After leaving Lopez, we sailed for about 1 hour to Friday Harbor on the island of San Juan. San Juan is the largest island and the namesake. The town of Friday Harbor is larger than the village of Lopez and less weird. There is a busy ferry terminal dropping off and picking up visitors ALL summer. You can drive or walk onto the ferry. If on a motorcycle, you go to the front of the line!
Pretty little harbor.
A quick shop for groceries, a trip to ACE hardware and to the local computer repair for my laptop - all is well now. Next stop is Stuart island at the northern most part of the island archipelago. This photo was taken at 5:40 a.m. in Prevost Harbor.
A scenic hike
A rope swing out in the middle of nowhere. But a place to sit and rest on the uphill trail.
Also on the trail is the Treasure Chest filled with souvenirs - t-shirts, hats, postcards, etc. Take what you like, grab an envelope, put your cash in there and drop it in the lock box. Nifty idea.
An old friend Mary and her friend Reyja have volunteered for the week to "wo-man" the visitors center at the Turn Point Light House. Bring your own food and drink, the park provides housing and transportation to and fro. It's like a free summer vacation! The weather was terrific.
This charming house was used for the Lighthouse keeper and his family. We heard a lot of fascinating stories about the people and families who lived there and 2 families who still have relatives on the island. As you can tell by the color of the grass it was very dry there. Big burn ban going on on all the islands.
Ah, then back to the west side of San Juan to the ritzy Roche Harbor where "all the big yachts stay"!
The Haro Hotel is the name of the resort. Several weddings took place in the gardens while we were visiting. It is the heart of what was originally a lime rock production company. The laborers stayed in the hotel. I'm sure it didn't look like this back in the mid-1800's.
The resort was formerly a company town surrounding the Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company, which was incorporated in 1886. Lime production was a major industry and revenue source for a corporation run by John S. McMillin, whose ashes are buried in a large mausoleum nearby. The focal point of the resort is the historic Hotel de Haro. From: Wikipedia
Near the resort, in a large field, is a sculpture garden full of fascinating original pieces. Some even revolve with the help of wind.
This mausoleum was built by the owners with a Masonic theme. Set in the woods, we arrived there around 6 p.m. and the angle of the sun created an eerie setting.
Just south of Roche Harbor is Garrison Bay where the English Camp is located.
From Wikipedia:
The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the British Empire over the boundary between the US and the British Empire. The territory in dispute was the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland. The Pig War, so called because it was triggered by the shooting of a pig, is also called the Pig Episode, the Pig and Potato War, the San Juan Boundary Dispute or the Northwestern Boundary Dispute. With no shots exchanged and no human casualties, this dispute was a bloodless conflict.
Because the British and Americans were called in to settle the dispute, 2 military camps were built: The English Camp and the American Camp. The camps remained maintained for 12 years. Check out Pig War on wikipedia for more info.
The Park Ranger and Paddy take down the British flag from the English Camp.
The wind was perfect to fly the spinnaker on our way to Anacortes, Washington.
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