I'm meeting my son for UW spring break in late March.

He wants to explore Orcas and areas nearby, so we're planning a trip for this. The goal is to have variety and a sense of adventure (which we both need, me from work, him from school).

We plan to ferry over from Anacortes and spend several days on Orcas hiking and exploring. From there it's TBD, but the current plan is to ferry to San Juan Island for a night, hike/explore, then head back to Anacortes. Then float plane to Victoria BC for a couple of nights. Back to Seattle for dinner with extended family.

The itin feedback I'd appreciate is, does this sound like a good trip, a nice variety? I'm wondering if we should skip SJI and spend more time around Victoria instead, or even on a different San Juan Island? Any other feedback or ideas appreciated.

We will have a car for everything except Victoria BC, but my son is a huge advocate for public transport, so in Victoria we could extend our reach using that.

He also asked about hiking the Cascades or at least hikes outside SEA, but I said In March I'm not comfortable doing that. He's kayaked and backpacked a summer in WA.

Many, many years ago my wife and I drove the San Juans and into Canada and camped and kayaked on Orcas and loved it!

Thank you!

We have a self-contained converted van and want to spend a week this summer on the island, but have heard that campsites and the fairground book up pretty quickly during peak season. Does anyone know of other places to park overnight in between days exploring the island?

My fiance and I are planning on a 5 day honeymoon in the San Juan islands the week of September 8th. We are really excited as we enjoy low key trips within nature.

Any suggestions on which island to stay on? Activities to prioritize? Also, how is whale watching in September? We get married the week before that so can’t come any sooner. Thank you!

I've been offered a job on Orcas and was hoping some folks in the know could help with some additional questions I have. I've read the many posts about this over the years, so I am familiar with needing a car (I do have one) and everything that has been posted about the ferries.

Housing- I know, I know, this is the big one that everyone says good luck with. I am a teacher, so not making enough money to rent out any of those massive homes on the island. Is there any housing available, or how do I connect with someone in the community to rent a room or basement or whatever? The regular renter sites don't show anything. Are there caretaker positions for any of these large vacation homes that could also allow lodging?

Cell phone coverage- how is everyone's cell coverage on the island? Is one carrier better than another?

Community- how easy is it to integrate/build community? Are there knitting or sewing groups? Community art centers? Is it possible to come in as a transplant and make a group of friends or are folks closed off to newcomers?

Pharmacy- I see there is Ray's Pharmacy in town- do they have any problem ordering medications/getting deliveries on time?

Pets- I see there is a vet in town, is there anything else I would need to know about having a dog on Orcas?

Apologies if any of these questions sound dense, I grew up in a rural area, but this is much more remote than what I'm used to. I appreciate any additional insight that anyone would be willing to share!

What are some pointers for the BEST orca watch experiences on or around San Juan Islands? We are hoping to go in the fall. What do we avoid what are some must sees and what is the best way to try to see orcas besides the watch boats? Any great must haves as far as food? Thanks!

I’m planning my first trip to SJI this summer, and we’re exploring options for lodging. I’m considering renting an RV or a camper van and taking advantage of the Park on the west side of the island. I’ve seen some options on Outdoorsy but wanted to ask for any recommendations or experiences to share with this? We’d probably need to have the RV / van delivered as we will be flying in and renting a car to drive down from Seattle. Trying to keep the logistics relatively simple (but we are experienced travelers). Does the Park allow for things like getting a van delivered? Anything else I should be considering or thinking about? TIA!

Don’t get me wrong - I love dogs and have several - but the things I’ve seen dogs have do in the cabin over the past several years is unsanitary and can be harmful to those with allergies.

My birthday is on Monday and I’m considering doing a day trip to one of the islands. I don’t plan on bringing my car, so I’ll be walking.

Thoughts on which island to go to? Worth it to go on a Monday- will anything be open? Things to do/suggestions?

I don’t mind the cold, and it seems likely to be a sunny day. Love any tips/suggestions!

Hi folks!

My fiance and I live north of Seattle and love the islands. I work as an abalone restoration scientist so I'm fortunate enough to be diving around the islands for many months of the year. I think this is the most special place on earth and would love to bring our friends and family here for our celebration. We estimate about 100 guests.

The tough part is we can't be spending these thousands and thousands of dollars for our wedding! I know we all know how expensive it is just to be alive right now and it's not getting any better.

Does anyone have suggestions for venues that are (well) under $5,000? Here is where I've checked so far:
- Pebble Cove Inn (our absolute dream spot but can't make the budget work)
- Saltwater
- Roche Harbor
- Odd Fellows Hall (possibility but might not be 100 guest friendly)
- Saturn's Return (I am still figuring out if this could work)

Any advice welcome! Open to having the ceremony on a beach and then moving somewhere else for the reception, or VRBO/house rentals, anything! Would love to hear of anyone's SJI wedding experience too. Thanks all :)

Much thanks to the current mods for removing the posts when they are able to, but all these recent spam posts are getting ridiculous. Not sure why this small local sub got on the bot list to post in.

