In the Strait of Juan De Fuca between Vancouver Island and Washington are the San Juan Islands. I had the pleasure of spending a long October weekend on the largest island, San Juan. We arrived in Friday Harbor late and quickly found a decent place to eat. Our hotel, The Earthbox Inn and Spa, was a 50s era motor lodge converted into a welcoming retreat and the only hotel on the island with an indoor pool. Instead of the bright dingy colors of the 50s, our room was painted with cool earth tones, had wooden floors, and fresh white linens. There was even a dog bed and bowls with complimentary dog bone waiting for Clara.
In the morning, we took a walk back to the harbor picking up coffee and breakfast sandwiches on the way. After lovely massages at The Earthbox Spa, we explored the island by car. Our first stop was the Lime Kiln Point State Park. The park commemorates the lime mining done on the island for more than sixty years in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The park has a lighthouse and a restored lime kiln. It is also a great place to spot the area's resident orcas who had been seen two days before we got there; unfortunately, we did not see the whales.
After some brief hiking at the state park, we headed to both the American and British camps, both now run by the National Park Service. The two camps, on either end of the island, where the setting of a land dispute. After the Treaty of Oregon dictated that the 49th parallel would divide the United States and British controlled Canada, the San Juan Islands were claimed by both governments since the language of the treaty was interpreted differently by both parties. The dispute was a quiet one for over ten years until it almost erupted into a war when an American shot a British pig he found in his garden. After months of build up, a peaceful resolution was agreed upon, and both countries remained on San Juan Island for another twelve years until another treaty gave the San Juan Islands to the United States. The park still has some original buildings. The most odd, unrelated to the park at all, thing we saw there was a white goose grazing with a gaggle of Canada geese.
Later in the afternoon, we had a lovely snack of mussels and sweet potato fries on the deck at Downriggers before we headed to The Place Bar & Grill for dinner. Both restaurants were delicious although the speed of the service at Downriggers left something to be desired. The Place was a very small restaurant that specializes in regional fish and shellfish. The meal was wonderful. The ambiance, being such a small restaurant right on the harbor, was perfect for a quiet dinner.
Our last full day on San Juan was by far the best day of the trip. First, I had a gooey cinnamon bun that was as big as my face from the Doctor's Office Cafe. Later, we drove to the sculpture park. The Westcott Bay Sculpture Park, unlike typical sculpture parks such as those outside the National Gallery or Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, contains mostly sculptures that are for sale. While some are quite lovely, others are overpriced and over thought. It is bad enough when museums have "art" that anyone could make (sticks forming a ladder on a tree) but seeing the prices of that "art" is obscene. Not to discount the many artists that have legitimate work in the garden. I especially liked the easel with mirror that made the viewers the art. The sculpture park was on the way to Roche Harbor where we would be kayaking.
Roche Harbor is actually a resort and marina but looks like an old-timey town. It was also a lot like being in Disney World with a chapel, hotel, restaurants and shops. It also has quite an extensive marina, giving us a view of how the boat set live. The benefit of going kayaking out of peak season: we had the kayak guide all to ourselves. Lucky for us our guide from San Juan Island Outfitters, who was also the company's co-owner, was immensely knowledgable on the ecology of the area. We saw many harbor seals and learned that despite their appearances sunning together on rocks, they do not really like one another. We also saw several bald eagles. The most interesting thing was the bull kelp forest. I didn't even know that there were "forests" in the ocean, but we rested on top of one. It was a messy tangle of thick (at least 5 inches in diameter) bull kelp. Each piece was attached to rocks many feet under the water. Since we were just a party of three, we talked while we kayaked and were able to paddle all the way around Henry Island. The pain of that much paddling in one afternoon was well worth the serenity of the place.
