San Juan Island: Day 3

Sunday morning we woke up to take advantage of breakfast again (mmm, pancakes) and filled our packs with some bagels for later. We got back to our tent, showered, then packed up to head home. The weather was cloudy, so we were happy that we were able to take advantage of the good weather the day before. When we checked out at the lodge, we went out on the deck that had been off limits to us due to the wedding to at least see what was out there. There are a bunch of chairs and couches set up, and even a fireplace. Perfect spot to sit and relax at the end of the day.

goodbye Lakedale

Since the shuttle didn't run as often on Sundays, we had a cab come pick us up. The cabby showed up in a old yellow Mercury with checkerboard stripes. He even dressed the part with a driver's cap on. Once we got in, I noticed a little puppy sitting on the floor next to the driver, so cute! He took us in to Roche Harbor where we were scheduled to fly out of.

Once we got to Roche, we realized we had quite some time to kill before our 5pm flight, and not too much else to see. The little marina town was pretty deserted compared to Friday, plus the weather put us in a lazy mood. We did some walking around, checking out the shops and the little street fair, but that didn't take long. Fortunately, we found some cozy chairs next to the bocce ball courts to post up in for a bit while we took our packs off and relaxed.

street fair

Friday weather...

compared to Sunday weather.

taking a load off

I actually got a little nap in while Clint listened to some stock market podcast on his phone. When I woke up, it was only 3pm. I decided to walk down to the dock and see if there was a chance of getting an earlier flight home. I happened to time it perfectly as a plane was just landing. Unfortunately they only had room for one to Seattle, so I flew home without Clint...I kid, I kid.

I headed back to Clint to tell him the news, but was getting a little too stir crazy to keep lounging around.  So, we decided to do some more exploring. We found a development where you can buy a plot of land and have a house built, so we checked out all the empty lots to find the best one to buy when we are rich. We headed to the top of the hill and liked the view from up there the best.

view from our future vacation home

We also came across the trailhead for the lime quarries, so we hiked into the woods a little bit to check things out.

one of the quarries

refusing to stop chewing for a photo

lime kiln stuff

waiting for him to read every last word

After our lime mining history lesson, I was in the mood for some clam chowder. We went back to the Madrona Bar & Grill and sat out on the patio again. We had just enough time to enjoy a bowl of soup before our plane took off.

We made our way down to the end of the dock saying goodbye to all the fancy boats and were ready to board. Clint ended up getting stuck helping get everyone's luggage on board after I had him pose for a picture, what a good guy.

cheese!

happy helper

Even though it was a gray day, the views on the way home were still amazing. I recommend everyone travel by seaplane, makes you feel fancy! We were sad to be leaving since we had such an incredible time, but we'll be back!

goodbye San Juan

home, sweet home

San Juan Island: Day 2

The next morning we woke up just in time to catch the continental breakfast in the Mess Tent. I wasn't expecting much (we were camping), but I was pleasantly surprised, yay glamping! Muffins, bagels, cereal, hard boiled eggs, oatmeal, fruit, and the best part...a pancake machine! I definitely need one of these for my kitchen, stat.

heading to the Mess Tent

airstream trailer we thought about reserving

glorious pancake machine

noms

After stuffing ourselves...and our pockets with snacks for the day (what, they said we could!), we headed back to the tent, showered with the tokens the resort provided us, and headed out front to catch the shuttle to Friday Harbor.

I had called ahead that morning to book us a couple mopeds to rent for the day. I guess they get pretty busy once the ferries start coming in, so making a reservation was a good idea. We made it into town and had about an hour to kill before picking them up, so we checked out the local farmer's market. It was a little small, but everything looked so fresh and delicious!

essential food groups...fruit

veggies...

bread...

pizza!

After the market, we made our way to Susie's Moped rentals to start our adventure. Since that was such a fun-filled activity in and of itself, I decided to reserve an entire blog entry just for that. But, afterwards, we treated ourselves to some beers at Friday's Crabhouse while we overlooked the ferry dock.

you'll have to excuse the helmet head hair

After our drinks, we headed to the shuttle stop only to realize we had an outdated schedule and the last ride of the day already left. Knowing we'd have to now take a taxi but not being in any rush, we wandered around town and then made a run to the market to stock up on snacks and more dogs to make for dinner. While we were there we recognized some other Lakedale campers, and asked if we could hitch a ride with them back! I think the ladies were a little scared why I had recognized them (I'm such a stalker), but I think we seemed normal enough for them to accept and let us tag along.

