Sitting on the dock of the bay...

When I was a little girl, my uncle Doug had a speed boat in which we used to zoom across the lake (Grand Lake in Celina, OH) to have dinner at Behm's Landing on the other side. I loved riding in that boat, feeling the wind whip through my hair and the mist from the waves on my face!

Well. It just so happens that Ben is into boats and sailing, too!

But...he doesn't have a boat (yet!). So there was no speeding across the Sound to go play in West Seattle, or to go anywhere for that matter!

However, today I did take a ferryboat over to Friday Harbor, an adorable little port on San Juan Island!

It was an all day affair, since I left the house at 8:30am and didn't return until just about 12 hours later.

In order to take the ferry I had to drive to Anacortes,

a small town about 1.5 hours north of Seattle. I am pretty sure I've taken a ferry before, but never by myself, so I was pretty excited but also nervous! I gave myself plenty of time to make the trip, so I had plenty of time after buying my ferry ticket to collect brochures with all the other tourists flocking the waiting room!

The ferryboat!

The ferry ride took a little over an hour. The view from the passenger deck was stunning, nothing but blue water and green islands all around!

It was really windy...can you see my hair flying way out behind me??

I was so excited when we finally docked at Friday Harbor! I couldn't wait to start exploring! We were very close to Canada...if I'd remembered my passport (and if Becky and Ben where able to come with me) I might have opted to spend the day abroad. But I hadn't (and they weren't) so I didn't.

Which is totally fine, because Friday Harbor turned out to be a gem!

The ferry docked right beside a place called Cannery Landing, which had a cute bookstore, a coffee and chocolates shop, a souvenir store, and a few other places. It was easy to find because it was right off the harbor, so I knew I wouldn't get lost when it came time to re-board!

I got to Friday harbor at a little past noon, and had till 5pm to explore.
There was a boat leaving on a whale-watching tour, but it was 3 hours long so I opted to stay on the island.
I did manage to see an orca whale for myself...but for some reason it wasn't the same!

After a couple hours I started searching for a place to have lunch. It didn't take me long to spot the perfect place... The Hungry Clam, which claimed to be famous for their fish and chips.

And what better meal is there to eat at a harbor??
None!

I ordered my lunch to go, because it was such a beautiful day that I could not resist dining outside! I really wanted to eat by the water, and had decided on a little beach called Jackson's Beach about a mile away. I got about .5 a mile down the road before thinking better of it. There were a couple of reasons:

A) I didn't have a really clear idea of where the beach was, nor how to get there
B) I had a time constraint, and thus a minimal margin for schedule-keeping error
C) I was walking. Worse, I was wearing sandals. Granted, they were good sandals with arch support (a gift from my aunt Charm!), but still. My feet were killing me after about 10 minutes.

Instead, I found a bench right up against the dock near the boats.

Lunch time!

I found a little ice cream shop that had Rainbow Sherbert...how could I resist??

Then it was time for more sight seeing (sorry about the lack of pictures of the town, I got kind of caught up in my exploring and forgot to get my camera out!). There were tons of little shops, cafes, bookstores, even a little market for groceries. I guess I hadn't realized that people lived at Friday Harbor...I had assumed it would just be a spot for tourists to act, well, touristy!
There was also a totem-pole sculpture, carved by a woman who belongs to the Coast Salish people who once lived on the island!

The mountain lion and woman pole (left) symbolizes harmony between man and beast; The fish and sun pole (right) represents the food chain/circle of life. The theory is that if you stand between the two poles you are completing the cycle.

San Juan Island...Home to the Coast Salish people!

When my feet couldn't handle any more walking, I settled in at one of the cute bookstores I found and perused the literature selection until it was time to get ready to board!

There was moderate traffic on the drive back south, but it wasn't as heavy as I'd been expecting. I made it back to Ben and Becky's just in time to have dinner with them...a delicious chicken stir fry!

Tomorrow promises to be another grand adventure... Can't wait to tell you all about it!