Thursday, September 9, 2010

Labor Day Fun Fest, Part I

Whew, what a weekend we had!  L.Rae and J2K were our first "official" guests, so thanks for being our guinea pigs guys!  We packed a lot of action into three days.

Friday, we got up at 6:00 a.m. (gasp) and headed up to Anacortes.  In spite of the fact that it was the Friday of Labor Day Weekend and we got to the ferry LATE, we made it onto the 9:05 a.m. ferry to Friday Harbor.  It was the first time we had taken the car over on the ferry and it was so much easier than I expected.  The ferry ride is about an hour long and we entertained ourselves with some breakfast, newspapers and picture taking.  

We were on the Elwha ... I love the ferry names.

Mt. Baker and a sailboat.

Taking the Jeep across for the first time ... I think this is literally the farthest north a vehicle with a Mississippi license plate has ever been!

First stop on San Juan Island was Pelindaba Lavender Farm.  They had a cutting field, so J2K went inside and got us a basket and some scissors and L.Rae and I went to work in the lavender fields.  J2K and J. walked the dogs around.  (Oh yeah, we brought Addy and Lucy ... I forgot to mention that earlier).  It was their first trip to San Juan Island and their first ferry ride!  We cut a bushel of lavender, perused the store and tried the Lavender Lemonade.  I'd read reviews of it online and HAD to try it.  Pretty tasty.  L.Rae purchased gifts for her mom and step-mom and we loaded back up and headed down the road.



I LOVE this picture of L.Rae and J2K.  They look so happy to be at Pelindaba!

L.Rae hard at work in the fields!

L.Rae and I

J. and I

J2K and L.Rae

Love this one of them ... they are great photography subjects :) 

Lavender Lemonade!

Next stop was Lime Kiln State Park, which is considered one of the best places in the world to see whales from land.  And we were not disappointed!  I wasn't sure what to expect, but we saw several whales.  They were kind of far out and I didn't get any good pictures, but we definitely saw them!  Lime Kiln State Park was a success in my book!  J. and J2K headed back up to the car and brought our cooler down and we had a picnic lunch right along the water's edge.  We had a delicious lunch until the bees took over and we had to move on down the trail.  After lunch we hiked up to the lighthouse and then headed back to the car.  

Whale watching! 

It was such a beautiful day.

L.Rae and I enjoying our lunch.

Lime Kiln Lighthouse

J. and I ... and our crazy dogs.

L.Rae and J2K

L.Rae and I in front of the lighthouse

We packed up and headed to the far end of the island to see Roche Harbor.  It was a quaint little town set on the water's edge and was gorgeous.  We almost didn't drive all the way to the northern edge of San Juan Island, but I am so glad that we did.


Hotel De Haro

A yacht in the harbor.

J2K and L.Rae enjoying the view ... and some huckleberry ice cream.

Art in the Park ... "Fluke" is available for a mere $40,000.  Don't tell J. but this is what he is getting for his birthday next month.

Loving the whale tail.

After Roche Harbor, we headed back towards Friday Harbor.  Luckily, San Juan Vineyards happen to be on the way back.  So, we stopped for a few tastes.  Unfortunately, this is where my picture taking ended for the day.  It might have been the tastes at San Juan Vineyards or the BOTTLE of wine that L.Rae and I split on the ferry.  Seriously, who drinks a bottle of wine on the ferry?  Apparently, we do.  I am impressed that we managed not to spill one drop of the red wine in the Jeep.  Go us.

Once we arrived back in Anacortes, we met up with G.  We wanted to have dinner at Adrift, but there was an hour wait.  So, we headed to the Brown Lantern and had a drink.  (Because L.Rae and I clearly needed more drinks)  J. and G. played some shuffleboard.  We finally made it to Adrift, which was fantastic.  They had a great menu, with tons of options.  If you are ever in Anacortes, I highly recommend it.

I can't believe we managed to pack so many things into one day ... no wonder I am still exhausted.  And that was just Day 1.  Come back tomorrow to hear about the rest of our fabulous weekend!

S.E.J. 

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