Anacortes and Ferry Fun

A placid August morning on the Puget Sound, heading for
Coupeville from Port Townsend, WA.

The tide is high and the sun is on it's way as I catch the ferry for Coupeville so I can drive up to Anacortes, WA. A dear friend and I have planned a couple of days of riding on ferries in the sunshine with some good food and other entertainments as they manifest. 

The approach to Coupeville is serene; great for anyone
making their first docking. I don't know if there was a new
captain on board, but that's what I was thinking when I
took this shot.

Mt. Baker rises up from the Cascade rim.

With such clear skies, the opportunity for taking some good photos is more than likely. And Lady Baker has lifted her cloud skirts so we can see her fulsome beauty. 

I opened up my sunroof and the side windows and cruised along with a fresh cup of latte to my destination. I was thinking, "Everything is going just great in my world!"

And so it continued.

Carol and I met in person almost exactly four years ago at the Chihuly glass museum in Seattle. This was a nice way to commemorate our friendship and to celebrate some of the least expensive fun things to do in Washington: ride the ferries around the San Juan Islands. It was only about $6 to be a walk on passenger and it lasted all day!

Friday Harbor... boats...

We caught the 11:45 ferry to Friday Harbor, walked around, saw art stores, museums, boats and folks.

Self-contained island near Orcas Island in the San Juan Island chair in
Washington. The dock is on the other side of the island.

Then the 5 p.m. ferry to Orcas was a quick stop, another at Shaw Island and finally we got off at Lopez. Not so much by choice as by requirement; the inter-island ferries do not go to Anacortes.

Shaw Island is the smallest of all.

Lopez Island ferry dock seen on approach.

Arriving at Lopez Island, WA in the San Juan islands.

Lopez Island ferry dock has a whimsical flower display.

Mount Baker as seen from Lopez Island ferry dock.

Our wait at Lopez was too long to be idyllic and too short to either walk or get a ride into downtown Lopez. So we chatted with the ferry folks, met a former coach and his wife who were there for a wedding, took some pictures and enjoyed the fact that it was warm, but cool in the shade where we found seats.

By the time the big ferry arrived to return us to Anacortes, the air was cooling down and we were lagging in our steps. (I logged over 10,800 steps on this day alone!)

View from the ferry as we were arriving in Anacortes, WA.

Sunday morning was another sunny day, but the wind chill was brisk with a small craft advisory. Nevertheless, Carol had it in her mind to drag me out of the hotel and take a drive up to Cap Sante to watch the sunrise. And I got some great shots; here are a couple of them.

Cap Sante, Anacortes, WA at sunrise, August 14, 2016.

Another Cap Sante shot at sunrise.

On our way to have lunch, we saw this interesting sight.
It appears to be the hull of a wooden ship that has been put
on the rocks to make a breakwater and harbor.

Here is a closer view of the prow of the old ship... wow.

 It was well worth it!! Even if I was still in my pjs! (True!)

We returned to the B&B (breakfast was not worth mentioning there) to shower and prep ourselves for our 'religious education' portion of the trip.

The delicious Crab and Bay Shrimp over Linguini with a
lobster cream sauce, bread with cheese could have been a little
more crisped under the broiler... but very good overall!

And the treat I liked a lot: a restaurant lunch overlooking the water so we could see boats of all kinds moving against the tide and wind while we enjoyed bay shrimp and fresh crab in linguini with a lobster cream sauce, followed by a key lime pie and now, a diet.

That was enough to hold us through the rest of the day and so it was a drive to the top of Mount Erie to view the entire area with some side visits and lots of photo opps.

Back up to Cap Sante for a closing sunset shot...

Anacortes at sunset, Sunday, August 14, 2016. This was
taken with my Samsung phone.

Now I have a very thorough view of Anacortes and its environs and can easily see why my friend Wes enjoys it so much. And could even think about relocating there with all the water and mountain views. But affordability for me requires a rather large influx of cash and Source hasn't delivered that yet.

