Today we will be exploring San Juan Island and we have a lot of fun things planned! We have booked a whale watching tour for the afternoon which we are so excited about! This area is known for whale watching so we have our fingers crossed...
We have an early morning as we catch the 5AM ferry from Anacortes to San Juan island. We arrive on the island just after 6AM, before the sun is even up so we head to the southern part of the island to start the day.
We go to Cattle Point Lighthouse on the very southernmost tip of the island which is a great place to catch the sunrise. We find the perfect spot overlooking the sea with the lighthouse in the foreground and the sky really puts on a show!
The sunrise alone is incredible but as we are sitting and watching, we hear an entire pod of orcas swimming right along the coast next to us. We are so surprised and delighted and we follow them along the coast for 10 minutes or so, barely able to contain our excitement.
They swim out of view so we head back to our sunrise post and watch as the sun makes its way up over the islands in the distance! After the sun comes up, we take a walk around the lighthouse and down by the coast.
We then head to the nearby American Camp. The island actually has both an American Camp in the south and an English Camp in the north which we will be visiting later in the day. Back when the ownership of the San Juan Islands were disputed between England and the United States, tensions rose between he two countries and military camps were built. After 12 peaceful years of joint occupation, the US was given title to the islands but both camps still remain on the Island.
We make one more quick stop for a walk along South Beach before heading back to Friday Harbor for our 11AM whale watching tour. We booked a 3 hour tour with Spirit of Orca Whale Watching & Wildlife Tours. It is a smaller boat which only holds 6 passengers plus our captain so we are really excited. We have NEVER been whale watching so we don't know what to expect but after the morning we have pretty high hopes!
We still have about 30 minutes before our meeting time so we grab some coffee and walk around Friday Harbor. Friday Harbor is a charming town full of galleries, shops, restaurants. As we are sitting in the harbor watching the boats, we actually get a call from our boat captain asking if we can meet a little early because he has already located the pod of orcas and he wants to get back out to them as quickly as possible.
Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, we now have very high hopes we will see yet another pod of orcas! We head over to the dock and wait for the boat to arrive. All 6 of us hop on the boat and our captain Ken does a quick intro before immediately heading back out to where he left the whales.
After following the pod for around an hour and a half, they cross over into Canadian waters and unfortunately we cannot follow. The tour is not over yet! We drive around the beautiful islands for another hour or so spotting all kinds of wildlife including harbor seals, several types of birds, porpoises, and even an entire island covered in exotic deer and sheep.
We make it back to Friday Harbor and after our tour, we head to Lime Kiln Point State Park. There is beautiful coastline and a lighthouse here making for stunning scenery, but the park is considered one of the best places in the world to whale watch from land. Considering we have now seen orcas twice today, we are not getting any hopes up but we go to have a picnic and enjoy the views.
Next we head a bit further norther to English Camp which to be honest was a bit more elaborate than the American Camp. Waterfront property, large trees and even a formal garden.
And finally, we make a quick stop at Roche Harbor to grab some provisions for sunset. We talk to a friendly local who recommends we go to San Juan County Park. We head to the park and post up for an amazing sunset which is the perfect way to end the day!
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