I’ve been using the hotel’s internet to upload a few pics from our vacation. They will be slow to load until a process runs that will create thumbnails for them.

You can have a gander at the August photos here. The full set will have to wait until we return. Enjoy!

We’re in Seattle for the evening, having gotten here smoothly all things considered. We got up at the crack of dawn (heck, even before then – I got some great pictures!), packed things up, and had exited the rental home at 6 AM on the dot. We dropped off the key at the real estate agent and then made a beeline for the queues at the ferry landing. There were three lanes full for Anacortes by 6:20 but we were number 4 in lane four. We spent our spare time visiting the coffee counter at Orcas Hotel.
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I’m up before everyone else, having been awakened by the sound of hooves creeping around a meter from my head outside the window. I’m pretty confident we’ll make the early ferry now, especially when we found out we could leave our sheets in the dryer rather than fold them. That alone shaves an hour off our departure time.

Judging by the pre-dawn horizon we’ll have yet another beautiful day. Should be a great view from the Seattle Sky Needle, one of many possible destinations today.

I’ll check in when the Internets allows.

We enjoyed our last day here on Orcas Island! Its hard to accept we must leave it in favor of the real world beyond. The whole experience has been simply wonderful. Better than I could’ve hoped.

I can see why we decided to return here after our last visit seven years ago, though a week’s visit isn’t nearly enough. The slower pace here gets into you and makes you dread crossing over to the mainland again. I think of the recent hours I spent crawling along I-95 and then I think of strolling around downtown Eastsound. No contest!
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In a rare morning, I’m the only one awake at 6 AM. The sunrise over the Strait of Juan De Fuca proved too alluring to me. Two photographs later and I could relax. I’ll miss waking up to a view of Mount Baker in the distance. It really has been beautiful here.

Yesterday we opted to skip naps for the kids, in the hopes they would better readjust to East Coast time soon. They did wonderfully, being sports about our activities and never complaining.
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We started our day by going to see Ron’s beautiful property on Buck Mountain. Stunning view, Ron! After that, we drove to Mountain Lake for a fun hike to the dam and back. On the way down, we rented a rowboat and rowed across Cascade Lake to see the bridge being rebuilt.

Now its a quick lunch before heading back to downtown Eastsound to see the starfish at low tide. Gotta make the most of our time left!

We didn’t have specific plans today, so we took up Ron’s suggestions and headed over to the Rosario Resort to visit the museum on the second floor. Calling it a museum is a bit of a stretch, as there are lots of 8×10″ historical photographs on the walls but scant items to view, other than the house itself which is gorgeous. There was a model of the USS Nebraska (BB14), built by the Moran Brothers shipyard and the only battleship ever built in Washington state, and a model of the Moran Brothers shipyard. There was also a display case with gauges and buttons from the USS Nebraska in it as well as a large desk, from which I imagine Robert Moran contemplated his business empire.
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