Island Hopping

"Hmm, where are we again?" Thankfully we never got lost! This cool waterproof map and a GPS really helped us to know where we were going.

Tepees on a private island owned by the YMCA called Satellite Island. It has three different camping areas and is used for overnight camping trips, mooring a sailing fleet and as a base camp for kayak expeditions. These things are all part of YMCA's Camp Orkila on Orcas Island.

Boats anchored in Prevost Harbor.

Bri chillin' out at San Juan County Park. The Mr. and I found it weird to visit the park via the water as we realized we had visited it years before with my parents by car. We didn't know it was the same park until we walked up and recognized the buildings and the racks of kayaks.

We were a little smaller than most of the boats in Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. Ha ha.

This is where they asked us to bow tie instead. Notice the sign reads "dinghy's only"- we thought this was pretty funny. At least we were the biggest boat in this area, instead of the tiniest as we were before!

The next 6 photos are also taken at Roche Harbor, it is such a beautiful place to dock and eat dinner or just walk around and see the sites. Each night they have a colors ceremony where they lower the flags. Once the flags are safely put away for the night, the colors ceremony staff, anyone who may have a birthday or anyone wanting to join in on the fun all take turns jumping off the ledge into the freezing ocean water below. Brrr.

The walkways are all made of old bricks that were made in different parts of Canada, I would love to know the history behind them.

The harbor used to be home to a lime company called Tacoma and Roche Harbor lime Co. which was incorporated in 1886. You can still see parts of the mine along the cliffs in the area.

The famous Hotel De Haro is surrounded by beautiful gardens. Random fact: President Theodore Roosevelt stayed here in 1906.

You can take the Roche Harbor Walking Tour via the net and learn a lot of neat things that will make you want to visit the island and these historical places if you haven't already. If you ever take the ferry to Friday Harbor, either drive your car or rent one once you get there. It is so much fun to drive around the Island to different parks and historical areas. I love the American and English Camps, and seeing the site of the Pig War, Lime Kiln state park is a great place to watch for Orca whales and Snug Harbor would be a neat place to spend the night in a cabin and rent kayaks during the day.

This is their post office- tiny! Almost all of it is showing in this photo.

When we were in between destinations, Bri napped in her bouncy seat on the floor beside her mommy's feet. She was so content and happiest when the boat was moving as it easily lulled her to sleep.

The Mr. and I on our way back to camp one evening.

Grace and Bri.

The Mr. and Bri. It was fun to get to know our little neice better on this trip, as we don't see her quite as much as we would like to!


One evening we went for dinner at Downriggers at Friday Harbor. The food was so good! The photo above is what I ordered. Prawns in the yummiest garlic butter sauce. There were 10 prawns in there, way more than I thought there would be and I was so full after finishing this.

This was Grace's plate and it looked so good! There were all sorts of yummy seafood items mixed in with her pasta.

We saw lots and lots of boats. It is really interesting seeing all the boats of all different sizes, types and names.