Circling the U.S. Chapter 39: San Juan Islands - Part 2

We arrived in Friday Harbor late Wednesday afternoon. Our Warm Showers host wouldn't be home until late, but, as with many hosts, he gave us the details we needed to make ourselves at home. After cleaning up we walked into downtown Friday Harbor and found a seafood restaurant with a great view of the water. We both had fettucine alfredo with dungenous crab. Rob raved about his but I thought the sauce overwhelmed the taste of the crab.

Thursday morning, after briefly meeting Brendan, our Warm Showers host, we left our stuff in his garage and set out to explore San Juan Island. Although we only rode 38 miles in a big loop, it took us over eight hours. There was a lot to see.

First, we learned that, while the United States was involved in the Civil War, Great Britain and the United States were embroiled in a dispute over who was the rightful owner of the San Juan Islands. There were American settlers on San Juan Island as well as the Hudson Bay Company from Great Britain. There was some tension between the two groups. Then an American settler shot and killed a Hudson Bay Company pig. The Pig War had begun. English troops set up a camp on one side of the island.  American troops set up a camp on the other side of. But level heads prevailed and a truce was called. The matter was sent to arbitration. While waiting for a decision, each side was allowed to keep 100 troops on the island.

We visited the American Camp on the southeastern end of the island.

Then we continued our circuit of the island, stopping when it struck our fancy.

On this fogged-in day we still found some grand views.

This lone flower served as a final reminder of summer on the first day of autumn.

The slugs grow mighty big on the San Juan Islands.

We ate lunch overlooking the coastline and lighthouse at Lime Kiln Point State Park, supposedly the best place in the world to see orcas and other sea life.

We didn't see any whales, but we did see this great blue heron.

Our next stop was not listed on any of the tourist brochures.

We found these giant metal scuptures at the bottom of a private driveway.

They are made from discarded cement mixers. In the winter the owner has a fire going in some of them to warm up walkers and cyclists passing by.

On the bank behind the pineapple were two signs:
"Hillary...never...now more than ever."
"Trump: Punching America in the face with a tiny little hand."

Then we arrived at the English Camp of the Pig War. The English troops had an easier time on the island than the Americans. They brought over families, planted gardens, put up fences, and built houses and roads, creating a little village. They hosted festivals and celebrations where they welcomed the American settlers and troops. The American soldiers spent their time drilling and being bored. Improvements were regularly denied by the U.S. army quartermaster. The American camp had 15 commanders during the twelve-year occupation; the British had two.

Looking down on the English Camp from the hill where the officers lived. The garden divided the officers and their families from the regular soldiers.

After leaving the English Camp we didn't have far to go before coming to a sculpture garden at the entrance to the historic Roche Harbor Resort. It was getting late and we still had one more stop to make so we only allowed ourselves 15 minutes to wander through the garden. All the sculptures were by local artists and all were for sale. I saw quite a few I liked, with a price tag of around $8000. They would have looked good in the front yard of our house in Madbury, but we couldn't have fit them in our panniers.

Less than a mile from the sculpture garden we came to the historic Roche Harbor resort where we stopped for a snack before biking back to Friday Harbor in the rain.

Kate and Kyle were our gracious Warm Showers hosts for our last night visiting the San Juan Islands. Even though they are busy with their professional and personal lives they still found the time to share dinner with us in their third floor condo with an incredible view of the harbor.

 Although I complained in my previous post about the many off-putting "Private Property" signs we kept coming across, especially on Lopez Island, I need to say here that we met some very warm and welcoming people on all the islands, especially our Warm Showers hosts, Jessica, Brendan, Kate, and Kyle, who opened their homes to us, total strangers.

Friday morning we arrived at the ferry terminal with plenty of time to sit and admire the fog sitting in the harbor while there was blue sky overhead. I find in my old age that I enjoy arriving at airports, bus stops, and ferry terminals extra early, giving me time to do not much of anything besides sit and do nothing.

Sat, 9/14: 46 miles
Ride from Mt. Vernon to Anacortes ferry then Lopez Island

Sun, 9/15: 28 miles
Bike around Lopez, stopping at tourist attractions


Mon, 9/16: 25 miles
Ferry to Orcas Island, then ride to Eastsound

Tue, 9/17: rain day

Wed, 9/18: 28 miles
Bike around Orcas, then ferry to San Juan Island

Thu, 9/19: 38 miles
Bike around San Juan, stopping at numerous tourist attractions

Fri, 9/20: ferry to Sidney, BC