Orcas.

The island, not the whale, though the island was named after the whale... anyway...

Jeff and I had a nice weekend getaway to Orcas Island. It was the second of his birthday presents (the first being a massage with the massage therapist of his choice). I made a sites page with five different choices and he selected Orcas Island, so I booked a cabin and did a bunch more research and then Friday morning we were off!

We managed to get to the ferry on-time, so we waited the requisite hour until we boarded. I have to admit that I'm not a fan of boats, ferries included, but the crossing was relatively peaceful, though there were some very ill-behaved children which led us to agree that our potential future children would not be like that. We weren't able to check-in until 4pm, so we drove from the ferry dock to Eastsound, ate lunch, and then went to Moran State Park. My favorite part was Mt. Constitution, which had a beautiful view of Orcas island, surrounding islands, as well as Bellingham and Canada! We were able to check-in then, so we bummed around the cabin for a bit -- we played The Pillars of the Earth, a game that I (and now Jeff) love. I was feeling rather sick at this point, so Jeff was a trooper and made me some dinner and then I promptly fell asleep.

Thankfully I felt much better in the morning. We went to the island bookstore and went for a beach walk (and found many starfish!). It was a bit rainy, so we stopped in for some very good pizza and then drove around the island a bit, stopping to admire boats in Deer Harbor. Then we went back and did some reading and I took a nap (this never happens). We went to dinner at the New Leaf Cafe where I had some great halibut and the best quinoa I've ever had.

Sunday was gorgeous, just in time for us to leave. We made it to the ferry line at 10:30 to secure a spot on the 12:10 ferry. It was already busy by the time we arrived! The ferry ride was followed by lunch (though we each ate breakfast stuff) in Anacortes and a very, very, very long drive from Anacortes to I-5 thanks to the tulip traffic.

I posted the pictures on Picasa already so if you have access to them, you should check them out (or ask me to add you to my friends list!).

I didn't think about work or school at all, which was great. Unfortunately this means I have a lot of statistics reading and homework as well as a short presentation for my other class to prepare. But it was worth it!

xoxo

Sarah