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.
