Wandering Around Washington Part 2

For the second part of my family trip to Washington, my family and I visited the San Juan Islands and  Seattle. We had to take a ferry from a small town, Port Townsend, to the San Juan Islands. We drove our car onto the ferry and I thought that was really neat. I mean driving your car onto a huge boat seems unreal! There were so many cars that kept piling onto the ferry. I enjoyed walking around the boat and looking at the other islands. 

The San Juan Islands are apart of Washington, but you can see Victoria, Canada from the islands. While on the island, we took a half day kayak excursion to see the island and some wildlife. The kayaks were tandem kayaks, so my mom and I were teamed up to battle kayaking on the ocean together. We had to wear some fancy gear to keep us safe on the ocean for our journey. We saw purple starfish on some rocks, bald eagles and their nests, a sea lion, and salmon flying in the air all around us! However, we never saw any Orca whales. The area is known for whale sightings. Our guide told us that he saw a pod of whales the day before, but we waited and never saw any. I'll have to come back to see the whales!

In this region, lavender grows very well. I enjoyed running and smelling the lavender bushes as I passed by. 

This dry soda was delicious! I was skeptical of the lavender flavor, but it was not overpowering and had just the right amount of sweetness!

San Juan was full of fun, little shops and cafes. It was a relaxing island and it was fascinating to see another way of life. These people are accustomed to using the ferry and boats for transportation.

After our time in San Juan, we took the ferry back to the mainland to fetch our car and drive to Seattle. Before we arrived in Seattle, we stopped at the new storefront for my favorite running store, Oiselle. It was such a coincidence as Oiselle opened their first store a week before I arrived in Washington. I was very excited to check out the store and go run around the area. If you have never heard of Oiselle, it is a women's based running company that promotes female empowerment and helping to change the women's running industry. In French, Oiselle means bird and the company emphasizes the bird by using it to promote running free and using your wings to fly. I am a big fan of the company and I hope that one day I can be involved with Oiselle.

After our little excursion, we arrived in downtown Seattle. We had a view of the Space Needle from our hotel room, which was really neat! 

We spent our time in Seattle walking around, visiting Pike's Place Market, and going on a boat trip. One of my mom's sorority sisters lives in Seattle, and her family graciously invited us to spend time with them on their boat. I had never been on a larger boat with rooms and a kitchen. It was very nice of her and her family to share their boat with us. We got a tour of Seattle from the boat. We admired the houseboats and water planes that were taking off in the lake near us!

I really had a great time in Washington that was well spent with my family. If you have never been to Washington before, it is a great state full of many outdoor activities!

Enjoy this beautiful summer day and stay cool!