Friday Harbor

Saturday, July 6, Day 75

Today is a special day for the Symonds.  They are having a celebration of life for Kayla's grandfather,  Robert Symonds, who passed away November 4 of 2012.  There will be over 40 people arriving at the house to be in each other's company and remember Bob.  And they will scatter his ashes near the beach he loved so much.

Jack, John, Maria and I are headed off to the San Juan Islands and Friday Harbor.  We all got up late and stayed at home most of the morning.  This will be one of our last chances to visit with Chris and Kayla.

The ferry leaves from Anacortes, and the ride is about an hour to Friday Harbor.  It's another gorgeous day. We missed the ferry we had planned to catch.  A train and slow drivers caused us to get there

just as it was leaving.  No matter.  We had lunch and caught the one at 2 o'clock.  

This little girl has propped her stuffed animals up by the window so they can see the beautiful scenery.

Arrival at Friday Harbor came quickly, and we dashed off to catch one of the buses that would take us out to Lime Kiln point and a potential look at the whales. This is on the West side of San Juan Island and in the San Juan archipeligo.

Aboard the bus is this sign. Conversation with the bus driver overheard makes it sound like
the whales aren't in the strait yet.  The salmon on which they feed haven't yet begun their swim toward the rivers.  The channel by lime kiln has the perfect currents to move the salmon forward and it is usually easy eating for the Orca pods.

Nevertheless, the scenery on the ride is wonderful.

We had a brief stop at the lavender fields.

Jack and Maria posed in front of the Orca sculpture at our stop.

Lots of kayakers take advantage of the currents here.  The kelp beds are great for otters, seals, and, of course, the whales.

John took a picture for a young couple, and they returned the favor.  The Lime Kiln lighthouse is in the background.

With the shadows, Maria looks like a mermaid!

We did see some Dall's porpoises, but alas, no whales today.  The bus took us back to Friday Harbor, where we had some grilled oysters and gin and tonics to "prepare" for the ferry ride back.

Mt. Baker was spectacular on our return trip.  Such a beautiful day and the ferry ride both ways was lovely.

We docked in Anacortes and had a beautiful ride home in the waning sunlight.

A spectacular sunset closed the day.