Blue Sea Bungalow - Friday Harbor
It's much closer to Roche Harbor on the north end of the island.
It's much closer to Roche Harbor on the north end of the island.
This lovely creature was there to greet me!
The living room. I slept on the futon which was semi-comfortable but a little
bit of a pain to put together as well as get in and out of.
The other side of the little living area.
Downstairs bedroom. My favorite! Eva slept in here.
The only thing upstairs was this small bedroom and a bathroom.
This is where Amy slept.
The dining table was big and perfect for eating, game playing, and a puzzle.
The view from the front deck. The water is Westcott Bay.
I arrived a full day before Amy and Eva arrived, which was really nice. I got to take things at my pace, and on the island that means slow. I went to Lime Kiln Lighthouse (one of my favorites) for sunset on my very first evening on the island. The next day I hung out at the San Juan County Park. This park is not a park in the sense of a "recreational" type of park. There is an open expanse of crunchy brown grass (in the dry summer) that is on top of a small cliff looking out to Haro Strait. A lot of ships come through the Strait. I saw the largest shipping container ship I've ever seen! There is not a lot of shade but I did find a little patch under a couple of trees where I could put my chair and read. There are a couple of picnic tables, and there is a little trail that goes down to a beach, mostly used by kayakers. There is a part of the park that is dedicated to kayakers, bikers, and hikers for camping. It was relatively quiet the day I hung out. Beautiful weather!
Lime Kiln Lighthouse
It had been raining off and on all day, and this is the result of
some of that inconsistent summer weather. It was beautiful!
At San Juan County Park - the west side of San Juan Island
The little beach at the bottom of a short trail
This is where I hung out for half a day. Very peaceful.
Amy and Eva arrived on a late afternoon ferry. We had dinner at Friday's Crabhouse where I ate crab!
The next day - July 19, my birthday - we had a kayaking tour scheduled with Crystal Seas Kayak. The office is in Friday Harbor, but we actually were then driven up to Snug Harbor to launch our kayaks. The tour was scheduled as a three-hour tour, but we do spend some of that time driving to the launch and then learning about the spray skirts and paddles and what to do if the kayak tips over. There was another family on our tour with us - a family of four - and we were a family of three so I got to be in the same kayak as the guide, Jaclyn. She was really good and really friendly. About an hour into the tour, Eva had decided she was done. We're not quite sure what caused her to suddenly not like the whole adventure - whether it was paddling or the waves from other boats - but when she was done, she was done! So we headed back in to Snug Harbor. Once we got off the water, Jaclyn took the other family out for another hour. We headed back into Friday Harbor. While we were out on the water we saw an eagle and . . . well, that was it. Maybe a jelly or two, but no seals or sea stars or whales. We pretty much hugged the shore (family tour) and Jaclyn did her best scouting for sea stars, but there were none to be found. After we got back to Friday Harbor we went to Kings Market and bought some shirts and hats and had a late birthday lunch at Downriggers. Great lunch. The crab BLT could have had more crab though. I would not have complained!
Happy Birthday to me!
Amy and Eva on their kayak, paddling the beautiful Haro Strait.
Crab BLT and caesar salad at Downriggers.
I wanted to have another sunset experience, this time on my birthday, and Amy and Eva hadn't experienced one yet. The sunset did not disappoint and we got an extra cool surprise - bald eagles in the trees on the drive out!
First there was just one, then there were two!!
The next day we got up late, ate a late breakfast, and just felt like being lazy. We wanted to rent a Scoot Coupe from Susie's Mopeds in Friday Harbor, but when we called this morning they were all booked up for the day. We smartly made a reservation for the next day. So we spent the day hanging out at the house playing games, indoor and out. All three of the outdoor games we played had to be taught to Eva and she really loved all of them. The property that the house sat on had plenty of room for outdoor games, and games were provided, stored in a cute little blue shed.
She finally got the hang of it once she figured out how to hold
the croquet mallet.
Those darn bocce balls are heavy! She took it seriously and was very
excited when she won a game.
Corn hole - perfect summer lawn game.
Behind Eva is the open fire pit and several plastic Adirondack chairs.
