Life on the Left Coast: Two Days (and Misadventures) in the San Juan Islands

This travelogue was brought to you by our awesome sponsor, Mike, who stayed home with the boys so Dawn and I could go have a two-day girls' weekend in the utterly gorgeous San Juan Islands.

Dawn and I boarded the Anacortes/Orcas ferry in Anacortes, Washington (1.5 hours northeast of where we live) for the one hour ferry ride to Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands. It's shaped like a big horseshoe and is named for the pods of Orca whales that live off its coast. (We were bummed to learn that whale watching season doesn't start for another month.)

We had to stop and get snacks for the road: coffee, bottled water, Swedish
Fish, and Lemonheads.

Our first misadventure...well, I really must take full blame for this since I was the one with the finger on the trigger...was that I overfilled the car's gas tank by FOUR GALLONS. We were inside buying our snacks. At the counter, I asked the checkout guy how much the gas was. He said, "It's still pumping." I go out and check and the gas is POURING out of the tank, down the car and wheel, and onto the ground!!

I didn't know by how much it had overfilled until we were already in the car and Dawn pulled out the user manual in the glove box and learned that we have a 21-gallon tank and just bought 25 gallons of gas. Ouch. By then it was too late to try and negotiate the amount we had to pay, but in retrospect, the clerk would have probably said it was my fault for walking away from the pump. And he would have been right.

Well...

This is what happens when girls go on road trips. Or at least these two girls. Well...okay, me.

We made it, safe and sound, all the way to the Anacortes
Ferry Station, where we proceded to goof off in the nice warm
car for an hour. We had to get there early to get in the
queue...and so we just talked, sang along to songs, and checked
our Facebook pages on our phones and stuff.

Here's what we were doing while the life drained from our car's engine:

You would think the guy with the bomb-sniffing dog would have told
us that our headlights were on.

Yes, that's right. Again, all me. Dawn remains blameless. And I really can't blame the bomb-sniffing guy. He's just doing his job. He isn't responsible for stopping airhead 30-somethings (I think Dawn's exact word for me at this point was "Ding Dong") from draining their car battery while waiting for the ferry.

So we see the cars in front of us start up their engines and move forward. I go to start the car and it's just a series of clicks. OMGosh, NO! Dawn and I look over at each other with looks of panic. Dawn goes, "I saw that red battery light on your dash board all this time, but I thought it was just showing because the keys were in the ignition." But we're beyond pointing fingers. "We can laugh about it now 'cause we're okay," as Dell Griffith quipped in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

The ferry employee in the reflective safety jacket who'd been waving us forward from 50 feet away took one look at our stalled car and the line of about 50+ cars behind us and turned to walk toward his booth. In less than a minute, he was striding toward us with a portable jump-start kit (I'm sure there's a name for this gizmo, but as I have already clearly established, car care is not my strong suit.)

So, we're jumped off. We wave a big thank you wave and flash a relieved smile to the ferry employee who saved the day.

Dawn noted that not a single car behind us honked. Pretty impressive. These Washingtonians sure are patient, tolerant folks. :)

Dawn surveys the Straight of Juan de Fuca, the body of water we crossed to
get to Orcas Island. The straight connects the Pacific Ocean to the San
Juan Islands on the east, with Vancouver Island to the north, and the
Olympic Peninsula to the south.

The ferry was nice and toasty for the one-hour trip. $46 bought us a round-
trip ticket for the car and two adults.

We are weaving through Blakely Island and Lopez Island.

You can see how close we are to Canada (top left and bottom left
corners of the map show the US/Canada border). Surprisingly, it's
often warmer on the San Juan Islands than it is in Seattle. You can also
fly right to the islands; the three main islands all have small airports.

As we get close to the ferry landing, Dawn and I couldn't believe how
emerald-green the water was. It almost looked "putt-putt fountain" fake!

We landed in Orcas Village, the landing point for the ferry. There are some
cute little shops, espresso stands, ice cream parlors, and a little village store
to explore. We decided to skip it for now, and explore on our return.

It takes about 30 minutes to drive from the ferry in Orcas Village at the southwest
end of the island and up and over the "horseshoe" to the Rosario Resort, where
we stayed. source (click to view bigger map)

But guess what? When our car was jump started, the GPS re-set to its factory settings...which meant we needed to enter a passcode to get back into the system.

Dawn to the rescue. Again.

Wow, who would have thought we'd refer to the car's user manual twice in two hours? Thankfully, the passcode was in there, Dawn typed it in, and we were back on track.

In spite of our car-related misadventures, this was a magical weekend. The islands are beautiful--the way they jut up and out of the sparkling water. The history-rich places to see and visit. The farms and woods. The lakes. The huge, open skies. The restaurants that serve fresh, organic foods. The moody weather. And the wildlife--Dawn and I even saw a deer right by the road on our way to dinner Saturday night.

Our drive across the island landed us at the Rosario Resort and Spa.

Here's our room. A little out of date, but clean and affordable.
And with a great view overlooking Cascade Bay. Across the bay,
we can see the Rosario's main house, the Moran mansion.

Not my picture, snagged from the Rosario's website. But this gives you
a great idea of how pretty the Moran mansion is. This is where we went
for our spa treatment and brunch on Sunday morning. Aaaahhh.

The view of Cascade Bay from our balcony.

Looking down at the driftwood-strewn beach below.

We checked in, unpacked, and rested for a while, then headed up to the mansion at 4:00pm for a "pipe organ and piano concert," as the lady at the front desk described it. Kind of sounded like a snooze-fest, but we decided to go for it. We hadn't eaten lunch (other than Lemonheads), so we thought we'd do the show, then grab an early dinner in Eastsound. Dawn and I agreed that the receptionist really undersold this little event...it was actually really cool. And we were so glad we went!