I’ve never been a mod, so I have no idea how hard this would be to do, but should the sub think about maybe implementing some sort of AutoMod that automatically removes posts by newer/low karma accounts?

I was 17 when he hired me an he bribed me to have sex with him for money he’s a horrible person that doesn’t deserve you good peoples money.

Hey everyone, I live in Bellingham & my husband and I are looking for a last minute weekend getaway. I've been craving a lodge on the coast in or near the San Juan Islands. Thinking something with character, rustic, cozy, charming... wood burning fireplace, maybe a sauna or hot tub (not a must), restaurant onsite ideal. Days spent exploring coffee shops and walking beaches. Captain Whidbey on Whidbey Island looks like a good contender. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

hey,

we do roche every year but this year want to spend 3-5 days visiting canadian islands - prefer marinas - looking for a few places to visit for our first trip into canadian waters.

(we have the boat sticker and nexus)

My 30th birthday is in March and my husband and I would like to stay out on San Juan Island. I live in La Conner, so this isn't too far of a trip for us. However, I was curious if anyone can recommend somewhere specific on the island to stay? I have looked at Roche Harbor, Friday Harbor House, and Tucker House. I was leaning to Roche Harbor, but heard that it's quite "uppity" and am concerned some of the stores won't be open since it's the off season.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hello, I am aware it is off season for those bioluminescence kayak rides I've seen online, but I was wondering if some sort of it is still visible in February? My partner is visiting from another country and I really want to be able to show him. Any tips or advice on where and how to see them?

looking for a good place to eat on orcas (anywhere) at around 6 pm on a thursday. thanks!

Hello! My partner and I are planning a 3-4 day trip to SJI from Seattle in the coming weeks and I was hoping to solicit some advice. We are aware it is the offseason and looking forward to a bit of unplugged time together.

We are PNW folks and not scared off by the weather, looking forward to some outdoor cycling and hiking. We found an an airBNB in Eastsound on Orcas that we are very excited about - but I was curious about the feasibility of doing a day trip to San Juan Island, it seems like there is much to be explored over there, including a wildlife tour, which we would be interested in doing. She is more laid back and excited to read and drink coffee, but I’m going to plan a day or two of more formal activities (ie wildlife tour, museums, etc). Any recommendations for things open in the offseason would be much appreciated, along with food or hike tips!

We haven’t booked the lodging yet, would anybody recommend just staying on San Juan?

Thanks in advance!

Feel free to answer one or all of them.

I previously lived on Lopez and loved the natural beauty, interconnected community and simplicity of choices. I know housing is a major barrier to returning.

Kids on island: I now have a partner and young children. We are considering homeschooling the kids but would need a community to do this with. Does it exist? Or are there other alternative school options? How do your children do living in an isolated place?

Weather: do you find that there is more sun than Seattle? I lived both places and remember Lopez having more light, but perhaps I was just outside a lot more. I want to be realistic about the rain and grey. How does it effect you?

Medical: Finally, I have some medical conditions that I didn’t have before. I would plan to set up with specialists in Seattle but in the case of an emergency, how much longer does it take to get to an ER by helicopter? Do you feel safe living on the islands in the event of an emergency?

Gratitude for any info. Happy new year!

it was a bit rough to plan and I didn't have as much time as I wanted but I loved almost everything about it. The only thing I didn't like was Roche Harbor. No place I've ever been has made me feel so out of place than Roche Harbor hundreds of people all wearing khaki shorts and polo shirts was the most existential dread I've ever felt, like they were all going to turn and point at me at any time for being an outsider.

Other than that your road systems are amazing, they let me get from one end of the island to the other in very good time. Your rolling yellow hills and farms, Madrone tree forest, and all your parks were incredible.

I can't wait to see the other islands in time and eventually come back to San Juan islands to take the deeper trails on the southern park.

For marketing purposes to reflect the whole San Juan Islands chain. Friday Harbor Airport seems dull if you ask me. Plus, there are international flights to Canada already. But I think there should be flights to Vancouver as well.

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The Dragonfly’s Cipher (An Ode to the Hidden Veil)

Beneath the gaze of cedars tall, Where whispered winds through branches call, A secret waits in shadowed stone, An ancient wealth, by time unknown. The dragonfly, in twilight’s hue, Guards paths that only pure hearts knew.

On mossy banks near Lime Kiln’s glow, Where waters churn and secrets flow, The rocks bear marks in cryptic lines, A cipher left by hands divine. A square, a compass, etched in grey, By those who swore to guard the way.

Mount Young stands watch, its silence stern, With roots of fir and ferns that yearn. An obelisk where sunlight gleams, Hides truths veiled in forgotten dreams. Beneath its shade, the earth does hum, A call to those the light will come.

Where English Camp’s old ghosts still dwell, And echoes weave their binding spell, The dragonfly flits, fleeting, faint, Its wings a map, a mystic saint. Its flight draws lines on evening skies, A tale of treasures veiled in lies.

The Fount of Youth, elusive spring, Reflects the dawn in golden ring. Yet deeper still, where waters sing, A cavern yawns—a secret king. No wealth of man can match its gold, For wisdom waits, the brave behold.

