Where It All Began

Cap Sante Boat Haven

Cap Sante Boat Haven

We returned to Anacortes to meet up with Leonard’s cousin Susan and her husband Chris at Anthony’s restaurant overlooking Cap Sante Boat Haven.  We shared boating stories over dinner and enjoyed hearing about their East Coast trip with “Buster,” their 37 foot Nordic Tug now moored in Anacortes.  Anacortes is where it all began for us with “Got d’ Fever” – the purchase and exchange of ownership and from which we began our five month voyage of British Columbia and Alaska covering over 3,000 miles.  We said goodbye to Susan and Chris, after touring each other's boat, anticipating new adventures in the months to come.  For us, fall/winter will be spent moving from place to place around Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands.  There are many wonderful communities in which to live that offer local events and activities within easy walking distance of most marinas.  As an example, an earlier trip to Anacortes included a visit to the Saturday Farmer’s Market located next to the marina and the historic Anacortes Train Depot - a true farmer’s market, offering fresh farm produce like vegetables, fresh fruit, meats, honey, cheese, and other food products.  Tables and chairs were set out for folks to enjoy a picnic lunch available from several food vendors.  Other communities on our list of favorites include:  Olympia, Gig Harbor, Bainbridge, Seattle, Kirkland, Edmonds, Kingston, Langley, LaConner, Port Townsend, Eastsound, and Friday Harbor.  While enjoying our local waters, we will formulate plans for next summer’s adventure that will surely be included in a future blog.

Farmer's Market and Anacortes Train Depot

Market Picnic Tables - Anacortes Train Depot

Silent Train Tracks - Anacortes

Leonard Market Shopping

October Fest



October Fest - Pier Warehouse in Anacortes



Sunset at the Pier - Anacortes



We discovered many advantages of living aboard our boat over the extended five month period – the ability to move our home/boat from place to place provided us the opportunity to enjoy different communities at a leisurely pace and take in some local events.  We participated in a couple of harvest celebrations during the month of October - one at Anacortes, Washington and another in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  Both celebrations were fun but quite different in character.  October Fest in Anacortes was held in a warehouse on the pier complete with a beautiful sunset - micro-brew companies offered beer tasting from their line of products, a band played German music, and there were several food vendors.  The event included a costume contest and others had fun dancing.  Yes, yours truly was escorted by the event host for a whirl around the dance floor!  October Fest at Friday Harbor was held at the San Juan County Fair Grounds pavilion and was a family affair that included games for the children, an informal costume contest, and an excellent fifteen-member band that played a wide selection of German music.  Several young guys participated in the beer drinking contest and volunteers served up food and drink to attendees.  We sat next to a lady who happened to be a member of the German Club in Friday Harbor.  After she discovered we were of German heritage, she invited us to come to their club meetings – a standing invitation when we are in town!




Pickled Herring Band - Anacortes

 


Van Allen's Blaskapelle - Friday Harbor



Finalist in Drinking Contest - Friday Harbor



Event Host & Dancing Partner - Anacortes



Specialty Farms - San Juan Is.



Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm



In addition to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm, we visited two other specialty ranches on San Juan Island:  the Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm, and the San Juan Vineyards.  Like Pelindaba, these businesses have found financial success through good marketing, drawing tourists and locals alike to their farms and retail shops.  The Krystal Acres Farm is absolutely gorgeous with its white-washed farm buildings, white-board fencing, huge oak trees, and beautiful pastures holding adorable Alpacas.  The male and female Alpacas were in separate pastures while the little ones called “Cria” were with their mothers in yet another pasture.  We also visited the farm retail shop where beautiful designer sweaters, hats, and other clothing created from alpaca fibers are sold.  We learned that Alpacas are native to South America and belong to the Camel family; one adult Alpaca yields 5 to 8 pounds of fiber (about 4 sweaters).  We continued around the Island with our rental car and stopped at the San Juan Vineyards.  A lovely chapel available for weddings is situated near the vineyards, and the tasting room is located in an old school house built in 1896, which served as a school until 1915.  San Juan Vineyards grows Madeleine Angevine and Siegerrebe grapes.  These grapes are from the same cool latitudes (47 degrees) as Northern France and Germany.  Grapes are also purchased from Yakima, Washington and the Columbia valleys.





San Juan Vineyards



Chapel among the Vineyards



Tasting Room - Historic Island School House



“The Pig War” on San Juan Is.



