all clinging
to the rocks just under the water along the shoreline. He picked a few
of them off the rocks and handed them to us so we could check them out
up-close. Our nieces Megan and Amy especially enjoyed handling them. We
slowly cruised past a large group of seals that were sunning themselves
on some rocks. We drifted under a majestic bald eagle perched high on
a branch looking out over the water for his next meal.
