We finally have had a chance to go north to the beautiful San Juan Islands that lie just south of the Canadian border. We left this morning with my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Julie, for 4 days of cruising around the islands. The trip up was absolutely beautiful - island after island, cove after cove, kayakers, boats and even an eagle. The following pictures are from Deception Pass and the San Juan Islands. Ferry boats run from Anacortes through the islands and then on into Canada.
We decided to spend our first night at Deer Harbor Marina on Orcas Island. One of the first things we did was find a place to drop our crab pot for a second attempt at crabbing. We really lucked out when we noticed our neighbors in the marina cleaning a 5 gallon bucket of crab. We asked if they could show us how to clean them and did we ever get a lesson. The folks were so nice and gave us a great demonstration then gave Kevin and I each one to practice on. I had read many suggested ways of cleaning them on the internet but they had the easiest yet - grab the legs, smack the middle of the shell on a cleat, rip off the shell along the edge of the dock, crack the body in half, and rinse! It took all of 1 minute and we were done. Well, they were done that fast. It took me awhile to break mine apart and I gave everyone a good laugh when I automatically apologized to the crab for taking too long as I ripped it in half.
We spent our afternoon relaxing, visiting with friends of Kevin and Julie's from the island, and geocaching - and of course, eating! I would highly recommend Deer Harbor as a great place to moor. It is a quaint and picturesque harbor with plenty of moorage - just be sure to call ahead for a reservation. The San Juans are very popular for cruising and marinas fill up quickly. They have kayak rentals, whale tours, gift shop, groceries (with ice cream!) and very nice showers and restrooms.
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