DAY-26 Over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island

Day-26: Monday, September 28, 2015

Starting Location: Best Western, Mount Vernon, WA

Ending Location: Highland Inn B&B, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA

12 Hours After The Blood Moon

How exciting, a new place for our travels; neither Sheila nor I have ever visited the San Juan Islands but today is the the day. We'll leave from Anacortes, WA and arrive in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

After a light breakfast at the Best Western we were out by about 7:30 for our 9:30 ferry reservation from Anacortes. We were giving ourselves plenty of time for the drive to the ferry. In fact traffic was minimal and we arrived at the ferry terminal by 8 AM and were offered transport on the 8:30 ferry which we readily accepted. We were directed into the holding pins, a series of lanes for cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicyclists and walkers.

Right on time we started onto the ferry but were soon halted, seemed there was a problem, a stalled truck that couldn't be driven off the ferry; stalled only because the driver had lost his keys, while on the ferry on the trip to Anacortes this morning.

The Ferry information service advised that we would be delayed for an hour, the time it would take to source a tow truck and remove the keyless vehicle. You can imagine the crowd's comments as we were turned around and put back into the various lines to await either the next ferry or removal of the wayward vehicle. Of course all of us waiting thought we could just drive around the stalled vehicle and some even suggested just pushing it into the water. In any case since our ferry's final destination was Sydney, BC, Canada, the truck had to be removed otherwise we might cause an international incident.


After about 20 minutes the ferry information service announced that all was well, the keys had been found by a diligent ferry staffer; seems that the truck driver had placed them on his serving tray while having breakfast and had simply tossed the keys in the trash, so a dumpster diving worker was the savior of time and emotions. Soon thereafter the "formerly keyless" truck was driven off to a chorus of applause by those of us waiting. (BTW, it was a State of Washington Ferry System truck that caused the problem).

By about 9 AM we were underway on a scenic but uneventful voyage to Friday Harbor where we arrived around 10:45.

 

"Harley Davidson Biker MART" 

Lopez Island

Surfing

On arrival we stopped at a local deli/coffee shop for hot chocolate. Soon thereafter we drove around Friday Harbor (about 10 minutes) before striking out to explore San Juan Island. Within an hour or so we had circumnavigated the entire island. This brought back memories of our arrival on Oahu in 1974 when on the first weekend on the island we had already circled the place where we would live for several years.

 

"Mona The Camel"

Around 12:30 we approached the address of our B&B for the two-night stay on the island. Of note, it can be said that Sheila and I rarely stay at B&Bs so we really didn't know what to expect. We were looking for the Highland Inn B&B but was it a large place or a small place, who knew. We had the address but after three attempts at the Hannah Road address we finally found a local who politely told us that yes the B&B was there, it just didn't have a sign. So on the 4th attempt at 439 Hannah Road we approached the appointed driveway where the "Welcome Mat" was a realtor's For Sale sign and no evidence of anything other than a garage. As we pulled into the driveway, we actually met the realtor covering the sale but even with his help we couldn't find the B&B proprietor.

We continued our exploration of the island and returned to the B&B around 2:30 where we met Helen the owner and innkeeper.

Helen welcomed us, warned us about wiping our shoes and soon had us settled into our room. Our suite was large, with a king bed, a large bath and separate shower and a real wood fireplace. We also had access to a wrap-around deck overlooking the Haro Strait and beyond to Victoria, BC. Helen has owned this place since 1999 when she moved from Santa Cruz, CA where she had owned and operated a 12-room inn, the Babbling Brook Inn.

We were the only guests at Highland for our two night stay so we had the full attention of Helen. After serving afternoon cookies, Helen offered several suggestions for dinner and we took her up on McMillin's at Roche Harbor.

We had a great dinner, Sheila having salmon and for me a super slab of prime rib, all very nice. Our return to the inn was uneventful aside the fact that somehow I missed a turn and headed off in the wrong direction. Street lighting is nonexistent and signage at night is practically invisible; that said being lost is only a minor set-back as the island is so small that sooner or later you'll recognize something and restore your bearings.  We arrived back at the inn about 8:30 and soon had a roaring fire in the fireplace.

As at other places we resumed our routines, Sheila doing puzzles and me doing something on my MAC. We watched the end of the Chiefs vs. Packers game, though it made little difference to our Fantasy Football teams. As it was, Sheila had beaten me handily without the Monday results.

So ended our first night on the island, tomorrow we would search out the whales and other wildlife of the San Juan Island.