Too bad the island was experiencing a burn ban and we could have s'mores.
Eva wanted to play a game as a team.
"We won! We won!"
Sunday morning we headed into Friday Harbor to pick up our Scoot Coupe! Susie's Mopeds might be the only place on the island to rent mopeds, scoot coupes, and Chevy Trackers. They do a great job but in the summer, you definitely want to reserve ahead of time. Susie's Mopeds is just up the street from the ferry terminal so it's not a bad idea to walk onto the ferry from Anacortes (or another island) and walk up to Susie's and pick up your transportation to see the sights around the island! It cost us $160 for the day. In the summer, I believe you can only rent for a full day. Other than that, it's $60 or $70 an hour.
She wasn't too sure about the helmet, but I thought she looked so cute.
Here we go, off to Cattle Point Lighthouse and the American Camp / South Beach.
Amy was in her car. She's not a big fan of the coupe. Besides, she really enjoyed her alone
driving time.
She's lookin' pretty comfortable. Actually, she didn't want to go on the little trail hike out
to the lighthouse, but she eventually gave in. It is such a short little walk.
We were rewarded with not only a beautiful look at Cattle Point Lighthouse,
but there was an eagle sitting at the very top that we all thought was a statue at first!
She never met a rock she didn't want to climb, and there are plenty of rocks
and driftwood around the island.
He totally stayed in this position for sooooooo long.
Playing at South Beach, a long expanse of driftwood beach.
More little rocks than sand on the beach part, but still an awesome beach.
We had great weather for our scootin' and beachin' day!
We had time to "feel the cold water," collect rocks and driftwood,
and take pictures.
One of my very favorite pictures.
Since we were on an island, and not a huge island, we could get just about anywhere in 30 minutes or less. It didn't take us very long to get to the American Camp from Friday Harbor and I'd spent $160, so I certainly wanted to "scoot" around the island some more. The English Camp is on the opposite end of the island and I knew it would be a pretty drive, so off we went. But first, a little explanation of the American Camp and the English (British) Camp. From Wikipedia:
The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and United Kingdom over the British–U.S. border in the San Juan Islands, between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The Pig War, so called because it was triggered by the shooting of a pig, is also called the Pig Episode, the Pig and Potato War, the San Juan Boundary Dispute and the Northwestern Boundary Dispute. With no shots exchanged during the 12-year military occupation, and no human casualties, this dispute was a bloodless conflict.
And that's why there is an American Camp and an English Camp on San Juan Island. Information boards are available to read at each of the camps.
Leaving American Camp with a big "Whoo-hoo!" from Eva.
The English (British) Camp. There are signs on the island pointing out the
direction of the camps, and the signs for this camp couldn't decide if it was the English Camp
or the British Camp. Same thing.
This big, beautiful old tree sits on the grounds of the English Camp.
Amy and Eva were pretty tired by the time we'd hiked on the wrong trail for awhile trying to find this camp, so once we finally got there, they weren't that interested. Besides, Eva had to pee really bad, so they hiked back up to the parking area where the potty was while I stayed for a little while on the camp grounds. After reading a little bit about the two military camps, it seems the British were far more organized and structured. Sounds about right.
Well-manicured English garden on the grounds of the English Camp.
It was a long, but very fun, day. There was one time that Eva and I were "scootin'" down the road, with the sun shining and a great breeze at 30 mph, when neither one of us was talking, and I felt true joy. In my soul I felt happy. It was a moment, a moment I wish I had more of.
Monday was our travel-back-home day, which, of course, included the ferry from Friday Harbor to Anacortes. We drove by the Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm, stopped to take pictures and shop at the little store. Alpaca-made products are very expensive. I bought a couple of skeins of alpaca yarn and told Eva I would make her a scarf. Then we just headed into Friday Harbor to walk around, eat, and wait for the ferry. I had such a great time again this year up in the islands for my birthday. I never felt like it was overly crowded anywhere, the weather was great, the food was great, and our wonderful little Blue Sea Bungalow was perfect for us!
Waiting for the ferry, eating fries at a little waterfront cafe,
and played games.
Beautiful Friday Harbor marina
Goodbye Friday Harbor / San Juan Island