Finally, after a pizza dinner and live music at The Rumor Mill, we ended our trip. The next morning we put the car in line at the ferry and wandered around town a bit more. Since we were on San Juan Island celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, the wood anniversary, we decided to buy a wooden bowl that was hand-carved by a local artist. Much like the coastal areas of Maine, artists have flocked to the San Juan island and many shops sell their wares. The ferry trip home was chilly, but we did see a whale and had a clear view to Mount Baker.
In the morning, we took a walk back to the harbor picking up coffee and breakfast sandwiches on the way. After lovely massages at The Earthbox Spa, we explored the island by car. Our first stop was the Lime Kiln Point State Park. The park commemorates the lime mining done on the island for more than sixty years in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The park has a lighthouse and a restored lime kiln. It is also a great place to spot the area's resident orcas who had been seen two days before we got there; unfortunately, we did not see the whales.
After some brief hiking at the state park, we headed to both the American and British camps, both now run by the National Park Service. The two camps, on either end of the island, where the setting of a land dispute. After the Treaty of Oregon dictated that the 49th parallel would divide the United States and British controlled Canada, the San Juan Islands were claimed by both governments since the language of the treaty was interpreted differently by both parties. The dispute was a quiet one for over ten years until it almost erupted into a war when an American shot a British pig he found in his garden. After months of build up, a peaceful resolution was agreed upon, and both countries remained on San Juan Island for another twelve years until another treaty gave the San Juan Islands to the United States. The park still has some original buildings. The most odd, unrelated to the park at all, thing we saw there was a white goose grazing with a gaggle of Canada geese.
Later in the afternoon, we had a lovely snack of mussels and sweet potato fries on the deck at Downriggers before we headed to The Place Bar & Grill for dinner. Both restaurants were delicious although the speed of the service at Downriggers left something to be desired. The Place was a very small restaurant that specializes in regional fish and shellfish. The meal was wonderful. The ambiance, being such a small restaurant right on the harbor, was perfect for a quiet dinner.
Our last full day on San Juan was by far the best day of the trip. First, I had a gooey cinnamon bun that was as big as my face from the Doctor's Office Cafe. Later, we drove to the sculpture park. The Westcott Bay Sculpture Park, unlike typical sculpture parks such as those outside the National Gallery or Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, contains mostly sculptures that are for sale. While some are quite lovely, others are overpriced and over thought. It is bad enough when museums have "art" that anyone could make (sticks forming a ladder on a tree) but seeing the prices of that "art" is obscene. Not to discount the many artists that have legitimate work in the garden. I especially liked the easel with mirror that made the viewers the art. The sculpture park was on the way to Roche Harbor where we would be kayaking.
Roche Harbor is actually a resort and marina but looks like an old-timey town. It was also a lot like being in Disney World with a chapel, hotel, restaurants and shops. It also has quite an extensive marina, giving us a view of how the boat set live. The benefit of going kayaking out of peak season: we had the kayak guide all to ourselves. Lucky for us our guide from San Juan Island Outfitters, who was also the company's co-owner, was immensely knowledgable on the ecology of the area. We saw many harbor seals and learned that despite their appearances sunning together on rocks, they do not really like one another. We also saw several bald eagles. The most interesting thing was the bull kelp forest. I didn't even know that there were "forests" in the ocean, but we rested on top of one. It was a messy tangle of thick (at least 5 inches in diameter) bull kelp. Each piece was attached to rocks many feet under the water. Since we were just a party of three, we talked while we kayaked and were able to paddle all the way around Henry Island. The pain of that much paddling in one afternoon was well worth the serenity of the place.
Finally, after a pizza dinner and live music at The Rumor Mill, we ended our trip. The next morning we put the car in line at the ferry and wandered around town a bit more. Since we were on San Juan Island celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary, the wood anniversary, we decided to buy a wooden bowl that was hand-carved by a local artist. Much like the coastal areas of Maine, artists have flocked to the San Juan island and many shops sell their wares. The ferry trip home was chilly, but we did see a whale and had a clear view to Mount Baker.
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