Entries Tagged as 'orcas island'

The Night on Peaks

August 25th, 2008 · No Comments


Peaks Island View Towards Portland

Rob met up with us at the ferry landing and we went to check into The Inn at Peaks Island. One problem, we weren’t registered there! Not to worry, the place we were staying was The Peaks Island House and was so close that the guy working registration at The Inn walked us over The Peaks Island House. To give you an idea, The Inn has 6 rooms and The Peaks Island House has 5 and those are all of the places to stay on the entire island. The Inn seemed a bit nicer than The Peaks Island House, but latter had a way better view. Our room looked right out onto Casco Bay, whereas The Inn was across the street.

After we got checked in we walked over to Colleen and Rob’s house to check it out. Most things on Peaks Island are walkable. Cars are allowed on the island, but many people just have golf carts and bikes. Some of Rob and Colleen’s family and friends were at the house. We had a few drinks and then walked over to The Inn and had a few more. After that we called it a night. Long day!

The ferry to Peaks Island and the island itself reminded Ging and I of Orcas Island, part of the San Juan Islands out in Washington. We’d both visited, though not together. The only thing is that Orcas is much bigger and much more populated than Peaks. I heard that Peaks is only like 2 miles across and Orcas is 57 square miles. Also, Peaks population is about 800 year-round residents, swelling to 5,000 in the summer, where Orcas has about 4,500 residents, not sure how many in the summer. On Orcas there were many boutiques and shops and grocery stores, things to do, places to eat and rooms to stay. On Peaks there are the two inns with 11 rooms total, each of them had a restaurant. There was a coffee shop, a breakfast place, one general store, one souvenir shop, maybe a few other small businesses and that’s it. Most of the island is private residences and conserved land.

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Orcas Island, Day 2

August 17th, 2003 · 3 Comments


Outlook Inn, East Sound, Orcas Island


Walking to the market to get some coffee I pass by this sign. “Noon or so” cracked me up.


Small alley with More Shops.


Sea Kayaking


Jesse the cute guide is on the left, Jeff is on the right.


Views while kayaking


Bald eagle at the top of the tree


Kelly & Jeff


Kelly & Jeff


Rachelle


Rachelle & Jesse



Starfish


Starfish


Starfish


After kayaking we hung around Orcas Village waiting for the ferry



Jeff & Kelly



Last looks at Orcas Village on Orcas Island while pulling away in the ferry




Rachelle on the ferry




Coming down the steps from the passenger area to the car area on the ferry


Parked cars on the ferry


On the ferry


On the ferry

After waking up bright an early we headed over to Orcas Village for an 8 a.m. kayaking excursion. We signed a release, got brief instructions, and were out on the water in no time. There were an odd number of people on the kayaking tour – 5 – so.. unlucky me.. I had to share a kayak with the cutest tour guide on Orcas Island, Jesse from San Francisco. Kayaking on the Sound early in the morning was very relaxing and chill. We saw many animals, including river otters, a harbor seal, tons of purple and orange starfish, sea cucumbers, clams, a heron, and a bald eagle and its baby. I would recommend sea kayaking to anyone, especially if you’re not actually on the sea and don’t have to row very much because your cute tour guide is doing all the work for you.

After kayaking we parked our car on line for the ferry back to Anacortes. It can be hard to get off the island – you need to get your car on the line hours before the ferry is scheduled to leave. While the car was parked we had breakfast and did a little shopping. This was our last ferry ride of the trip, which was good because I was starting to get a little sick of sitting on the ferry.

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Orcas Island, Day 1

August 17th, 2003 · 3 Comments


Waiting for the next Ferry in Anacortes.


Eating clam chowder for lunch while waiting for the Ferry.


Finally getting on the ferry.


Here’s a ferry coming in. You can see all of the cars parked on it.


The Outlook Inn, East Sound, Orcas Island


Outlook Inn


Out look Inn & the Main Street of East Sound


View from across the street from the Outlook Inn. Little did I know at the time that this would also be the view from our hotel room balcony.


Our room had 3 beds and shared a bathroom. It was quaint and not very inconvenient for just one night.


Our room was the only one on our floor in the main building with a balcony.


Rachelle on the balcony.


Cascade Falls, Moran State Park


Cascade Falls


View from Mount Constitution, Moran State Park


View from Mount Constitution


View from Mount Constitution


View from Mount Constitution


View from the tower on Mount Constitution


View from the tower on Mount Constitution


Compass on the tower


Graffiti carved into the tower


Deer on the way out of Moran State Park


More deer


Hiking a mile down to the cove at Obstruction Park


At the cove




Getting our dinner out to eat at the cove


Yummy sandwiches



Kelly & Jeff at the cove





Jeff & Kelly in our hotel room

On August 7 we visited Orcas Island, a part of the San Juan Islands. From Seattle, you drive north to Anacortes and take the Ferry. Unfortunately, we arrived at Anacortes at a little after 12 p.m., missing the 11:50 ferry. The next ferry out wasn’t until 2:30. The cars were already lining up, so we parked our car on line, got out and explored what little there was to see in the area. We decided that since we wouldn’t be getting to Orcas until about 3:30 that we should stay overnight if we could get a decent rate on a room. So we started calling hotels and totally lucked out when found a room with a bay view from a private balcony The Outlook Inn for only $94/night. We also made reservations to go sea kayaking the following day.

Once on Orcas Island, we went to East Sound, the small town where our hotel was. We checked in, explored the neighborhood, and bought some sandwiches and snacks for dinner at a supermarket. We then drove to Moran State Park and did a short hike to Cascade Falls. Also at Moran State Park we drove to Mount Constitution. The view from there is amazing. There’s also a tower you can go up in on the top of the mountain to get an even better view. Next we drove down to Obstruction Pass Park. We hiked a mile to a secluded cove where we ate the dinner we purchased earlier. We stayed a little too long in the cove admiring the sunset and the moon, for when we hiked back the mile to our car it was pitch black and we were stumbling all over roots and rocks on the path. Once back in the car and back in East Sound, (we got lost in the dark.. and man, there sure are a lot of deer out there that you have to try not to hit) we stopped at a little grocer and got a few drinks to enjoy on our balcony. After that: lights out.

See also:
- Map of Orcas Island
- Map of San Juan Islands, of which Orcas is a part
- Map of San Juan Island in relationship to Seattle

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