How can you host guests for a week here in Seattle and NOT take them to see one of the true gems of this area: The San Juan Islands? You can't. So we didn't. I mean, we did. Well, you know what I mean!
San Juan Islands or BUST!
We started early on Sunday with the 9am service at our church in Bellevue. (It passed the Clyde and Delores test. Whew!) Then we grabbed brunch at the Beach Cafe in Kirkland. It was busy and the service was sort of slow but the food was just as good as we remembered and worth waiting for. Afterwards, we walked through the marina.
"Okay, everyone, into the car. Time for the one-hour drive north to the Anacortes Ferry Terminal!"
And we were off on our weekend adventure. Destination: Friday Harbor, where we'd booked a bed and breakfast for the night. When we got to the ferry terminal, we had to park and wait in the queue for over an hour. Thankfully, we'd packed the boys' scooters and helmets, so that's what they did in the interim.
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| Watching for whales. |
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As our ferry weaved in and out of the San Juan archipelago, we just watched
it all go by. There are 127 islands in the chain, 400 in all if you count "named
rocks." The San Juans are actually a submerged mountain range. Crazy.
Crazy beautiful. |
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| Our guests, cuddled up on the ferry bench. So cute. |
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| The boys took turns pretending to steer the ferry. |
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| We're here! Friday Harbor is straight ahead! |
The ferry ride took about an hour, which landed us in Friday Harbor at about 4 or 5pm (I honestly can't remember...we were on "island time!"). We found our B&B and checked in with our host (who graciously upgraded us to the two vacant cottages behind the 1900's craftsman-style house).
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| The front entrance to the Argyle House B&B. |
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| Home for the night! |
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| The boys quickly discovered the hammock. |
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| These two really are pretty good friends. :) |
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| Clyde and Delores had the honeymoon suite. <3 |
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Our two cottages were connected by this sunken deck,
complete with outdoor seating, fire pit and hot tub. Nice! |
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| The gardens and paths were really something special! |
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The owner of the B&B confessed to us over breakfast that they do have
a professional landscaper. (It shows.) |
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| The path to our cottages. So happy! |
We asked our host for dinner recommendations, then we disregarded them :) and looked for a spot with the best view where we could get some seafood.
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| Walking through downtown Friday Harbor. |
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| Here's the spot. Follow the arrow...THIS WAY... |
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You know that it's a great seafood restaurant when
they have a chainsaw-sculpture of a lighthouse keeper. |
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| Waiting for a table while Clyde and I place our orders at the counter. |
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Our rambunctious kids ended up in Time Out.
Nobody's perfect. |
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Our table was way up on the restaurant's top (outdoor) floor. A bit chilly,
but it gave us a bird's eye view of the town and the harbor. |
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| Friday Harbor. Gorgeous. |
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Delores had the fish sandwich and Clyde, yep you guessed it, he had the
Captain's Platter. The boys split an order of crab cakes, I had steamed mussels,
and Mike had shrimp cocktail. |
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Sitting under a heat lamp after dinner. Getting warm!
Can you believe this is June weather in Washington? |
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| After dinner: Ice cream of course! |
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| Ollie: A fan of both bubble gum ice cream and face-making. |
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| A perfect ending to an amazing day. |
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That picture of Merrit with his arm around Ollie? Instant chills and tears. The sweetest.
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