San Juan island summer

The San Juan Islands are a group of islands between the northwest state of Washington in the United States and Vancouver Island in Canada. The islands are part of Washington State. There are no bridges that connect to here, and people can only travel to the San Juan Islands can only be conducted by ferry or plane on or off the islands.

During the quarantine like many, we were Bing watching shows. Browsing through endless series, We came across It’s a dog’s life where Goofy’s voice gets in front of the camera to take you on a journey meeting incredible dogs with incredible abilities. Ebba, helps whale researchers in Washington State by sniffing out whale poop in the ocean in the San Juan Islands allowing scientists to scoop up fresh samples for study . Being quarantine at home and not able to travel to Europe where we had planned to spend our summer, San Juan might not be a tropical retreat it’s a scenic escape that features beaches, orca pods, and one of the country’s largest lavender farms. I couldn’t believe my husband would be on board especially knowing the time it will take to get there. Matthews’s best friend Camila, our neighbor, was also on board for this great adventure.

Getting to San Juan Island from Miami is a journey you have to be ready to take. In the end it was worth it. Three planes later we barely arrived to our destination.

Thursday July 23, 2020

We left Miami at noon on a flight to Dallas, took another flight to Seattle and a Cessna flight chartered by San Juan Airlines to our final destination. We were greeted by name by a young pilot “no assigned seating, “he said take your own seat since there are only 4 seats and copilot, I decided to be copilot 45 minutes over looking the Pacific Northwest’s breathtaking beauty from the air was kinda scary but beautiful. Matthew was great, considering he almost puked during the flight. We arrived at our destination around 9pm, still daylight, and a car rental waiting for us. We got lost in the woods straight from a scene from Jason, the reception on the Island is terrible. When you rely on GPS map skills come in handy, We ended up in a wooded area dirt path no lights and a few mannequins without heads a junkyard and a sign that said no trespassing needles to say we were shitting our pants trying to stay calm for the kids we decided to turn the car around and get the F***k out. I thought OMG my husband is going kill me did we just get scammed, where are we staying? Where do we stay? I hope we don’t get killed here. Luckily my husband had printed the directions for good reasons, and we finally found the house. Turns out this junkyard is home to an artist who is not fond of visitors to the Island and clearly has signs that warn you NOT to come in obviously we couldn’t see them at night. I guess sponge Bob’s house in the road is not a sign of a friendly neighbor that lives in a pineapple. I would do anything for the picture in this case wouldn’t go back in there. If you go to San Juan, make sure to not get lost at Kevin Roth property.

Our accommodation Whale view haven home. Easy to book and the Managment company was excellent. For bookings visit their link:

http://bookings.sanjuanpm.http://bookings.sanjuanpm.com/Unit/Details/115103com

If you are looking for a luxury resort, this is not the place for you. We opted for a house with scenic views booked by San Juan Island property management. A home located on the Westside of San Juan Island is the perfect getaway for anyone wanting to relax and enjoy the Island.
The house was charming complete with everything to make home-cooked meals—stunning water views from every room. Our first morning I was surprised by a deer we named Bambi; Bambi had a family that visited often. Sitting in the porch, we then spotted a bald eagle this was nature at its finest!

I particularly enjoyed going through all the books in the cabin and snapping pictures of recipes to try back home; every room had a view a chair and books. This is the place to disconnect, reception is not so great and with only one TV we did a lot of family time enjoying series from DC comics.

Great place to reconnect to what matters and leave recharged! the house is located on a highbank, no access waterfront. I couldn’t help it and ventured down carefully. It was very peaceful to sit and listen to the sounds of the ocean.

Friday July 24, 2020

No AC needed waking up was definitely the best part, having coffee sitting overlooking the water calms the soul. The weather was in the low 50´s at night 60´s in the afternoons and no humidity. Once we got the troop up and going we went grocery shopping in town 15-20 mins to Friday harbor and 10-15 to Roche Harbour. King Market is the principal place for grocery shop. We had lunch down in town at Downriggers again; the food is terrific!

The spicy margarita is a must! Wine and a coconut margarita were my favorites drinks.

• Roasted Cauliflower
• Steamed Mussels
• Oysters on the half shell
• Downriggers clam chowder
• Pan-seared salmon

We walked through town and watched the ferry come in, this is a place where you sit and gaze out and your mind wonders of how beautiful it is. A place you breath

Saturday July 25, 2020

Visited Roche harbor had lunch at Madrona Bar & Grill, the shrimp cocktail and fish, is definitely a must with some wine. The beautiful walk there, the food, the drinks, the view, the employees make this is a must if visiting the harbor. The weather was warm. We rented some kayaks and kayaked through Roche harbor. Cami and I beat the boys back.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The days are long and it doesn’t get dark until 11pm. The night was clear and the skies are full of stars. I love many things and amongst them is photography, After trying for several hours in a sweater weather glass of wine and my camera I finally got an amazing shot that captured an ocean of stars. The moon was always so bright and left a trail as if you could walk through the water.

