San Juan Islands Vacation Pt. 1

We've just returned from a week camping in the San Juan Islands -- our chance to experience a beautiful part of the Northwest we'd never seen before, and to get away as a family for our first expended trip since Yellowstone a year ago. This time, instead of a motorhome with every comfort, we had a tent, sleeping bags, and only what we could carry in on our little car. It was a different adventure!

Days 1 and 2
It was a long drive up to Anacortes, WA where we spent the first night in a hotel. In the morning we left on the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and checked into nearby Lakedale Resort, a general and open campground build around a natural lake, a few hours later. It was a hot day, and the kids couldn't wait to get in the water!

One of many pictures of the same thing: They found some creature, come take a look!

Colder than it looked.

The view from our lakeside campsite. We couldn't even see the other campsites.

Zaeda near our tent, starting one of her many bike rides.

Day 3

Our first full day on San Juan Island, we set off with a plan of places to visit. We started with Roche Harbor, a luxury port with a row of new million-dollar yachts for sale along a busy and business-oriented harbor walkway with large number of vessels on all sides. It was swank.

Next we visited English camp, the British side of the two military camps (the other being American camp) set up in the mid-1800s when the island was part of a territorial dispute. The kids did a lot of running around the old parade field. We had a picnic lunch there.

Look, a snail!

Next we went to Lime Kiln to watch the whales. We weren't disappointed. We saw several orcas splash in the straight.

Finally, hot and tired, we finished our trip at the  Lavender Farm, where we all had some lavender-vanilla ice cream and Zaeda posed a bit for Jenny in the flowers.

Back at camp, Oliver and I picked up a fishing license and decided to try our luck.  It was in the 90's now and we were sweating out on the dock.

With no patience to watch a bobber, Oliver decided throwing rocks in the lake might scare fish toward the bait. It didn't.