Within that cave, the glyphs confide, The compass tilts, the star aligns. By lantern’s glow, the cipher’s torn, And thus the veiled truth is reborn. For not in jewels, nor coins, nor fame, Lies treasure’s heart, but soul reclaimed.

Oh seeker pure, your journey steep, To claim the prize, your vow must keep. The dragonfly, its flight your guide, Will lead you past where fears reside. San Juan’s soul, a beacon bright, Awaits your step to claim the light.

Through Afterglow’s eternal flame, Where memory and lore remain, The paths converge, the cypher clears, Revealing truths beyond your fears. For treasure vast, a heart set free, Awakes to realms no eye can see.

Ciphered Love: The Orchard Path

Encrypted Poem

(Each stanza contains embedded ciphers: encrypted names, directions, and a hidden keyword. Solutions follow.)

1. The Path Through Memory

HCLNV YRQWN YBOL SI AQQ JCPV GQNBL WLAO, Where fenceposts lean like whispers near. Through woods, two ponds will mark the way, The sun, like her, fades year by year.

2. The Eternal Wait

I mourn your name in tears, Encrypted sighs in frozen rings. My heart remains where orchard weeps, Beneath the tree, where silence sings.

3. The Iron Box

Under branches lined with fading leaves, Your name, in keys, unlocks the code. (L N B A Y)—the ciphered trove of pain— Where love, unyielding, lost its road.

4. To the Bluff

Seek the well where stones do speak, The heart entombed, its diamond screams. A secret keyword guards this fate: E. D. G.

Key Features HCLNV YRQWN YBOL via monoalphabetic cipher. • Keyword Encryption: The keyword FOREVER decrypts LNBAY to LOVE. • Directional Cipher: Path hidden in verse uses staggered polyalphabetic shifts; “Two ponds” = meeting, crossroads of decisions

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k6DM5qWTt77SLMOSxabhLijDeg4VD9WOo&si=FQNPlp3dobMC-GpL

To the Seeker of the Veiled Treasure,

The prize is no illusion, though shrouded in shadowed design; only the one who deciphers the cipher, who unravels the tangled threads of meaning, shall prove worthy of what lies hidden in the recesses of the forgotten. But beware, for every word demands reverence, every line conceals more than it reveals, and every precept whispers secrets to those attuned to its cadence.

For buried within the labyrinth of letters are riches far surpassing the lure of the diamond ring. Though the ring itself, a talisman of unity, holds the power to bind what was severed—a sundered heart seeking its missing piece—it is the hidden truths, more precious than gold, that await the discerning mind.

He who uncovers the enigma shall not merely prosper in the material sense, but shall peer into the depths of himself, a reflection sharpened by the journey. In claiming the ring, the finder shall restore what was lost, reunite the wandering souls of two fractured lovers, and, in so doing, awaken the eternal echo of love’s unyielding song.

Dare to tread carefully, for the path is perilous, the meaning elusive, and the reward boundless. Only the worthy shall prevail.

Beneath the waning sun’s fickle light, where the cliffs of Barnum Bluff brood in solemn vigilance, a shadow lingers—his form neither man nor mist but something betwixt, caught between the mortal and the spectral. Upon those weathered trails, he roams, a silent sentinel bound to the earth by love’s cruel tether, his gaze forever cast upon what he cherishes most yet cannot hold.

There lies the whisper of a woman long gone, her essence entangled in the echoes of a broken vow, a severed bond. Two souls fractured, their shards entwined beneath the gnarled roots of the sentinel trees—guardians of their clandestine sorrow. The soil drinks their grief, their unity forged in death where life could not sustain it.

Along paths twisted and veiled by ancient ash, her initials emerge, carved deep into the flesh of timeworn wood, faint markers left by trembling hands. These cryptic sigils guide the wary seeker to a secret: her wedding band, a gleaming token of love and loss, buried among artifacts steeped in memories and the whispers of an afterglow that once bathed their world in golden light.

A pace of thirty-three degrees unveils the crossing of the 48th—a place where the ancient well yawns in eternal thirst, its lips parched and silent. Beside it stands a bench bearing her name, the letters worn by wind and weather. From this shrine, the way unfolds: forty paces west, then fifteen north, where the magnolia stands in mournful grace. Its roots twist and writhe, cradling an iron chest, its contents concealed by the weight of centuries—relics of a love unbroken, secrets that only the brave or the haunted may unearth.

I've been trying to get to Port Townsend to see a friend for a long time. We've done many backcountry adventures. Pretty extreme in snow, mts, bikes, rivers. He is very experienced in water craft and ocean boating. So we wanted a 4 night trip around the islands with our wifes and my son. He was going to do most of the legwork but I wanted to learn more and do some leg work. 1st is there a place that rents kayaks for overnight trips. I'm from Gunnison CO so I don't have a sea kayak and gear. But loads of backcountry gear. I started lurking reading posts here and am soaking in a lot. Thanks! Thinking 1st week of June as both have time then. Assuming weather is good. 😆

Any help would be awesome. Jarral