Day Tripping — San Juan Island Tour
Spending a little time outdoors can do wonders, it might just be the refresh you need! Between waking up at the crack of dawn to get that run in before your daily commute (or maybe hitting the snooze button about 80 times instead), then sitting at your desk all day at work, motivating yourself to actually get your butt to the gym, taking care of your pup, and keeping up with the piles of clothes that need to be folded, it can feel like there’s just not enough hours in the day.
When you reach those glorious two days at the end of the week, finding a balance between going out and having fun or checking things off your to-do-list is challenging even for the best planners out there.
I spent 10 years of my schooling dreaming up a life (and job) that took me outside, and then another 5 living it out. But now that life’s brought me back into the air-conditioned office where I now work, sneaking those getaway moments seems far and few between.
Lucky for me, living in Washington means you don’t need some lavish excursion to take you away.
Blake and I had planned on a weekend of camping on the beach, but the rain thwarted those plans—big surprise, Washington. I still dragged him out of bed (or maybe it was the other way around) at 5 a.m. so he could drive us 2.5 hours to Anacortes to hop on a ferry that would send us off to Friday Harbor—but not before stopping to pick up my Starbucks and breakfast sandwich, priorities right?
I assured Blake we’d make it with plenty of time to park our car in line but spent the last 30 minutes of our drive watching the live ferry update page refresh every 15 seconds and started sweating a little as the number of open spots dropped from 12 to 3. Don’t worry, we made it! And for future reference…you can reserve a spot here. I clearly didn’t know about this handy little option.
When I used to make the trek to Friday Harbor to get back to school during my semester studying at the UW labs, I’d usually put off leaving till late Sunday night and would take the risk of catching the last ferry of the day (I say risk because I missed it once and spent the night in my car). But this time we got to soak it all in and, to our delight, had a pod or orcas join us on the voyage—which I captured in plenty of shoddy Instagram videos.
What to do when you arrive in the cute town of Friday Harbor? There’s a ton of small walkable shops right when you cross the street from the ferry, so park your car and take a stroll. While we waited for the restaurants to open, Blake indulged the plant-lady in me and we popped into Robin’s Nest, we stopped in at Griffin Bay Bookstore and browsed their collections, worked our way through a couple of nautically themed antique shops, and looked at the million dollar listings posted outside the realty while we dreamed up our own.
Thankfully for our impatient stomachs, 11:30 hit and we landed at Friday’s Crabhouse. People were already staking their claims at seats in the outdoor bar overlooking the water and we slid in alongside another couple. Blake ordered the Wild Alaskan Cod Fish & Chips and I had the Butterflied Shrimp with a tasty garlic, wine, and caper sauce and a crisp Seattle-born Schilling pomegranate cider.
Next up, a tour around the island! Drive 15-20 min in any direction and you'll hit beautiful coast. We even saw a group of people who had rented mopeds and “scoot coupes” from Susie’s Mopeds, so if you don't want to take your car across the ferry, it could be fun to look into. We took the drive on the scenic byway, which takes you along the coastline. I love going on drives, so cruising through the fields and checking out the cute farmhouses was part of the fun for me.
Passing the lavender farms, we visited the Lime Kiln Lighthouse and climbed down some rocks off a side path on a trail that led down the shore. There were a bunch of picnic tables strewn along the way, making for a gorgeous spot to stop and eat with a great view of the adorable lighthouse. This is also supposed to be the #1 place for whale watching. But we felt satisfied by our boat-ride sighting and went on to our next stop.
Roche Harbor is the place to go if you want to get the resort treatment and be surrounded by yachts. If you have boat access, you can even reach Posey Island and the campground off the coast of Roche Harbor. There's also the quirky San Juan Sculpture Park if you feel like taking a walk around.
Our last stop was South Beach. The area feels refreshingly set apart, with sandy grass covered rolling hills—it's easily my favorite area of the island. We parked at the historical park and walked down the steps to the beach. Making our way across the pebble shore of the inlet, the tide was down just enough for us to get out onto the rocks that took us further down the coast and revealed tide pools with small pockets of life littered along the rocks. I honestly could've spent plenty more time here, but that's all for this trip!
Any fun day trips or weekend getaways in your future?
