Forts, Ferries and Friends

We have spent the past few days exploring the San Juan Islands. We have come to the conclusion that we could live here. It is a beautiful combination of forests, lakes and ocean. Great seafood abounds along with gorgeous coastline, lighthouses, wildlife and hiking trails. Of course as is typical for us, the weather has been perfect. Not always the case here we understand. Our last day in Annacortes we decided to walk on the ferry and take it to San Juan Island, home of Friday harbor. The town consists of 1 square mile of shops, restaurants and museums not to mention great views of the harbor. The hazy skies have persisted so the scenery is somewhat altered from the normal low clouds or clear sky but we could still appreciate

the quaint coves and boating haven that is the San Juans. We enjoyed the hour ferry ride and our walk around the town. We also visited the Whale Museum and learned a lot about whales, specifically the local pods of Orcas that are monitored by the locals. Their history is really interesting and we had no ideas that they can live to be more than 100 years old….yes, not a typo. They Matriarch they called Granny was captured in 1958, examined and determined to be about 40 years old at the time. There were regular sightings of her in the area up until January 2017….her body washed ashore a few months ago. You do the math. Incredible!!!

Wednesday was moving day. The RV park in Annacortes that we were staying in only had space for 3 days so we were scheduled to move down to Fort Ebey State Park on the West coast of Whidbey Island. We had checked out the site a couple of days before. We were glad we did. Our site, although long enough was going to be a bit of a challenge to get into because of the dense trees all around it. We also discovered that they have a 2:30 check in time. This complicated the fact that we had been invited to the home of friends that we met in Burlington for dinner. They live in an area called Picnic Point outside of Mukilteo on the mainland. We planned on driving to the South end of Whidbey Island, parking and walking on the ferry. We decided to take our chances and get to Fort Ebey early and hoped that we would be able to check in. Well not only were we able to get in early, they had a pull-through site that had cancelled at the last minute and was available. It worked out perfectly. We pulled through, set up, unhitched and were ready to head South. We had so much time that we decided to make a stop at the Whidbey Island Distillery on the way. This was unlike any of the many distilleries that we have been to. It was a very small operation specializing in Berry Liquors. The stills were straight copper tubes that were designed by the retired engineer-owner. Everything is computer monitored. When we were tasting with the owners wife we discovered another “Small World” moment. It turns out she used to live in Southern California and her cousin was married to one of Scott's Co-workers at the Ontario Police Department. It is amazing how many times on this trip we have had this sort of coincidence.
After our stop we headed for the Ferry Terminal. Except for some difficulty finding the parking lot, things went off without a hitch. A 30 minute ferry ride later we were pick up by our friend and taken to their house for a wonderful BBQ dinner and some great company. The house was breathtaking and the view wasn’t too shabby either. High on a hill overlooking the coast with the Islands in the distance. The skies are still smoky but it was beautiful never the less. We caught a late ferry back and drove back to our campsite. We slept in a little the next day,

7 AM, and decided to spend the day exploring locally. We checked out the Fort, hiked the Bluff Trail and walked on the beach. There was also some wildlife to enjoy. Deer, Cranes (I think, I'n no bird expert) and feeding seals. Friday we were scheduled for our third ferry ride in 4 days. We had reservation on the 11 AM Ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend. The 45 minute Ferry would save us about 5 hours of driving and only cost $75 for our 50 foot truck and trailer. The problem was that the 2 Ferry route was down to 1 Ferry because one ran into a sand bar. We read on the website that they were honoring reservations on a first come, first served basis.

We figured that getting there early would help. It wound up being a long wait but we did finally get on the ferry. Our Trusty Rockwood the largest vehicle on board. We got to the terminal at 9 AM and drove onto the boat at 1:15. We were parked in our campsite at 3 PM. A long day but only 1 hour of driving. At least be had our bathroom and food with us while we were waiting for the ferry. A speed bump instead of a road block. All is well. We will spend the next several days exploring the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park. 2 weeks to go on this fantastic trip.