Olympia to San Juan Island-A start

[Salish900]

2 hours ago, maximo said:

It's good to read posts like this. My wife is from Steilacoom and her parents and sibs are scattered from there up to Bellingham. We make the requisite family visits, always in summer, and always by car. When we retire she wants to go settle "back home."  Having lived the bulk of my life in sunny, dry, and gorgeous NorCal, the thought of living in the PNW kind of scares me. It gives me hope to read fellow riders' adventures in the area, just in case we actually do end up there. 

Glad it provides some perspective and help. There are many NorCal folks further up here. Nothing new to say about the weather, but for me I know I prefer the darker, colder and wetter to the hotter, drier and lighter I grew up with in SoCal. The further north I've moved, the more I liked it. I like the greenery and like others say, you can't beat our summers. Many who can afford to will vacation away in January and February, which though mocked, is no stranger to me than those who get the hell out of Palm Springs in July and August. 

Put my son on the bike and went on a full circuit of the island today. Roche Harbor, English Camp, Friday Harbor, American Camp and back to Lime Kiln. Views all over and though chilly, the smooth revs of the 900 and the curves of the road are a lullaby to the senses. 

[fddriver2]

4 hours ago, betoney said:

I'm not a recreational sailor but spent a large portion of my early adulthood at sea on Aircraft Carriers.  Was fortunate to have circumnavigated the globe a few times and in addition to crossing the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Indian Oceans many times, I have been through the Straights of Gibraltar, Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandab Straight, Straight of Hormuz, Straight of Malacca, Singapore Straight, Kowloon Bay, Negishi Bay, Cook Inlet and of course the Straight of Juan De Fuca/Salish Sea. 

I would have liked to have traveled the Southern Capes and the Panama Canal as well.

Once you get a taste for the ocean or life at sea, it never leaves you, it can be incredibly calming, awe inspiring and also truly terrifying.  Very fortunate to have lived on the Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast and most of my life on the Pacific Coast. 👍

In 2005 I was part of a "Tiger Cruise" on the Big "E" Mayport to Norfolk over a week. One of the most amazing things I have been privileged to do. 🙂

Thank you for your service.

[betoney]

16 minutes ago, fddriver2 said:

In 2005 I was part of a "Tiger Cruise" on the Big "E" Mayport to Norfolk over a week. One of the most amazing things I have been privileged to do. 🙂

Thank you for your service.

I did 2 deployments on the Kitty hawk and 4 deployments on the Nimitz, visiting foreign countries and experiencing the culture and food was definitely the highlight of my time in the Navy and something I will never forget. 

It seemed like torture at times being gone for so long  but time has left me with nothing but fond memories.

[Salish900]

Well I head home in the morning, on the 8am ferry from Friday Harbor. A bit of insider knowledge if you come to the San Juan's:

The boats can quite different. Some boats leave Friday Harbor and go directly back to Anacortes. These take one hour. Other boats make every stop on the way back, to Orcas, Lopez and Shaw, and get called the mail run or lunch run. These take two hours. The longer boat is more scenic, if you aren't from here, but if you are short of time, no fun. Like when coming, motorcycles go right to the front of the line and do not need reservations. 

One of the nicest places and places to camp on San Juan Island is the County Park on the West side. Lovely camping spots that are generally open in months other than summer. Great place to camp and enjoy the islands. Don't miss going to the free sculpture park near to Roche Harbor. It is the finest outdoor free sculpture park I've been to, and has lovely and interesting pieces from countless artists. You are sure to find things you like. 

American Camp is worth every minute you can give it, and more. Park somewhere and walk the bluffs, or go down to the beach and walk the beach. All the Olympics, the Straits of Juan de Puka and lower Vancouver Island are in front of you. Whidbey to your SE. Mt. Baker right there. Glacier Peak in the distance. It is one of the most scenic spots anywhere in the lower 48 states, and I've been all over. 

As for riding, the riding on San Juan is lovely, with country roads taking you all over and you can do no wrong. Orcas Island is incredible as well, and has a lots  of twisties. Moran State Park has lovely roads. Lopez is flat and rather boring, but if you go all the way south toward Cattle Pass, there are some beautiful views to be had. Shaw is a dead zone and has little in the way of scenery other than rural roads. So if you come here, I would highly recommend San Juan and Orcas, as you have better scenery and can grab a hot meal and food easily. 

I'd seriously not come in summer. Don't bother. A zoo. Unless you want to party with the crowds. If so, go down to the Port of Friday Harbor and there is a 24/7 party going on around the docks and adjacent lands. If you like a quieter time, just come in any month except June, July and August. It's well known that the spring here is lovely, as is fall. Can't beat April and May. Can't beat September and October. 

Above all else...just go! Just go somewhere you think you'll like. We rarely regret going, and in hindsight always regret not going. 

Hope to see you all out there. 

 

[daboo]

On 11/26/2020 at 12:58 PM, Salish900 said:

Where exactly is this place?

Rosario Beach.

Edited November 29, 2020 by daboo

[texscottyd]

18 hours ago, Salish900 said:

We rarely regret going, and in hindsight always regret not going. 

So true, yet somehow so overlooked in our day-to-day activities of just getting by.   

Thanks for sharing the insights and photographs.   I’m inspired again to go find someplace new...  

[keithu]

On 11/26/2020 at 11:32 AM, betoney said:

I would have liked to have traveled the Southern Capes and the Panama Canal as well.

Slight thread hijack: I was in the Navy for eight years and the only really good cruise I got to do was around Cape Horn. I sailed on the USS Abraham Lincoln's maiden voyage from Norfolk to North Island in 1990. I had a flight deck watch the night we rounded Cape Horn; with a steady 60+ knot wind it was like standing on the roof of a car driving down the freeway. My buddy and I felt it was best to not go anywhere near the fantail. Good times. 😎

I did a shorter cruise on Nimitz from Bremerton to North Island. We sailed out of Puget Sound on a summer Saturday evening, and people out BBQing in their yards would variously wave or moon us. 

[wanderer]

On 11/26/2020 at 1:31 PM, texscottyd said:

Ok, don’t push your luck here, kiddo.  We get it:  You live in paradise.   🤠

Let’s talk in mid-February...  

Hmm ... perusing old posts, comparing PNW weather with Texas weather in mid-February.

[Salish900]

8 minutes ago, wanderer said:

Hmm ... perusing old posts, comparing PNW weather with Texas weather in mid-February.

And what do you think? Cool and wet is our February. It's not that it's so bad by itself, but after November, December and January you get tired of it. Check and you'll see it is roughly highs of 45, lows of 37 and rain. But again, we have lots of clean, clear water and the rest of the country will be moving here soon enough when they get tired of drought and heat. 

[Waldo Jeffers]

Sooooo over it!

[wanderer]

I think I wouldn't have expected Texas to freeze and go dark in February!

[daboo]

On 11/26/2020 at 1:31 PM, texscottyd said:

Ok, don’t push your luck here, kiddo.  We get it:  You live in paradise.   🤠

Let’s talk in mid-February...  

Okay...mid-February then.  I set off to Rosario Beach again.  Just a spur of the moment ride.

  

The tidal pools are apparently well enough known to be on the maps.  There's also an underwater park that I didn't explore.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is just a couple miles away, and there were several F-18s flying in the area.

It brought back good feelings of being in the USAF and hearing the sound of freedom.

Chris