I want to share with you a little about our Friday Harbor trip. Last weekend we took a much needed weekend trip up North to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands for our birthdays and after busy season vacation. I had only been there once before when I was really young, and Zach had never been up that way. I found a Living Social Deal online for the Friday Harbor House, which worked wonderfully! I dropped off Buster Boo at my parents' house for the weekend (my Mom was so excited to babysit her "grand-dog":) and we were off!
We totally lucked out with the weather. I was fully anticipating it to rain all weekend long, but it was beautiful! Such a nice surprise that made waiting for the long ferry ride not so bad at all.
We arrived around six in the evening and got settled in our hotel - the Friday Harbor House. It was located right downtown up on a little hill with a great view of the harbor. I would highly recommend it! The rooms were really nice, complete with a fireplace and two person jet tub. It was so nice to have a really nice hotel room for a change. Usually when we travel, we skimp on the hotel since we would rather spend our money and time doing fun activities. This time, we decided we wanted a nice place to relax, read, and take naps. It was great. And had such a beautiful view from our room!
We had dinner the first night at The Bluff restaurant, which was in our hotel. We got a free appetizer with our Living Social Deal, so took advantage. The appetizer was "Chef's Choice" and happened to be a delicious flat bread with nettle pesto, smoked ham, and cheese. Apparently the chef went out and harvested some nettles that morning to make the nettle pesto. Like I said, delicious. After dinner, we took a nice little walk along the docks at sunset.
Our hotel had a great continental breakfast, then we ventured out to walk about town the next day. It's such a nice place to walk around and just enjoy the sunshine. We stopped in a few shops, including the Pelindaba Lavender Farm shop, a couple antique/thrift shops, and the Whale Wars museum/shop. There was even a little Farmer's Market we stopped by. We were interested to learn most of the local restaurants served organic and local food and ingredients. Did I mention all the food we had was amazing? Well, it was.
We had lunch at the Rocky Bay Cafe - the sweet potato fries were so good, as was the club sandwich (which we both ordered). Next up a little nap, then we went out to explore the island.
First stop - Roche Harbor. On our way, we drove past the Duck Soup Inn, which came highly recommended by multiple people. Since it was husband's choice (his birthday was that Sunday), we decided to save this place for our next visit. Roche Harbor was a lot smaller than I had thought. I'd seen beautiful pictures of the harbor before we went (it was actually one of the places I would have a liked to have our wedding if it wasn't so far away) and it turned out to be such a charming little town. Although, not a lot was going on. We did stumble upon a wedding though. Such a beautiful venue! We also learned that Roche Harbor used to be one of the largest producers of Lime West of the Mississippi. We didn't stay very long since the only thing open was a furniture store (we didn't even see any restaurants open at 5 on a Saturday!). I did love the Hotel de Haro (where the wedding was taking place). Such a beautiful scene along with some other historic buildings and a quaint little chapel.
After Roche Harbor, we kept driving around the island to Lime Kiln State Park to do a little whale watching. Well, there weren't any whales, but we were hopeful! We did see a sea lion! We were so close to the Canadian border, we had to turn our phones off so we wouldn't get charged. It was so beautiful looking out over the water and seeing the lighthouse.
Next up, birthday dinner at Cask & Schooner back in downtown Friday Harbor. Zach had a yummy chicken sandwich and I had a clam chowder and caesar salad. It was pretty good. The restaurant itself was very charming, decorated as if you were on a big ship. The best part of the meal was dessert - a warm bread pudding with ice cream. It was delicious! And a Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.
Sunday, we ventured out to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm. Although the lavender wasn't in full bloom (I believe the lavender blooms in the summer), it was still pretty and a great day to be outside. We even picked up a lavender chicken dog bone for the Buster Boy. :)
Back in town, we had to stop by the World's Skinniest Latte Shop and it was worth it.
While we waited for our ferry, we checked out the Griffin Bay Bookstore where Zach bought the book Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. I have to say, I'm excited to read it too. Overall, it was such a fantastic trip. So relaxing, and just what we needed after an overworked and hectic busy season. I would highly recommend Friday Harbor for a little weekend getaway to relax and get rejuvenated! We can't wait to go back. We love you Friday Harbor!
First stop - Roche Harbor. On our way, we drove past the Duck Soup Inn, which came highly recommended by multiple people. Since it was husband's choice (his birthday was that Sunday), we decided to save this place for our next visit. Roche Harbor was a lot smaller than I had thought. I'd seen beautiful pictures of the harbor before we went (it was actually one of the places I would have a liked to have our wedding if it wasn't so far away) and it turned out to be such a charming little town. Although, not a lot was going on. We did stumble upon a wedding though. Such a beautiful venue! We also learned that Roche Harbor used to be one of the largest producers of Lime West of the Mississippi. We didn't stay very long since the only thing open was a furniture store (we didn't even see any restaurants open at 5 on a Saturday!). I did love the Hotel de Haro (where the wedding was taking place). Such a beautiful scene along with some other historic buildings and a quaint little chapel.
After Roche Harbor, we kept driving around the island to Lime Kiln State Park to do a little whale watching. Well, there weren't any whales, but we were hopeful! We did see a sea lion! We were so close to the Canadian border, we had to turn our phones off so we wouldn't get charged. It was so beautiful looking out over the water and seeing the lighthouse.
Next up, birthday dinner at Cask & Schooner back in downtown Friday Harbor. Zach had a yummy chicken sandwich and I had a clam chowder and caesar salad. It was pretty good. The restaurant itself was very charming, decorated as if you were on a big ship. The best part of the meal was dessert - a warm bread pudding with ice cream. It was delicious! And a Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.
Sunday, we ventured out to the Pelindaba Lavender Farm. Although the lavender wasn't in full bloom (I believe the lavender blooms in the summer), it was still pretty and a great day to be outside. We even picked up a lavender chicken dog bone for the Buster Boy. :)
Back in town, we had to stop by the World's Skinniest Latte Shop and it was worth it.
While we waited for our ferry, we checked out the Griffin Bay Bookstore where Zach bought the book Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. I have to say, I'm excited to read it too. Overall, it was such a fantastic trip. So relaxing, and just what we needed after an overworked and hectic busy season. I would highly recommend Friday Harbor for a little weekend getaway to relax and get rejuvenated! We can't wait to go back. We love you Friday Harbor!
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