American Camp Historical Park





American Camp Historical Park



We left Friday Harbor and cruised to nearby Griffin Bay located on the southeast side of San Juan Island, where we anchored and took the dinghy ashore.  We visited “American Camp National Historic Park” the site of an early American military post occupied from 1859 to 1872, during which time the British Royal Marines occupied the north end of the Island.  The joint military occupation of the Island began when an American farmer, Lyman Cutlar, shot a pig belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, sparking a dispute that came to be known as “The Pig War.”  The Hudson Bay Co., a British trading post, established a sheep ranch on the Island and kept other animals including pigs that roamed the Island at will.  A large black pig/boar couldn’t resist Cutlar’s potato patch.  As a last straw, Cutlar shot the pig that was rooting through his potatoes.  The American homesteader offered the going price of ten dollars to the Company for their loss but the Hudson Bay Co. demanded a hundred dollars for their remuneration.  The story became widespread and blown out of proportion.  Letters about the incident were sent to political representatives resulting in both governments establishing a military presence on the island.  Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and homesteaders went about their business and soldiers of both camps shared in social gatherings including dances, holiday celebrations, and sporting events.  Both American and British men married Native women from the north and raised families, whose decedents are part of today’s Island population.  By 1872, the British and the United States were involved in other major political decisions but were still haggling over the remote San Juan Islands.  They finally agreed to the “Treaty of Washington,” which named Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany as the ultimate decision-maker.  He chose a panel of experts to review testimony and in 1872 awarded the San Juan Islands to the U.S.  The town of Friday Harbor was incorporated in 1909 and is known today as the most popular destination in the San Juan Islands.  We spent the night in Griffin Bay and returned to the Port of Friday Harbor to learn more about the island’s history at the San Juan Historical Museum.  The Museum consists of several buildings including the 1894 James King farmhouse, carriage house, root cellar, milk house, barn, an 1891 log cabin, and the original San Juan Co. jail.  We enjoyed the Museum as it provided insight into the lives of those who lived on the island during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.



English Camp



The Trouble Maker?



San Juan Historical Museum (King Home)



First San Juan Jail



1891 Log Cabin

"Sleep Tight" - Tighting the Bed Stringers

Pelindaba Lavender Farm

Lavender Farm Shop

We bid farewell to Bob and Shino bound for Anacortes via ferry then home by car to Redmond.  We stayed at the marina for a couple more days enjoying the wonderful small town of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.  San Juan is home to a number of ranches situated among the island’s beautiful hills and valleys.  On our seven-mile bike trip (14 miles round-trip) to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm, we passed cattle ranches, sheep ranches, and organic farms, including an adorable pumpkin patch ready for the October harvest.  After arriving at Pelindaba, we walked among the lavender fields, observed workers processing lavender at the distillery, and visited the shop full of lavender products.  Lavender is an amazing shrub that’s easy to grow and used for a multitude of products:  personal care products, culinary products, pet care, therapeutic products, and household products.  Lavender is even used as an algae inhibitor and as an insect repellent.  There are 400 different varieties of lavender; once established, these plants rarely need watering and grow best planted in rich soil in raised beds for good drainage.  Plants are pruned regularly to prevent woody stalks and for flower development.  The Pelindaba Farm (open May-Oct) has a wealth of information about lavender and is well worth the trip.



Lavender Fields



Harvesting



Bringing in the Harvest



Distiller

Summer’s End





Friends Bob and Shino

 





Hiking Jones Island



We departed Seattle for the San Juan Islands to enjoy the last of the summer weather and anchored in Mackaye Harbor on the south tip of Lopez Island.  We arrived at Orcas Landing the following day where we picked up our friends, Bob and Shino.  They joined us for the “Indian Summer” weekend, including a trip to beautiful Jones Island.  Jones Island is a marine state park known for its friendly population of deer, its wide variety of plant life, and lovely trails that circle the island.  We hiked the island trails passing Prickly Pear Cactus, Salal, moss laden rocks, and beautiful Madrona trees whose branches reach out over the sea.  These unique trees, also called Arbutus, have red flaking bark, edible red berries, and shiny green leaves with clusters of white flowers when in bloom.  We stopped at several beaches along the way and discovered hermit crabs hiding under the rocks and large jellyfish that had washed ashore.  Java seemed more interested in the deer than the sea creatures.  A deer feeding on apples and pears in an old orchard approached us while fruit fell from the trees above.  We held out an apple for the deer to nibble; and to our surprise, the deer ate from our hand.  We returned to the boat for lunch, commenting on the special beauty of Jones Island.  Later in the evening, Bob and Shino kayaked around the bay, enjoying a relaxing moment removed from their work a day world.





Madrona Tree



Artistic Shapes and Red Flaking Bark





Munching on a Pear



Accepting an Apple Offering



Shino Kayaking



Bob and Shino



Home Base



Elliott Bay Marina



Walking Paths - Elliott Bay Marina



Marina Cafe and Restaurant



Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle has all the amenities a boater could want:  laundry facilities, showers, concrete docks with gated entry, a café and restaurant, pump-out services, fuel, electrical hookup and water at the docks not to mention the wonderful views of the Seattle skyline.  We parked our car in the marina’s car lot, a nice convenience for completing errands and other business in town.  We made several trips to the house for seasonal maintenance and visited family and friends.  Positioned in the heart of Seattle gave us the opportunity to enjoy the city from a different perspective.



Sunset - Elliott Bay Marina



Seattle View at Night