June 10, 2025
Day 13 - Rest Day on San Juan Island
Sculptures and Whales
No miles on the bike today, but 22+ miles on the sea and 5.25 miles of walking.
As Rich commented, “Our rest days aren’t really rest days, are they?”
After breakfast our day starts with a 10-mile drive back to Roche Harbor to visit the Sculpture Park. Rich and I came here back in 2020 and wanted to see it again — 20 acres of paths with a wide variety of sculptures, some beautiful, some fascinating , and some just creepy weird.
Below is a small sampling of the many photos I take while strolling through the park.
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After perusing the park, we head down the hill to the harbor to eat an early lunch at the Lime Kiln cafe, where, we were told, you could obtain the best burgers on the island. I’m not a burger fan, so Rich and I split a BLT, and Genny had a salad. So that left Jim to try out their burger. One look and even I could tell this was not “the best burger” anywhere. An obviously frozen beef patty. Jim pronounced it an “adequate-burger.” So much for recommendations.
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The reason for our early lunch is that we have reservations to go whale watching, and we need to be at the dock in Friday Harbor by 1:15. Genny has never seen whales before, and Rich and I have not been on a whale watching tour since 2005, which happened to be here in San Juan. And we are up for a repeat experience.
About 25 minutes after we leave the dock I think to record our route with RidewithGPS, so it starts out in the middle of the water. The little zig-zag line at the end point of the route is where we stop to observe two humpback whales — a mother and calf — as they surface and dive together. It is quite beautiful, really. There are a few children on the cruise who are audibly excited about seeing whales. The highlight for me was when one of the little boys shouted, “Humpback whale power!”
On the way there, we see porpoises, sea lions, cormorants, and several other species of birds. No orcas, though, so the tour company gives us a rain check ticket to try again another time.
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After the cruise, we stroll through the small downtown area of Friday Harbor and then head back to the hotel for a short rest before going to dinner at Van Go’s Pizza. We sit in a booth on the patio that is beneath a lattice of ivy. The pizza is absolutely delicious — a hearty thumbs up from all of us. And the woman who serves us (the proprietor perhaps?) is wonderfully down-to-earth.
Tomorrow, we take the ferry to Orcas Island and ride to Rosario Village.
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