Back at camp we cracked open a bottle of wine and walked around the resort. They had little paddle boats that you can rent, but I think it was getting too close to dusk to take them out. We also spied on the wedding reception for a bit.

As it got dark, we started up another fire and cooked some hot dogs, s'mores, and another thing of jiffy pop...I really do love camping food. I ended up falling asleep in my chair that night (maybe a little too much Fireball), so Clint woke me up so I could crawl in bed with the toasty toes...much better. Another great day on the island!

San Juan Island: Day 1

The weekend before last, Clint and I headed up to San Juan Island for the best. trip. ever! I had been looking forward to it ever since we booked our seaplane flights and a "glamping" reservation at Lakedale Resort. It ended up being so much fun, that we just may need to make this an annual vacation!

We took Friday off of work, and drove down to Kenmore Air on Lake Union in time to catch our 11am flight to Roche Harbor. We had purchased the flights using Alaska Airlines mileage, who knew? It was only 15,000 miles round trip and turned out to be completely worth it. After just a 35 minute flight you're on the island and get to skip out on the car ride up to Anacortes, waiting in the ferry line, then the hour and a half ferry ride over to San Juan. The only downside was not having a car (and packing everything to be under 24lbs), but we ended up using the shuttle on the island which was just fine, and after backpacking a few times, I've learned to pack light.

The actual flight was so much fun! The weather couldn't have been more perfect either. Clint and I spent the entire flight earplugs in and staring out the window snapping pictures.

taxing out in Lake Union

Gas Works Park and a duck!

Shilshole Marina in Ballard

first glimpse of the San Juan islands

We landed in Roche Harbor, which is the cutest little marina town ever. There are tons of huge yachts and sail boats, so Clint and I had fun walking the docks pretending we were rich. We eventually made our way down the dock and scoped out a good place to grab lunch.

made it!

goodbye seaplane

I'll take it!

We had lunch at the burger joint just as you get off the dock, and it was delicious! After eating, we started to explore. We walked around the gardens at Hotel de Haro, played some bocce ball, then went and learned some local history on the mausoleum walk.

quaint little Roche

Hotel de Haro

bocce ball courts

McMillin mausoleum 

After walking back from the masoleum, we decided it should be happy hour and grabbed a table on the deck at Madrona Bar & Grill. We ordered a couple beers and a delicious shrimp and avocado cocktail, yum!

watch out for that pepper

Feeling "happy" we headed back to the general store to stock up on some necessities for the night...beer, bottle of wine, and some jiffy pop for the campfire. Then we hopped on the last shuttle of the evening and headed to Lakedale Resort to check-in to our canvas tent.

Lakedale Resort is so pretty, we loved it there! We did have a couple issues (one being the expensive price), but overall we had a great stay. After checking-in to our tent, we realized we had some noisy neighbors. They were nice about letting us move, and we found a more secluded tent where we could still see the lake, but the price was cheaper since it wasn't considered a lake view. We got unpacked and settled, then did some exploring. Unfortunately, they had a wedding there that weekend, so we weren't able to take advantage of the lodge. Instead, we grabbed some hot dogs and buns from the general store, and had some wood and ice delivered to our site.

Clint started a fire once we got our wood, and we broke open the dogs for dinner. We had a fun night sitting by the fire, eating and drinking while wearing headlamps...nerds. We headed to bed where our "toasty toes" awaited us. Each night the staff delivered flannel covered hot water bottles to place at the foot of our bed under the covers to keep our toes warm, loved it!

canvas tent

so much better than sleeping bags

jiffy pop!

toasty toes

We also had a visitor that night while we were out by the campfire...a creepy little foxy! I've never seen a black fox before, and this one seemed to be a little too friendly (could have been cause Clint was feeding him hot dog). He kept circling our campsite and getting closer and closer, he was harmless though.

creepin through the smoke