Day 1 - Road trip to the "San Juans" begins 10/2

(Note: ignore the system generated dates. I had to "trick" the software to show oldest posts first!) 

The goal of this road trip is to explore the San Juan Islands. We'll take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor, then over to Victoria and back to Port Angeles. We'll visit Friday Harbor, Victoria (we'll stay at the Empress), Butchart Gardens, Olympic National Park and more. (The World Series will be going on during our trip, and the Red Sox are in it! Most games are in the evening.)

Day One, about 400 miles, took us from home to Wenatchee, WA. The weather started out cloudy but by afternoon had cleared up nicely- although the wind was howling! Temps in the upper 60s.

Its a fairly boring drive up I-84, until you get a bit north of Richland and come to the mighty Columbia River, with its beautiful geological features and the orchards this area is famous for - mostly apples. We stopped to see the famous Wild Horse sculptures, up on the hill (don't know what that story is!), and the Wanapum Dam. The wind was howling!

We arrived in Wenatchee at about 5:00, checked in into our Comfort Suites and hooked up with our friends from Oneonta, Nancy and Frank Hulse. We had nice dinner at this great brew pub called McGill's.

Tomorrow we head for Leavenworth, Everett, Whibey Island and Anacortes.

Apple harvest is just beginning

Near George, WA.

Day 2 - Wenatchee to Anacortes 10/3

The wind stopped blowing but it sure got cold overnight! Sunny this morning but got cloudier as the day wore on. Temps in the upper 30s to low 50s, depending on altitude. We left Wenatchee by 9:30, heading north on US2.  We spent some time walking around the Bavarian town of Leavenworth. Very cute! We stopped by beautiful Lake Wenatchee, then up and over Stevens Pass (alt 4061') down into Everett and up to Anacortes. I little snow in the pass overnight.

Our hotel tonight is a little place right in Anacortes called Marina Inn. Nothing fancy but comfortable. We found a great spot for dinner called Secret Cove with a table overlooking the harbor. Before dinner we explored a bit, finding a great view from a rock called Cap Sante. Our drive took us past the shipyards where you'll see one of the Washington State ferries in drydock.

We catch the ferry to San Juan Island first thing in the morning.

Leavenworth

No, we didn't

Lake Wenatchee

Deception Falls

Great Fish n Chips

They're everywhere

View from Cap Sante

Day 3- Anacortes to Friday Harbor 10/4

Beautiful cold, clear morning as we headed off to the Ferry Terminal to catch the boat to Friday Harbor. Sailing time was about an hour; we arrived in Friday Harbor at about 11:00.  Glorious weather, warming up to the mid 50s. Since we couldn't register at our B&B until later, we started our exploration of the island by going to Lime Kiln State Park, on the west side of the island. The road takes you through rolling farmland and heavily forested tracts with occasional views of the ocean..

A spectacular hike along the rocky coast line to the Lime Kiln Lighthouse and the Lime Kiln, where they produced tons of Lime back in the late 1800s. We were particularly interested in the Madone trees, with their peeling red bark and red berries. They are indigenous to the coastal northwest. The lighthouse was quite minimal as lighthouses go and is now used as a research station tracking whale sounds using hydrophones. We did not see any whales! Picnic lunch with a great view!

Back in town we checked into our lodging, "Tucker House". An interesting enterprise, the owner has purchased several old homes on this block and made B&B units, 18 in all. We have a unit called "Jennie's Cottage". Supposedly, they will deliver our breakfast to our room in the morning!  For dinner, we walked down the block to "Mr. Unbelievable" for a "brinner" and Wild Board meatballs.

Tomorrow we'll continue our exploration of the island.

Mt Baker