Never Heard of the San Juans? Pshaw.

It’s been roughly four years since I read an article in National Geographic Adventure about the San Juan Islands, and the image the article painted for me was nothing like reality. Looking back, I don’t know how I could have imagined such a darkly romantic locale existing in the real world; my imagination had conjured [...]

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Farewell, Friday Harbor (San Juan Islands, Day 3)

Sunday morning in Friday Harbor is about as laidback as any other day in the sleepy burg, with few of the shops shuttering for the day in the hopes that weekend tourists will bring along more business. Since checkout was 11AM, I dragged my new “no-weight” (yeah, right) suitcase down Spring Street then over to [...]

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Water, Water Everywhere (San Juan Islands, Day 2)

After a rather restful sleep in my comfy bed at Elements Hotel & Spa, a few short blocks from downtown Friday Harbor, I boarded the 46-foot Western Prince in search of J- and K-Pods, who had eluded me the day before at Lime Kiln Point and had headed farther north than usual. Owner/captain Ivan told [...]

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Escape From "Civilization" (San Juan Islands, Day 1)

I needed this getaway. Hell, I needed any getaway, but I was overly fortunate that the San Juans fell nicely into my itinerary, due to a business trip in Seattle. I’d had the islands on my travel to-do list for four years, so I didn’t even mind waking at the butt-crack of dawn to catch [...]

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