Paul

Watching the sunset from Orcas Island was magical. We can't go any further west on this adventure and this was a nice way to end our pacific fixation. Tomorrow we'll ferry back to the mainland and spend some time in Seattle before turning inland and east toward home.

The highest peak on Orcas Island offers stunning views of the San Juan Islands. The trail up is quite vertical and not something I wanted to traverse after sunset though. I'll bet it would be spectacular from here, but a beach location would be awesome too.

Marla really liked the "cut it yourself" option and had fun in the lavender fields.

Oh my gosh, what a find! Orcas Island is awesome! Buck Bay Farm is one of the jewels in the crown!

After our fantastic visit with friends in Portland, we drove up past Seattle to catch a whale-watching boat from Anacortes. We met up with more friends from Texas and went out looking for Orcas. We saw plenty of them! The trip was so much fun that we stayed in Anacortes overnight and are ferrying the…

The Columbia River has some great floating houses, much like Sausalito, only they aren't influenced much by ocean tides. Some of these houses are unbelievable in scope and scale. Our on-the-water perspective and easy maneuverability made for a great afternoon of checking them all out.

Being on the road for a few weeks means too much great food and barely enough exercise. This morning we went back to the Columbia River for a different kind of cruise. These open water cycles are a blend between a kayak and a bicycle. No paddles, just pedals! These things really fly through the…

I've driven and flown into Portland before, but have never been by boat. The traffic was nonexistent and the views were nonstop. This was definitely the best way to see Portland!

As if the winery tour wasn't enough, for our evening entertainment we cruised up the Columbia River and the Willamette River on a friend's awesome boat.