one point seven: Fun up north

After a stressful spring spent staying close to home, we decided we needed some sort of summer vacation. So we packed up and took a road trip through northern Washington to celebrate the summer solstice and Alex's birthday.
Our first stop was Poulsbo, a Scandinavian village in the Puget Sound. We rented a cool old 50 foot sailboat for the night through airbnb. We didn't go sailing, but we did help the owner move the boat to a different dock. Here the owner Tami teaches Ole how to throw the rope from the bow to the dock.

We lounged on the boat, had dinner in a cute pub (with foosball!), and took a sunset walk down the shoreline.

In the morning, we expertly zipped onto the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, our car being the very last car allowed aboard. Up in Anacortes, our next ferry was delayed, and after groaning a bit, we took a little walking path and found this lovely beach to play on while we waited.

Ferries are the best way to travel! Just sit back and enjoy the view--it was all smooth sailing.

Okay, it's not the best photo, but that's a pod of orcas in the distance! "Hey," I said to no-one in particular, "there are some whale or dolphins or something swimming out there." The tourist boats quickly spotted them and zoomed in.

Our next stop was Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We stayed right in town in a top floor studio, but it felt so private, hidden down this lush brick path.

We toured the island, which was only ten or so miles wide, and stopped to skip rocks at this beautiful cove beach.

We visited Pelindaba Lavender farm.

Our favorite stop of the day was this amazing twenty acre sculpture park in Roche Harbor.

Here's the Lime Kiln Point lighthouse. Inside we ran into a couple visiting from Stevenson, just down the road from us at home. It was surprisingly cold and windy out on the point, so we took in the view quickly.

We enjoyed a fancy birthday sushi dinner and checked out the San Juan Island brewery. Then it was back on the ferry and onward to Westport.

It was Pirate Days in Westport, so we went down to the port to do some people watching...oh my! I had no idea how many people are fully invested in pirate culture.