San Juan Island - Anniversary - July 2018

Friday Harbor - San Juan Island

For our 17th Anniversary, we decided to escape the AZ heat and head to cooler climates - the San Juan Islands in Washington.  Since we were in New York City the prior weekend to celebrate Jean's 75th birthday, we decided to fly straight to Seattle from there and work in Seattle for a few days before taking the ferry to San Juan Island.  We stayed the entire time on San Juan Island as there was enough to do on that island so we will have to make another trip to see the other islands.  We did not rent a car (it's not really necessary) but used the island shuttles and taxis instead.  The weather was fabulous the entire time we were there!

Dinner at Coho

Accommodations:

Pike Motorworks - we stayed in the free guest suite at one of Keith's company's properties in Seattle.  The property is in Capitol Hill so convenient to lots of restaurants and bars.  The suite was great - very clean and comfortable with a queen bed, bathroom and full washer/drier (which was needed since Shawna had been traveling the week prior)!

Friday Harbor House - we stayed here on San Juan Island for three nights.  It is a great location up on the hill overlooking Friday Harbor and convenient to all of the spots in town.  The room was nice and there is a great restaurant where you can sit outside with great views of the harbor.  There was a continental breakfast included which was weird as it was set up on the third floor of the hotel in a hallway with no place to sit so we opted to pay for the breakfast in the restaurant most mornings.

Marriott Waterfront - we stayed here on points the last night before flying home.  It was only an 8 minute walk from the ferry to the hotel.

Friday Harbor

Activities: 

We arrived in Seattle late on Sunday night - Shawna worked out of the guest suite on Monday and Tuesday while Keith did some interviews and visited one of the properties.  In the evening, we met up with Grace for dinner one night and with Kelly and Reed the other night.  It was great to catch up with both of them.  On Tuesday afternoon, we walked down to Pike's Place Market via the Amazon Go store where we had to try it out and bought a water.  The weather was stunning!

Dinner with Grace at Momiji

On Wednesday morning, we took the ferry from one of the harbors in downtown Seattle to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  The ferry took about four hours to get there so we napped and watched a few shows on the iPad.  Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel and then quickly grabbed lunch before we picked up our bike rentals and rode for three hours down to Cattle Point (which is the southwestern tip of the Island) and back.  The road was somewhat hilly and had a nice shoulder for most of it.  That evening, we dined at the hotel and watched the 4th of July fireworks from the deck of the restaurant.  The fireworks display was quite impressive for such a small island.

Biking to Cattle Point

On Thursday, we went on a three hour kayak tour out of Snug Harbor (the company provided transportation to and from where we kayaked).  It was just the two of us and another couple with the guide.  It was a very nice activity - while we did not see whales from our kayaks we did see bald eagles and a harbor seal who got pretty close to our kayak!  With a sore butt from the prior day and sore arms from this activity, we opted to nap and relax in the room in the afternoon - a much needed rest!  After dinner, we took the shuttle over to Lime Kiln State Park where we watched the sunset - it was beautiful!

Kayaking

Sunset at Lime Kiln State Park

On Friday, we hopped on the shuttle to English Camp where we learned about the war that almost erupted with America due to conflict over the San Juan Islands and because an American shot a pig that belonged to one of the British residents.  They decided to set up camps (there is also an American Camp) on opposite sides of the island while they worked out who owned the Islands!  We hiked around the English Camp to Bell Point and then hiked over to Westcott Bay where we had a great lunch outside and also relaxed on Adirondack chairs while sipping rose wine (which we decided was now the new anniversary tradition since we had done the same the prior two years - in Park City and in Willamette Valley).  We then caught the shuttle back to town and went on a three hour whale watching tour.  The boat was great - very comfortable and it went very fast.  We saw orcas and humpback whales - both groups put on quite a show.  The orcas came pretty close to the boat and the humpback whales were slapping their tales on the water!

English Camp

Orca Sighting on Whale Watching Tour

On Saturday, we took a cab over to American Camp and hiked around there, along the water to South Beach and then crossed over the road to hike up Mount Finlayson.  We hiked about 2.5 hours before we took a taxi back into town.  After grabbing lunch, we stopped in a few shops and then relaxed on the deck of the hotel before catching the ferry back to Seattle.  We did not get to the hotel until about 8pm - so checked in, had a quick dinner, then went to bed so we could get up at 5:30am to fly home.

Hike to top of Mount Finlayson

Restaurants:

Seattle
Starbucks Reserve Roastery - had breakfast here both mornings.  Yummy yogurt with granola and coffee.  Interesting place with copper decorations where they roast beans.

Seattle Reserve Roastery

Momiji - Had dinner with Grace.  Great Japanese restaurant in Capitol Hill.  We shared several rolls (which were huge) along with shishito peppers and Hamachi.

Poppy - Had dinner with Kelly and Reed.  Nice Indian influenced restaurant in Capitol Hill.  We shared several appetizers (chickpea salad, goat cheese flan, and the dutch baby) and then shared the salmon for an entree.

San Juan Island
Friday Harbor House - had breakfast here each morning (yummy avocado toast) and had dinner one night.  Food was pretty good but service was a bit slow.  We shared the cheese board, a salad and a fish dish.

Market Chef - had lunch here.  Cute café with inside and outside seating that is only open during the day.  We shared a salad and the grilled cheese sandwich which were both very good!  We wanted to return on Saturday but learned they are closed on weekends - must be nice to shut down during the busiest time!

Coho - had dinner here.  Cute little house in town.  We shared a salad for an appetizer and halibut for an entrée.  The food was good but not phenomenal.

Westcott Bay Shellfish Company - great place to have lunch right on the water.  They are only open during the week. They normally do grilled clams and oysters but they were out of the clams so we got a half dozen grilled oysters with different sauces and some cheese and prosciutto with crackers.

Westcott Bay Shellfish Company

Duck Soup - great romantic place for dinner, located a few miles out of town (we took a cab to get there).  Best dinner of the trip!  We shared a salad and curry claims for an appetizer and the lamb for an entrée.

Downriggers - Located on the water with nice outside seating.  We had lunch here and thought the food was going to be average but surprisingly it was quite good.  We shared a few salads along with salmon ceviche and shishito peppers.

Hook and Plow - restaurant in the Marriott Hotel - we wanted something quick.  The food was actually pretty good (salad was terrific and the halibut quite good) - but the service took forever.

Sunset at Lime Kiln State Park