Sunday July 26, 2020

Every day feels like a Friday in San Juan Island. Sunday was a particularly quiet day as it has been since we arrived no rush to go anywhere, waking up and grabbing a cup of coffee sitting from every room and just gazing out. Lunch at our favorite place and a walk to a toy store in town The toy box such a cute store with novelties from my childhood we picked up a board game apples to apples. When was the last time you played a board game?

We wanted to explore a local beach called Eagle Cove Beach. Beautiful out of the way beach with great views and afternoon sunshine. Lots of driftwood logs make it hard to get onto the beach, but fun for kids. The water was chilly the kids did not mind it. Everything about this Island was an adventure. Before you get to the beach, you go through a green path and surprise you arrived at a beach covered with black sand clear water driftwood beautiful rocks and quiet settings.

We ended the evening with BBQ and wine,

Monday, July 27, 2020

Lavender field day and bees galore. I imagined only seeing lavender fields somewhere driving through Paris or somewhere in Europe. It´s really amazing to see the Rolling fields of purple Lavender. There are tons of bees everywhere in the fields, but they were very good and we left them alone. You can learn a lot about growing and cultivating lavender and making it into various products. The pelindaba lavender farm is definitely worth a visit, Bright skies incredible temperature picked up some lavender oils tease soaps. And let’s not forget the fantastic lavender ice cream who knew there were so many things that you can do with lavender.

I have a little boy named Matthew who loves oysters, I have never seen a kid eat 14 oysters no sharing. We loved having lunch at Westcottbay; make sure that you make a reservation before you go. They have yummy under fresh clams, mussels, and oysters. You can have them, Chuck, or do it yourself. The staff was terrific and showed Matthew how to chuck his first oyster and of course, he Shoot it.

Going back, I was inquisitive about visiting that creepy place that we encountered on our first night. Even though sponge Bob’s house is right off the road at night with no lights, you will clearly miss the sign That says. What this is usually it is whatever you imagine it to be. At this unique time, however, it is not a place for visits from off-island residence the tourism industry of someone is in desperate spot and do not necessarily place as much importance on the safety of Islanders as they do on the economy of the industry please think about this have patience and thank you for your consideration hope to see you when the danger has passed Kevin. Even though it was a horrifying night experience, it is constructive to see an artist make such beautiful sculptures from the trash you should look him up and see for yourself. Just make sure you don’t miss the signs that’s a no trespassing.

We decided to go back to Roche harbor and dine at McMillas dining room in the second floor from the restaurant we had previously had lunch customer service here is incredible as is the food. Very lovely fine dining with spectacular views.

The best part of our dinner was just before sunset each night during the summer they retired the flags of Roche harbor Washington state Great Britain Canada and the United States they lower the flags while a song plays and before the American flag comes down a cannon shoots booms through the harbor after the ceremony concludes they announced the weather welcome new and returning guests and recognized special occasions being celebrated around the resort. This was a particular, very patriotic tradition that we quite enjoyed. Would be nice this was a tradition throughout our beautiful country America. Like the star-spangled banner, everybody was asked to stand respect what this great country is all about.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Tuesday July 28, 2020

Whale watching day. The boat crew was so kind and informative highly recommended. We couldn’t get over the sweater weather clear skies quite chilly even in the summer months. It’s a four-hour boat trip very comfortable you can move around to catch a glimpse of the Orcas we were fortunate to see a family of orcas just swimming through the beautiful ocean. It’s lovely how they respect to keep their distance the experience was unforgettable to see such beautiful animals in the wild and not in the zoo or an aquarium where they are kept caged.

I am so happy that I took my Professional camera. I was able to capture the amazing scenery. The rocky path to get to the rocks where you think you’re going to catch a glimpse of a mermaid is so magical you could sit there for hours from the house you can see many people kayaking around freight boat moving and at night catch a glimpse of Victoria island.

• 

• 

• 

Wednesday July 29, 2020

Horseback riding day, you never know what you are going to expect in San Juan island we visited a farm called horseshue ranch, a 5-star ranch. Still, the staff was very friendly. The kids enjoyed chasing the chickens. You could buy fresh eggs totally organic. It’s so beautiful how San Juan island natives live of the land. We experienced a trail through a mountain we felt utterly safe my son Camilla and my husband had the cowboy experience and how they navigated through the lands back in the wild wild west. Another beautiful day in San Juan island all we did was go back to the apartment, have home-cooked meals.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Our last day, I was thrilled when my son said he did not want to leave. I thought he would say I never come back here again. It’s so boring, and it was quite the opposite. It was worth the trip, the miles the three plane rides and wearing masks throughout this whole journey. Watching Matthew take it all in and take a break from electronics was a win. Kid’s life’s have been terribly affected by COVID I wanted to get away and we couldn’t find another place more remote and far away from the everyday bad news of what is going on in this country.

• 

• 

Fill your heart with love, your mind with memories and your days with adventure for at the end memories are all you take. Maria RR

Till we see you again San Juan Island we have definitely found a place that we will visit again and perhaps stay longer next time.

If interested in Real Estate at San Juan Island send me a message, connected with a great agent that I would gladly refer any clients looking to make San Juan Island home

If you enjoyed reading this post subscribe to my the Chic Living Miami newsletter.

XOXOXO Maria Rosales Rahal