Day 3: A Day at Sea

Day Three: A Day at Sea

This morning we headed north to Sidney, about a thirty minute drive, after a Starbucks 'breakfast'. There we were to catch the Washington State ferry that would take us to Orcas Island in the center of San Juan archipelago. It was a day of grey overcast with no precipitation and no sun breaks.

Again, we arrived early, processed our tickets, parked the car and wandered about while waiting for the call to return to our vehicles for boarding. Once the ferry arrives and unloads, one line after another of vehicles is guided onto the ship. We were directed to park on starboard side of the second deck. The cars are packed quite close, sometimes necessitating crawling over to exit the other side of the car. You are not permitted to remain in your vehicle during passage. There are two decks above the vehicle decks for passengers with restrooms, a snack bar, and a variety of seating options including booths with tables where many could be seen playing cards or attempting jigsaw puzzles.  We chose to sit on the wooded benches at the bow - though Joe spent almost the entire two and a half hours of the first leg out on the deck taking in the sea spray, the passing islands and overlooks, and the montage of passing vessels. Joe loves being at sea - but by the end of the run he was practically hypothermic despite having changed into long pants and put on a winter jacket.

When called to return to our vehicles for exiting, we couldn't remember where we had parked! After wandering the decks on both sides of the vessel we finally found our car thanks to the remote lock horn.

Due to a lack of understanding of the Washington ferry system during the initial planning stage of the trip, we were forced to take two ferries to get to our destination - Orcas Island.  The only direct ferry to Orcas is from Anocortes on the Washington side, not from Canada. So we rode a ferry from Sidney to Anacortes, passing south of Orcas island about halfway through the trip. At Anacortes we did a U-turn out of the exit, got back in line and waited to join the next ferry that would take us to Orcas - another hour-and-a-half at sea away. Once again Joe spent most of the time out on the bow as if on watch...  Note: this route turned out to be a ‘blessing in disguise’ because if we had taken the more direct route we wouldn’t have been able experience the most memorable part of our trip on Thursday – day 4 (more on this later). 

On our way to the Orcas Islands ...

 We pulled into Orcas Port at about a quarter past five having spent nearly the entire afternoon at sea. We didn't linger to explore the port but immediately drove the thirteen or so miles to the other side of the island and our lodgings, the Otter's Pond Bread and Breakfast.  Driving along the sparsely settled landscape of fields and farms, Lyn spotted several deer. 

At Otter's Pond we were met by our temporary hosts, Tyger and Todd,  a retired couple who were filling in for the owners for the week. After a brief orientation to the house that included an extended description of possible dinner venues,  we dropped off our stuff and headed back to Eastsound - the main settlement on the island through which we had passed on our way from the ferry - .

We parked and wandered around the village in search of a restaurant, settling on the Agave, a Mexican place where the relaxed atmosphere matched the service and the meal. Dinner ended with another exploratory stroll around town including Main street which runs alongside a tiny harbor.

On the drive back to Otter Pond we crossed paths with many more deer - a population which we heard has evolved to be smaller than mainland stock from which they originated before swimming out to the islands many years ago. 

Otters Pond Bed and Breakfast

As the sun retired west of the islands, so we retired to our room and sleep....