We went past a lavender farm and on to Lime Kiln Park, the prime orca-watching area. There are a couple of pods that pass by regularly – they had last been sighted the night before, but were nowhere to be seen by us. Oh well – reason to return (that and seeing other islands – we stayed only on the main one, San Juan). I took a little walk to the lighthouse while Linda rested, basking in her ferry-ride Scrabble victory (I made the basking part up, but not her victory!). On the north end of the island, we stopped at a sculpture garden (more an outdoor sculpture showroom, since everything was for sale, but there was a lot to see! We didn’t see it all) and then went on to Roche Harbor, the other town on the island, the site of the lime works that were the island’s main industry and a big resort where presidents had stayed. Then it was back to Friday Harbor, where we walked around shops and I had more salmon (at the fish ladder, there was a voiceover that was supposedly the voice of the salmon, so a running joke was the talking salmon on my plate. Another running joke – Beryl and I were sitting on a bench in Pioneer Square and I mentioned something about how nice the people are. A stranger behind us said, “it’s the weather,” and that became the explanation for everything!).
The next day, we rented a “Scootcoupe” - more practical than a bicycle, more fun than two scooters – it was too noisy to do a lot of talking, but nice to be together – and explored more. For some reason the around-the-island bus doesn’t go to the National Historic Park, and I wanted to! In the 1850s there was a border dispute with Britain as to who owned the San Juan Islands, the U.S. or Canada, and for a while there were two camps on the island, one English and one American. 54-40 or fight had happened a few years earlier (result - the border with Canada is at the 49th parallel out west). An American shot a pig, and it almost escalated into a military battle. Two of the American officers there at the time were George Pickett, of the charge at Gettysburg, and Robert, of the Rules of Order. Cool heads prevailed, and the only casualty of the “Pig War” was the pig. Eventually, in 1872, Kaiser Wilhelm arbitrated the matter, with the San Juans going to the United States.
We strolled the fort remains, drove to a nature trail that took us from prairie to forest, proceeded on to a black-sand beach. More trails for another time! On to the English Camp, where there’s an English garden and where the Union Jack still flies (though as part of the National Park, not under British rule). Back at our B&B, there were cookies and strawberry lemonade – we hadn’t had any when we checked in, so we had some on our way out! The ferry ride back took a different route, and this time it was sunny instead of misty – which meant the mountain was out! That’s what people in Seattle say on the clear days when you can see Mt. Rainier. It’s quite a sight! Could also see the Olympic mountains in the other direction – if I’d had more time I’d have gone to the rainforest in Olympic National Park – which I guess makes it top of the list for next time!
Back in Seattle, I walked up the Harbor Steps to take a picture of the iconic Hammering Man outside the Seattle Art Museum, while Linda stayed below and savored her return-ferry Scrabble victory (again, I project). We’d also brainstormed some Peace Corps recruiting ideas – that was fun for me and I think helpful for her; she was transitioning from her two-day vacation back into work mode. We had a light dinner and a glass of wine while watching the Elliott Bay sunset, with the ferries coming and going – as she put it, a very Seattle moment.
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