As with most guided tours, the experience is so dependent on the knowledge, personality, and likability of the tour guide. The man who relayed the history of the Moran mansion and surrounding buildings and land was amazing. (Wish I'd caught his name!) He was also an accomplished pianist and organist, playing the pipe organ that was built in New York in the early 1900s and brought to Rosario sometime around 1905. Cost in those days for the organ and its pipes: $16,000.

The show was really a multi-media presentation--part storytelling, part slideshow, part history lesson, and part concert. Here's a bit of the slideshow of photos from the area taken in the early 1900s, shown while our tour guide played the organ.

One of the coolest things was that they showed the Phantom of the Opera in its original, silent-film format--the 1925 version starring Lon Chaney. What a cool experience to see a silent film accompanied by live music, as it was intended to be seen way back when.

Oops, typo. Should have written "friends since middle school."
The Moran mansion guest book.

Off to dinner...

The town of Eastsound is so quaint and cute. The main street through
town runs right along the waterfront of the East Sound. Look at this sweet
little island! I cannot wait to come back here in the summer. It will be
drop dead gorgeous and buzzing with activity, I'm sure.

On our way to Allium in Eastsound, where we had reservations
for 6:00pm. Dawn read great online reviews for this water-front
restaurant.

Orcas Island is famous for seafood, which makes sense, but it is also known for its slow food reputation. Farmers, chefs, and even local schools have direct relationships. Restaurant menus are based on what's in season and what's available. Orcas Island is full of small organic farms and meat/dairy producers. When I read this in a brochure about the area, I knew this was my kind of place: "Fresh local organic items are delivered daily during the school year to feed our Island kids, and many farmers welcome classes to their farms to learn first-hand the art of good farming and healthy eating."

From 5:30 to 6:00, they have a totally fun idea for happy hour
called "How Low Can It Go?" The price for two glasses of wine
and an appetizer is based on the lowest temperature for that
day. So, Dawn and I shared the bacon-wrapped pretzel sticks
and each had a glass of wine for $3.90 because it got down to
39 degrees today.

Dawn samples the pinot noir.

The appetizer we got. Bacon-wrapped pretzel sticks.
Delicious, especially with a bite of pickled red onion.

After we ate at Allium, we crossed the street to the Lower
Tavern, the only real pub in town. There was supposed
to be live music, but we are such lightweights, we couldn't
stay out later than 9:00pm! Who knows if the band ever
showed up. We did enjoy a glass of local beer Mac and Jacks.

There's nothing like hanging with an old friend. No one gets me laughing
like Dawn, that's for sure. There are just too many years of inside jokes.

Sad to say it, but we were both in bed and asleep by 10:00.
Dawn was watching hulu.com and I was reading, and
I think she woke up around midnight and turned out the
light. We slept great though (10 hours!). What a treat!

Somehow we managed to pull ourselves together for our
9:00am massage appointments at the Rosario Spa.

Yes, I admit it, I took a photo of the room before climbing
under the sheet and being treated to a one-hour massage. Wow.
Highlight of the weekend, for sure.

How surprised were we when we looked out the
window after our massages to see that it
WAS SNOWING! And so began the next four hours
of the weirdest, most changeable weather I've ever
witnessed first-hand. In just four hours, we had blue, sunny
skies, then snow, then warmer temps (snow melted), then
sun again, then a light hail storm, then sun again.

Down the hall, on our way to the sauna. The original mosaic
floors in the mansion's basement are gorgeous!

Dawn in the sauna.

Heading back to the changing rooms.
The indoor pool was being renovated. There's also a
workout room and a whirlpool, but we skipped those.

The spa was decorated with old photos of Moran's guests from the
1910s and 20s, enjoying the bay.

There go our plans for an afternoon hike. We just
didn't have the right gear for these kind of temperatures.

So instead of an invigorating hike, we totally splurged on Sunday brunch.
I had crab eggs benedict.

And Dawn had the fritatta with hash browns.

And tea, of course.

We decided to just take a drive through the state park,
instead of the hike. Besides that, we needed to grab
the earlier ferry off the island (2:00 instead of 6:40),
since the weather seemed so unpredictable...although
there would be worse things in life than to be stranded on
Orcas Island with your friend of 27 years. :)

This is Cascade lake, which is just inside the entrance to Moran State Park.
Boat rentals, a swimming area, and campsites make this look like a totally
perfect summertime camping spot. Mike and I will definitely come back with
the kids!

The sky is clearing and it's a beautiful day to gaze across Cascade Lake.
The 5,252-acre state park has includes 38 miles of trails, 131 campsites,
and five freshwater lakes. You can camp, picnic, bike, hike, fish, and boat.
Dawn and I had planned to hike to the top of the 2,409-foot Mount
Constitution, but didn't because of the unexpected snow. We're total softies.

Off to catch the 2:00 ferry...

On the 30-minute drive from the Rosario Resort back to the ferry station at
Orcas Village, we passed through curvy wooded areas and wide-open
fields and sheep pastures. Orcas Island is a beautiful place.

Yes, Eric, it IS a perfect honeymoon spot. :)

Blue skies greeted us at the ferry terminal. We had an hour to kill before
departure, so we just wandered around, taking in the lovely blue skies, huge
views, and the cute shops.

At the village market, here's some of that famous,
locally-grown organic produce. I just had to take
pictures. The colors! The variety! Gorgeous.

I know you people must get tired of my food photos.

Dawn browsing the aisles. The store stocks a lot
of Washington wines (who knew?) and local cheeses,
breads, and produce. As well as the usual staples.