Friday Harbor and Sucia Island
Updated: Aug 20, 2019
05/31/2019 - 06/02/2019 🍒
The sun was going to be out and we have plans for the next few weeks so we were going boating! We didn’t know where, but we wanted to spend a few nights on the water in the San Juans. Looking at the weather, we decided to head north. There was a chance of some wind on Friday night, so we decided go to the Port of Friday Harbor for Friday Night then motor up to Sucia Island state park on Saturday and stay there on a mooring ball Saturday night.
We took the long way to Friday Harbor because of the wind predicted farther south. This route from La Conner took us up the north side of Guemes Island, crossing Bellingham Channel, Rosario Strait and through Peavine pass toward Friday Harbor. This route did get us some waves on the port beam crossing Rosario straight for about 20 minutes, but it wasn’t bad and I pretty sure it would have worse farther south at Thatcher pass. Once inside Peavine pass, the water was nearly flat.
After we got settled in our slip at Friday Harbor, what next? We walked up into town, to the Palace Theatre and watched the new Aladdin movie by Disney, of course. It was a blast going to a small town theatre.
A theatre that still opens the curtains before the show. A theatre that didn’t have commercials before the show. A theatre that had GREAT popcorn!! Aladdin was a good movie, too. We had a lot of fun. If you are ever in Friday Harbor and looking to kill a little time, make your way to the Palace Theatre and take in a movie. You will thank yourself!
We don’t often eat at restaurants while on the boat. However, after the movie we decided to try a restaurant that we have walked by several times and never entered. It is right on the waterfront. The restaurant is Downriggers. We had a light dinner and a couple drinks and had great service and the food was wonderful. I won’t tell you the place is cheap. It isn’t. The prices are above average (Yelp shows $$$) but not so high as to ruin the experience. There are plenty of restaurants and bars in Friday Harbor. we were impressed with this one. Tracy said she wants to come back after she had her first bite of her pasta!
It was about 9:30 PM when we back to the boat. Because the regular broadcast time of Jeopardy! had been postponed due to the NBA game, we thought we might be able to make it to watch the show tonight. In the past month, we've followed the show closely because the great player, James Holzhauer. He has attracted a larger audiences due to his winning streak and we are two of them. Luckily, we found the show and watched our recent favorite tv show on the boat. It's fun watching two great shows tonight on a big screen and a 10 inches ipad! The ordinary thing seems becoming more interesting doing it in a distant city sometimes!
Saturday morning, we made breakfast on the boat and after we cleaned up, set our sights for Fossil Bay on Sucia Island. There were plenty of mooring balls to choose from when we got there at mid-day. Later that afternoon, they were all full. Sucia Island is a very popular Washington State Marine Park. Once we got settled, we took the dinghy ashore to register and take a walk around the trails. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes had a different idea. They made a feast of Tracy’s legs, and we didn’t have any mosquito repellent on the boat. We will have next time. We did have some hydrocortisone and that helped her itching. We spent the afternoon and evening watching the mooring balls fill up and relaxing. We barbequed burgers for dinner and turned in early.
The next morning, we left soon after breakfast and motored slowly most of the way home. The water smooth all way back. Again, north of Guemes Island.
Just as we broke in to Guemes channel, headed for the north end of the Swinomish Channel, I saw a Coast Guard boat headed our direction. A minute or so later, the blue lights came on and I knew we were getting boarded. This is my first time being boarded for a random check on this boat. I was confident that we were good, and we were, but the situation still has a bit of a stress level that comes with it. Every time I have had dealings with the Coast Guard, they have always been very friendly, respectful and professional. This was no different. They pulled up beside me and asked a few questions. Then 3 young men came aboard, introduced themselves and shook my hand. They checked my engine spaces, looked at my flares, fire extinguishers, PFD’s and registration. We talked about boats for a couple minutes and they handed me a piece of paper that said I passed and they got back on their boat and we all went our separate ways. Once they left, Tracy immediately asked if all Coasties were young and cute….. !
The rest of the trip down the channel was uneventful. We chatted about cute Coast Guard guys way more than I was comfortable with. I think she is secretly waiting for the next time we get boarded.
More pictures from this trip...