As summer was winding down, we invited another family to go flying with us to the San Juan islands. The San Juan islands are about a 5 hour journey from Seattle that involves a drive to the ferry docks, a wait, a ride on the ferry, and maybe a connection. With the airplane, we have the drive to the airport and a 30 minute flight!
We planned our accommodations at the Earthbox Inn and we were able to secure a minivan through M&K Autos. Us plus our friends make us 6, and with 2 kids around 2, a minivan was surely needed. It was a beautiful day that we met at the Auburn airport for our short flight. Loading the Bonanza with 6 people including 2 car seats meant that everyone only gets an overnight bag and since it was a short flight, we didn’t need much fuel.
With the kids secured in the way back, we flew over to KFHR and landed in the proposed 30 minutes. Once there we found transient parking easily and unloaded from the plane, though the gate and into our van. I short 3 minute drive had us to the hotel. The hotel offered us 2 large rooms that were side by side and out front was a small patio with tables and umbrellas, it was great for meeting back up. We were on the main road and walking distance to the ferry terminal and everything in-between. We decided to do dinner at the Cask and Schooner Public house and plan the next day.
We decided to go tide pooling near Lime Kiln State Park. The park is known for its Orca viewing, but we didn’t see anything. We did the path down by the water and let the kids explore on the rocks and logs looking for jelly fish and anemones.
We then kept going around the island to Roche Harbor from Lunch. The whole Friday Harbor Island is small and you could probably drive al the way around at the 35mph speed limit in 2 hours. Roche harbor is on the north end of the island and has a resort and its own airport. We stop into the Lime Kin Cafe for a delicious counter service lunch and then try to go back to the hotel for nap time then its time to explore the park and come back to relax with pizza on the patio. On the way back we passed a camel! We later learned the camels name was Mona and she is some what of a Friday Harbor icon!
The next day we go south so see the other side of the island before loading back up in the plane to head back to Auburn. There was a low over cast layer, so we had to pick up an IFR clearance back, and the kids feel asleep.
