San Juan Island Adventures

We have spent the last few days in the San Juan Islands, WA. When we arrived at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island we realized that a little more planning ahead might have been a good idea considering that we didn't have a reservation at any of the camp sites. Thankfully, it is after Labor Day so things aren't as busy as usual (we were reminded of this often by locals, and coming from a tourist-summer income town like Sisters we can relate) so after driving around the island and checking out a few options we found space and a good deal at Mitchell Bay Landing, where we spent two nights.






Camp at Mitchell Bay





Delicious halibut taco dinner!

During the day we hiked up Young Hill, near the Old English Camp (which our camp host provided a thorough history lesson), and visited the two main towns/harbors, Roche and Friday Harbor. It was nice to walk around and not worry about crowds or waiting in line for the bathroom. Both towns were nice, and we allowed ourselves a little splurge on ice cream at the 72 flavors in Friday Harbor, and also checked out the local Museum of Art (which was featuring work by Kurt Wenner, the 3D sidewalk artist who apparently lives on the island now).





At the top of Young Hill!

The next day we dropped Kiska off at the Animal Inn to board for the night and went to meet up with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Clyde on their boat at Roche Harbor. This was an incredible treat and we had a wonderful and beautiful evening anchored in Westcott Bay. Mary and Clyde once again spoiled us with great meals and even better conversation as we picked up on the fun right where we had left off this past weekend. It was hard to say goodbye to them in the morning when we got back to the Harbor, have gotten used to them as our adventure buddies, but we are so thankful for the time we had and know that we are both off to further adventures.





Roche Harbor





Mary and Clyde pulling up to the dock with the "Star Geezer"!





Nate and Grandma :)





View out the front of the boat, Clyde as the excellent captain!





Sitting down to a wonderful dinner in the cabin!





Definitely something to celebrate





Clyde cooking a yummy breakfast!

We then drove over to board the ferry and head back to Anacortes, but walking throughout town we realized that we could get off at Lopez Island and stay a night, so we changed plans a little, moved ferry lines and decided to camp at Spencer Spit state park for the night. We took a nice walk by the beach, read for a while, and then made sweet potato fries in the fire to accompany our simple salad and sandwich dinner. Kels got up in the morning and went for a nice run through the park, and then we packed up and did a little more touring of the island, saw the seals at Shark Reef Sanctuary and got a little snack in Lopez Village, now we're headed back to the mainland for real, where we'll spend a night near Bellingham before heading up north across the border. We're looking forward to another great dinner thanks to Clyde's generous gift of Alaskan salmon!