Foot passenger holding area at Friday Harbor (strongly resembles a corral ) |
Walking bikes on ferry seemed prudent |
First island
We arrived in Friday Harbor for the 4th of July celebration on the 2nd and so had a few days to kill. With our floating motel safely tucked into a slip, we rested easy Saturday night. The 26 mile run from Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham was uneventful partly due to catching some decent currents and a sunny rest stop at Blakely's. Sunday morning arrived with coffee, bagels and cream cheese, and then we walked our bikes over to the ferry terminal and caught the 8:30 AM ferry to Shaw Island.
After a stopover on Orcas, the four of us and one Labradoodle walked off at Shaw Landing. The ride is free as is all inter island foot and bicycle traffic, so we simply checked east/west schedules to make sure we had a ride back to Friday that afternoon and headed out with full water bottles and a handful of granola bars.
Second island
The ferry ride was a welcome break from driving our own boat and the view from the high deck is great. On Shaw, we took pity on our four legged member and limited our ride to the county park at Indian Cove, a distance of around four miles round trip. Much further dog trotting I suspect. The road is paved and hugs the water around most of Blind Bay before turning inland at the community center and shooting straight over the small hill to the east side and Indian Cove. The wooded campground was full as expected, and kayaks were strewn about above high water amongst the driftwood. We rested, beach combed, and then headed back to Shaw Landing after about an hour.
(FYI, you can make camping reservations up to 90 days in advance at all three San Juan county parks at https://secure.itinio.com/sanjuan/ or google San Juan County Parks) or try clicking here >>San Juan County Parks (3)
While waiting for our ferry ride back to Friday we sat around the cozy little picnic area eating ice cream purchased at the Shaw Landing General Store. All in all it was a resoundingly relaxing laid back morning.
Getting back to Friday Harbor before 2 PM left us with much of the day still ahead of us, and since they unload foot passengers before the cars, we were back on the promenade minutes after the ramp went down.
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