San Juan Islands Trip

For our summer vacation we took a trip to the San Juan Islands, an archipelago of countless islands between Canada and the United States, just north of the Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  This trip was at the same time both familiar and new to us.  Familiar because we have been to the islands several times before and new because we were on Sun Break this time.  Besides staying on the boat for a week, Carol had to adjust to the 5 minute showers offered at the marinas where we stayed.  We had a fantastic time and even got to stay an extra day due to the weather.  Here are the highlights:

After an overnight stay in Port Townsend, we were lucky enough to sight a pod of orca whales off of Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island during the northbound transit. Matt even saw one of the orcas broaching almost completely out of the water off of our stern. Unfortunately it was too fast to get a good picture.

We were happy to arrive at Roche Harbor after 2 days of motoring.

Roche Harbor was incorporated in 1886 as a limestone production company and converted into a resort in 1956.  Many of the buildings from the limestone company remain on the property and are still in use.

At sunset, the resort employees perform a colors ceremony that draws the attention of all of the guests.

This was the sunset just after colors on our first night at Roche Harbor.

The next morning, we went for a short hike to see the mausoleum that is on the property. It was built by the owner of the old limestone company, John  S. McMillan,  and each of the elements of the architecture are said to symbolize and memorialize for posterity his family, his religious beliefs and his life's associations.

Later that morning, we sailed over to Stuart Island State Park and anchored in Reid Harbor.  After lunch, we took the dinghy in and went for another hike.

We went about a mile to see the island school and museum.

It was a steep hike but someone had put a tree swing along the way, so we were able to rest for a minute in the swing

Whew! We made it.  The building on the right is the old school, now a library.

This is the new school.  A sign said that 10 students attend it.

It was a steep hike back too, but with some huffing and puffing, we were able to make it.

The next day, we took the boat to Friday Harbor, another popular destination on San Juan Island.

After settling into our slip for the night, we got a close look one of the resident seals.

We toured around the busy village of Friday Harbor, making stops at some of our favorite shops and the local ice cream parlor. 

The following morning we set out intending to head south to start the trip home.  However, 45 minutes into our transit we heard urgent weather warnings for gale-force winds right in the area we were headed. 

We quickly decided to divert to Lopez Island and wait out the weather. 

Although it was sunny and clear, the winds were whipping all day and into the night (20-30 knots). We were happy to be safe and secure in our slip, although it was a little difficult sleeping due to the wind and waves slapping against the boat.

The next morning, the winds had subsided and we headed out into much calmer seas.

We made it all the way to Kingston that day--almost 10 hours on the boat. Our reward was a nice dinner at one of the local restaurants.

We sailed back to Poulsbo the next day for the end of vacation, consoled only by thoughts of nice, long showers once we got home.

A Note From Baylee

Hi everyone.  My parents are on vacation so they won't be posting this week.  I didn't get to go with them this time, but that's okay because I am staying with my dog sitter, Sue.  She takes really good care of me.  My parents promised they would bring something back from their trip.  I'm hoping they bring some treats.... or maybe even a steak.

Hope you have great week.
Baylee

Lazy Days of Summer

It was a record-setting 95 degrees in Seattle on Saturday.  We even had to run the AC for a little while over the weekend.  Knowing the hot weather probably won't last too long, we figured we had to soak it up while we could.

The community garden plot that we've been working this summer is producing lots and lots of zucchini right now.  They were perfect for some homemade zucchini bread to take out on the boat over the weekend.

We headed over to anchor at Port Madison, another inlet on the north end of Bainbridge Island.  Port Madison is on the Seattle side of Agate Pass and is a popular anchorage for Seattle sailors.  The Seattle Yacht Club has an attractive looking outstation in a wooded setting on the shores which also draws a lot of boaters to the little harbor.

After we shooed the sea gull off the dinghy, we took a tour of the harbor.

Sun Break at anchor.

We decided these folks had their summer relaxing down to a science.  Notice the outboard engine built into the "floating dock." 

Gotta say we had never seen anything like that before!

To cap off the night, a beautiful crescent moon appeared as the sun set.

Hope you have a great week!

Manzanita Bay

Sounds like a place that should be in the Bahamas or the Caribbean, doesn't it?  Actually, it is in the Puget Sound on the west side of Bainbridge Island.  When the weather forecast turned out to be less than ideal, we decided to head there instead of Blake Island.  It was a good decision, as the weather turned out to be, well, downright lousy.

Here's a chart of where we were.  We were in  the middle where it kind of looks like a high-heeled shoe, right about at the toe.

  We tried to wait out the rain, but finally just headed out into the weather.  The foul-weather gear helped.

It was a great spot, well-protected and surrounded by lovely waterfront homes.  It was very peaceful.

We cooked dinner on board.  It tasted soooo good.

The weather got a little worse,

then a little better,

and then more rain when we woke up Sunday.

It was a great spot for our first anchorage despite the rain. 

We are hoping to be able to use these again next weekend.