Retirement had an exciting start with a trip to San Juan Island in the state of Washington. We headed north on route 5 with Jamie, Matt, and bike in tow. In Anacortes we loaded onto the ferry, meeting Pam and Norm at our destination, Friday Harbor.
The first full day we road bikes, exploring the island. The second day we headed out to find whales. An hour out we spotted three pods of Orcas. They put on a show, powerfully gliding through the water nearby our boat. They were so close we could see their spray and hear their chatter. We learned from the naturalist that our Orcas were “transient” whales, traveling distances of 60 to 100 miles per day in search of food. These were “mammal eating” orcas, feasting on seals and sea lions, distinct from pods that ate Chinook salmon.
The third day we returned to Anacortes, where we left Matt and his parents to explore for a few days before Matt left for his bike trip to Minneapolis. Meanwhile, Jamie, Marilyn and I headed south to sample the culture and cuisine of the Northwest’s second city, Portland.
