ORCAS ISLAND

6-5-2012 - 6-6-2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orcas_Island
http://www.visitsanjuans.com/the-islands/orcas-island
http://orcasislandchamber.com/

Leaving at 7.06 am from Kirkland.
Raining.
Southbound traffic is horrible. Miles and miles of pretty much stopped cars.
Anacortes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anacortes,_Washington
http://www.cityofanacortes.org/

About 1 hour and 47 minutes of waiting for the ferry. On the top of that, the ferry was late and we waited extra 53 minutes.

Leaving for Orcas island.

There is a lot of islands:

We rented a room through airbnb.

Ferry ride was fine.
Cloudy, rainy and cold.
Late.
Drove through half of the island (11 miles).
Walk into the village (Eastsound).
Stores, restaurants ... pretty small.
Walk back and drive on the other side of the island.

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Moran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moran_State_Park
http://www.rosarioresort.com/

Rosario resort and spa. Used to be retirement house of Robert Moran, mayor of Seattle and owner of Moran Brothers (ship building company). Really nice.
He donated land which became Moran state park. Really nice.
A lot of camping and hiking trails (the season did not start yet).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Constitution

The highest point on San Juan Islands is Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island. There are trails leading to the top with (said on many sites and in every guide book) incredible view. You can as well drive almost on the top. We chose: drive. The observation tower is relatively new and offers great view.

The weather got better.
Driving down hill.
Exploring the rest of the island.

The island is relatively small, there were some empty houses, store etc. As well, it looked like a lot of lodging and camping in warmer weather (we were too early). Relaxing, hiking, fishing and apparently whale watching. Not completely my cup of coffee (my choice of words).

 Next day was sunny and much nicer. We slowly drove towards the ferry landing. Ever changing terrain, small "villages", some resorts, forest and a lot of water. And deer.

And ... leaving.
The ferry was late, again.
Anacortes.

The part with the hill to oversee the town and whole bay.
Walk around the main street, visit some antiques stores and enjoy quiet and peaceful time.
Drive towards Kirkland on small round around the ocean. Mainly farms and small towns. At least some change. And some funny picture (building called Viking village with "Scandinavian" store).

  Ohhh .... yeahhh.

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