A cold and wet morning. We had breakfast at Orcas Hotel Cafe before getting on the ferry to Lopez Island.

I started the ride but turned around very quickly. I was already soaked and I didn’t have my good rain jacket. I’ve ridden in conditions like this and know it’s a miserable experience. The rest of the group rode about 12 miles.

Wes and Charlie made really good lunches every day. They bought fresh bakery bread whenever possible for the sandwiches.

Goodbyes at the ferry.

As soon as the arriving cars were out, walk-on passengers boarded. We were all going to Anacortes.

Laurie and I drove about 2 hours to Seattle for a 9:15 flight. Home at 11:30. Great trip, scenic bike riding! Terra Trek did a great job organizing this upscale tour.

The bikes are loaded and Wes is ready!

There were two ongoing jigsaw puzzles available on the ferry if looking out the windows wasn’t stimulating enough.

The ferry arrived at the town of Orcas.

Everyone loaded into the van for a ride to our starting point.

Orcas Island Pottery.

View from the artist’s backyard:

So many cute private driveway choices: Tin Cup, Duck Soup, Huff-da Hill and ..

Lunch in Eastsound Village.

Onward to the highest point in the San Juan Islands.

I chose not to ride 5 miles with a 10% grade and an elevation gain of 2400 feet to the top of Mt Constitution.

Kingfisher Inn: tonight’s accommodations.

View from my room:

Happy hour in Karen and Doug’s room:

Dinner at New Leaf Cafe:

Scallops and pork belly with corn coulis and charred Brussels sprouts

plus and entertaining server.

27 miles for me.

Two in our group went whale watching, two went ocean kayaking. Laurie and I went for a bike ride. Charlie was our guide but only drove the van. He gave directions between our stops.

False Bay Tidelands at low tide.

A brief stop here. The high season is over and many places are only open on the weekends. Soon that will also end.

A sign said to be careful, a 10.5% downhill grade was ahead. But that also meant there would be a 10.5% uphill grade pedaling back – yikes! Maybe not a problem if I was using the ebike I have at home. But the ebike I’m riding now does NOT have much power. After day 1, I complained about the bike and they gave me a different one, it was marginally better.

Cattle Point ahead. Can you spot the tiny white lighthouse?

Lunch was at Jackson Beach.

It was a short ride back to Friday Harbor.

We were on our own for dinner. Laurie and I went to Downriggers which included this view of the harbor.

27 miles today!

Early morning, we boarded a ferry for Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Bicyclists board first. We would find out later that the people in this photo would be part of our touring group.

There were six in our group, including four friends from Coeur d’Alena ID.

Wes, one of our guides, holding a map and giving directions for the first part of today’s ride. Charlie is the other guide.

First stop: a lavender farm – long after the blooming season.

Lunch stop at Lime Kiln State Park. Wes and Charlie

As we were leaving, one person in our group fell as he got on his bike. He was unconscious for a short time and had a deep cut near his temple which would require 11 stitches. There was no ambulance available to come get him, another employee drove out to pick him up and take him to the ER. There is only one ER in all of the San Juan Islands, located in Friday Harbor. We learned that everyone living on the other islands had helicopter insurance in case of medical emergencies.

Next stop, an alpaca farm.

Close to Roche Harbor, we stopped at a 20-acre sculpture park with over 200 art installations.

Roche Harbor.

32 miles to circumnavigate the northern part of San Juan Island Back at Tucker House, we gathered for a brief happy hour before heading for dinner.

We all went to dinner at Coho – a very upscale restaurant with only 8 tables. We were encouraged to order ANYthing from the menu – lots of delicious food, too much in fact. And I learned that I am not fond of meals that take 3 hours to complete.

View from our hotel near the ferry terminal:

We drove the loop road in Washington Park. At Fidalgo Head:

Being a Monday, not many restaurants were open. Dinner at the Brown Lantern.