San Juan Island is among many islands in the Salish Sea. Andy and I have been meaning to explore the area, so we found a Living Social deal for a bed and breakfast on the island for our anniversary. Our anniversary is at the end of October, but we decided to wait until December to see the Christmas lights.
Our trip was scheduled for December 7th through the 9th. Andy still had to work a full day, so we left Seattle around 4 to try to catch the Anacortes ferry at 6 pm to the island. We hit traffic, so we missed the 6 pm. We decided to check out Anacortes Brewery and eat at their Rockfish Grill while we waited for the 8:20 pm ferry. The food was amazing and filling. After dinner, we decided to head to the ferry to wait in line to board.
We then took the ferry, which was very efficient compared to other ferries I have ridden. We parked the Jeep and went to the passenger area. We read on our Kindles during the ferry ride because it was dark.
We got into Friday Harbor and headed to the Tucker House Inn for the night. It was pretty late, so we decided to stay in to enjoy the bottle of champagne waiting for us in the Patience Corner room.
Tucker House Bed and Breakfast
American and English Camps
We woke up early and headed down to breakfast one building over, where we were able to mingle with the other guests staying at the B&B. We had eggs Benedict with brussel sprouts, which was delicious. The breakfast experience was great even though I am not a morning person. We met a retired and young couple from Seattle and a couple from Canada. We made small talk mainly with a retired couple from Seattle.
After breakfast, we went back to the room to get around for the day. We decided to explore the two camps on the island. We first went to the American Camp and walked around. It was pretty cold, so we did not stay out long. There were a few buildings here left to get a feel of what the settlement was like. We then went to the coast to walk on the rocky beach.
We then headed to the English Camp because there was a festival with dancing happening. We were at the English camp and went to listen to a band playing music. A bunch of people were dressed in clothing from the time of the settlement and were dancing to a band playing folk music. They had hot apple cider and cookies for the visitors. This was amusing for a little until they started asking volunteers to dance along.
Since the weather was a little on the cold side, we decided to head to Roche Harbor for lunch. We ate at a little cafe. The food was decent. We then drove back to the bed and breakfast and watched some TV and read. We were finding there was not too much to do if the weather is not warm on the Island with small towns.
We had a delicious dinner at Coho Restaurant and talked to the owner and chef. This was a portion of our Living Social deal. Overall, it was a good experience. After dinner, we decided to walk around town. The Christmas lights were not too decorative. We also had a hard time finding something else to do other than visit souvenir shops. We headed back to the bed and breakfast once again.
Orcas Island
We woke up again early and headed down to breakfast. They served pancakes. There were more people for breakfast this morning, so we made conversation throughout breakfast. We then headed back to the room to pack. Since we had already hit up the historical and tourist places on San Juan, we decided to take the ferry to Orcas Island and venture to hike at Moran State Park with hopes the weather would be nice enough for a quick hike.
Map of Orcas Island
The road to the trail we were planning on hiking was closed for the season, so we decided to head back into town. We stopped and grabbed a coffee and then decided to get back into the ferry line. Fortunately, we had our Kindles with us to read while we waited. We then boarded the ferry and road back to Anacortes.
We plan to revisit when the whales are more active and do a little kayaking and marine sight-seeing.