Ireland Trip

Jenny and I were part of a State of Maryland/University of Maryland delegation that visited Cork and Dublin over Labor Day weekend.   We had a great trip, made new friends from here in Maryland and on the Emerald Isle.   Link to photos is at right.

Back Home

This was a great family trip.  We did lots of new things and really enjoyed each others' company.  I think we'd all like to go back to the San Juan Islands - a remarkably beautiful place.  Here are some shots to remember the trip:

Seattle Skyline from Water Taxi

Kids @ Pike Place

Mt. Rainier

View from Mt. Constitution, Orcas Island

Regan Family Kayaking

 

Rope Swing, Mountain Lake, Orcas Island

Searching for Orcas on our Last Day on Orcas Island

We had to check out of our great Crescent Beach Cottage at 11 a.m. on our last day.  We wanted to stay on Orcas Island as long as we could, so after we cleaned up and packed, we spent some time walking around the quaint village of Eastsound, touring the various shops and stopping for both sweet and savory pies at Passionate for Pies.  Dylan went for the classic chicken pot pie:

Post nosh, we headed over the Orcas ferry landing to check on the routine for our return ferry trip to Anacortes that evening.  Then back over to the other side of the island for lunch at Cafe Olga and our Orcas whale watching adventure.   We had been on a whale watching tour once before, several years ago on a vacation to Boston and the Cape.  It was OK, but not something high on our list to do again.   But really, isn't a whale watching tour to see "killer" Orcas a must-do when you are actually staying on Orcas Island??  Plus, there were reports and sightings of a newborn Orcas calf earlier in the week.  Maybe we might see the baby Orca.

We went out with the great crew from Deer Harbor Charters for a three hour tour (I know, cue the Gilligan's Island theme).   After about an hour ride to get to the areas where J-Pod frequent, we were rewarded with great views of the Orcas feeding and playing.  Here are some shots (check out how close they are to shore - imagine that as your daily view outside your window):

We didn't see the baby Orca, but we did see several members of J-Pod, one of three resident Orca pods in the Puget Sound.  We're all glad we got to see these magnificent creatures in the wild.

Liam's Big Jump

While we were at the rope swing, Liam swam over to the island in the lake that was across from the rope swing.  He climbed to the top of a large rock - and jumped!

Mountain Lake Rope Swing, Video Edition

Hiking down from Mt. Constitution on Wednesday, Jenny, Dylan and Ali came across a rope swing on Mountain Lake.  Here is some video from their return visit (video is about 6 minutes long):

Mountain Lake Rope Swing, Orcas Island

Here are some still shots of the rope swing at Mountain Lake on Orcas.  Videos to be posted soon.

The Day Before We Leave Orcas

Everyone woke up this morning a little anxious about our last full day on the Island.  We'll actually spend all of Friday here, but have to be back in Seattle Friday night so we can catch our very early Saturday morning return flight to BWI.

We'll be checking out of our amazing cottage on Friday at 11 AM, so the morning will be spent cleaning and packing.  Then we are on our own without a home for the day.  We plan to tour the Island a bit and in the afternoon get on a boat to hopefully see some Orcas.  We'll be catching the 8:45 pm ferry back to Anacortes.

Today Jenny and the kids did some more kayaking right from our beach.  Here are some great shots Jenny took on their trip from right off our beach:

In the afternoon we went back to the top of Mt. Constitution for some better photos:

And then down to a spot on Mountain Lake to swim and fly into the lake on the rope swing - pictures in the next post.

Ali's Photos 1

Ali has taken some incredible photos on this trip.  Here are some of the ones I love.  The rest can be seen under the Seattle photo link at right.