More weekend ferry shots

   I'm still reflecting on the sunny weekend and all the ferry rides we took to British Columbia and back. Here are some of the best shots... This first one is of a German fellow who is traveling with his wife for six months across the continent in a camper they had sent over from their country. They were delightful to talk to and they kindly took a picture of Jey-hu and me for our historical records and we returned the favor.

   The second shot is one that Jey-hu took as we were approaching Orcas Island. This old building is one that goes back to the early settlers of the island, according to one traveler. Although it has been upgraded, it's been a landmark for many years.

   Friday Harbor is a popular spot for boaters of all kinds. It was 28 years ago that I made my first, and last, visit to this lovely locale. I spent Fourth of July weekend here with a fellow who had a power boat, which was considerably smaller than the one featured here. He used to say that the Golden Rule was "He who has the gold makes the rules." The truth in that remark irritated me, and that he had that belief structure along with his initials, B.S., caused me to look for a more idealistic partner. All these years later I realize that idealism has no place in a world of commerce, which is really what is going on and my long-ago host can be forgiven, if he's still on the planet.

   The hazy light made this shot look more artistic than it might have otherwise. Hope you are enjoying our collection of views of the San Juan Islands.

Shipped Out...

    After the frustrations of trying to get to a seminar and being thwarted by weather and airline actions, Jey-hu and I decided to ship out on the first ferry to Canada - which meant getting up at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday to be in Anacortes, WA by 6:30 a.m. (groan!) The low-lying clouds of the morning lifted by mid-day and we had a sunny, albeit brisk passage to Sydney, BC on the island of Vancouver. The three-hour trip winds through the San Juan Islands, with the ferry making a couple of stops along the way.  Although there are 172 islands total, only three are really large enough for regular tourist travel - San Juan, Orcas and Lopez. Pets that travel are not allowed up on the passenger deck and the expression on this dog's face just caught at my heart. His mistress was sitting reading a book and I don't think she saw me taking his picture.

   Our initial plan was just to go and see where we ended up, knowing that we had an invitation to a picnic later in the afternoon near Elk/Beaver Lake south of Sydney. We had both heard about the Butchart Gardens, a Canadian National Heritage Site now, and made this our first stop of the day. What a great choice! So many flowers were in bloom, it was hard to decide whether to visit the Japanese Garden first or the Sunken Garden. But since we had to make our way through the Rose Garden, we really stopped and smelled the flowers there first.

   Over 150 acres of land were owned by the Butchart family when they operated a Portland cement plant on the property, and today approximately 55 acres is still available to walk through. Just this year an electric powered boat started offering 45 minute tours of the outer edges the property that borders on the Tod Inlet near Victoria on Vancouver Island and while the price was affordable, we didn't have the time this time to do that. We definitely plan to go back and include that tour on the next visit.

   I've heard people remark - before visiting this site - "Oh, it's just a bunch of flowers..."      Yes, it is. But it is the truly remarkable effect of color, scent and design that makes the whole walk around each of the themed gardens so impressive. I'm only including a few of the over 200 shots we both took trying to capture the feeling and immensity of years of creating by Jennie Butchart that went on to make this place worthy of a day's visit. Below you can see some of the hundreds of people who were making their way down steps into the Sunken Garden, which

was once used as a quarry. Be sure to go to the link I've provided to learn more about the history of this most unusual botanical adventure and perhaps make your own plans to go and visit it. I took lots of pictures of roses, thinking about my bestest friend in O'Brien, Florida, who loves

 roses, too. But this rose was one of the more colorful AND scented options - so sorry, I just don't remember the name of it. I am always on the search for "Sterling Silver," an old rose with a lavender hue and very strong scent. Amazingly, I didn't find one of those there, but some obvious crosses which must have included elements of my favorite because of the color and hint of smell that reminded me of it. I will report on the rest of the day in my next entry... glorious all in all!