PNW Road Trip Day 11: Olympic Peninsula to the San Juan Islands

Day 11 of our Pacific Northwest road trip was a busy travel day which started out way too early! We packed up the car and headed out to Port Townsend to catch a ferry for Anacortes and then another ferry to Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. I had no idea what a treat I was in for. Turns out, the San Juan Islands are breathtakingly beautiful. Below is just an example of the many gorgeous scenes we saw this day.

Waiting for the ferry.

Port Townsend was kind of a cool little town. After we parked our car in the ferry line, I walked to town and found a quaint little French crepe restaurant (Water Street Creperie) where I sat outside and had a delicious crepe and coffee.

Our ferry has arrived to take us to Whidbey Island.

A view of Port Townsend from the ferry. I thought the town looked quite Mediterranean.

A view of our ferry, Chetzemoka, that took us from Port Townsend to Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

Our wake

After arriving in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, we got back in the car and drove to the other side of the island to catch another ferry out of Anacortes. During this drive, we unexpectedly ran into Deception Pass. A really interesting place with some gorgeous views!

I thought this place looked quite tropical...although, it didn't feel that way.

The stunning Deception Pass Bridge.

When we arrived in Anacortes, we got into another ferry line to wait again. Luckily, there were some interesting things to take pictures of while we waited. Pictured below is Mount Baker from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal.

Once on the ferry, we noticed these Cormorants that were nesting in the pilings. They were fun to watch...especially their awkward landings!

Next up was this gull that started swooping past us overhead. She was kind enough to get pretty close a time or two and allow for some nice captures.

Passing another ferry.

The Elwha took us from Anacortes to Orcas Island.

When we finally arrived on Orcas Island, we drove to the village of Eastsound in the middle of the island. We would be staying at the Outlook Inn for the next four nights.

This was the view of Eastsound right outside our hotel.

Our balcony in the east wing of the Outlook Inn.

Our lovely room for the next four nights.

Chapel of the Sacred Heart as seen from our hotel room balcony. We had heard rumors about this place being some sort of odd religious sect, but we saw no such evidence. It was just a lovely little chapel.

After we settled into our hotel room, we decided to go for a walk around the Eastsound village. We had dinner reservations at 8 at The New Leaf Cafe, so we had a few hours to see the local sights and maybe do a little shopping. We first walked down the street to Darville's Bookstore where we heard they had an incredible Chai Latte. Apparently, they grow this Chai on the island, so it is fresh, flavorful and delicious. After getting our tea and wandering around the bookstore a bit, we started to explore the town.

 I loved this scene below, which was right across the street from our hotel. I thought Orcas Island, in general, had a very Nantucket meets Big Sur (hippie) atmosphere. Lots of artists and good organic restaurants are to be found here.

Busy bee

We wandered around the Eastsound Waterfront Park for awhile.

Here I am exploring the park :).

Finally, it was time for dinner. I had heard rave reviews about the New Leaf Cafe, and they couldn't have been more right! I ordered their special Copper River Salmon and I was in heaven. It was the most delicious meal I have ever had. 

Here is a photo taken from my phone of the most delicious meal in the whole world.

After an extremely satisfying dinner, we headed back to our room for the night. We had a whale-watching trip scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We were hoping to see Orcas!