One-day Trip to San Juan Island

Last Friday we decided to take a one day trip to San Juan Island. We got up at 6 a.m. to catch 9 a.m. ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. Drive from Seattle to Anacortes is about 1 hour and 40
minutes. We left Seattle at 7 a.m. We made it to the ferry but were put on a stand-by list since all guaranteed car spots were already taken. We were #2 on a stand-by list. I got a bit worried since the next ferry was in 3 hours! Luckily, we made it to the ferry and few other cars did too! We tried to see how many on a stand-by list were let on a ferry – about 10.

Ferry ride was smooth and nice – so relaxing. We got to Friday Harbor in a little over an hour. My plan was to visit two places on the island: Lavender Farm Pelindaba Lavender and Lime Kiln Point State Park and walk around Friday Harbor.

We headed first to the Lavender Farm. The weather was sunny but windy. As we strolled through the fields I could smell lavender.  I found it calming to watch lavender wave in the wind. You can pick lavender at the farm too and there is a shop with products made from lavender – from soaps to gourmet dog biscuits.

Next stop was Lime Kiln Point State Park where on a lucky day one can watch whales. It was not our day and so, we did not see any whales but we saw a lighthouse and took a short walk in the park.

We hopped back in the car and drove to Friday Harbor to catch 1:50 p.m. ferry back to the mainland. We had an hour and a half to spare - we walked around the town and ate some oysters and prawns at one of many seafood restaurants located near the ferry dock.

Trip back on a ferry was nice – sun was out and passing the islands was mind-clearing. We got back to Anacortes around 3:30 p.m. On our way back to Seattle we stopped at Seattle Premium Outlets and did some shopping. Pretty good day I think!