Anacortes

We never ended up making plans for the three-day weekend, but Saturday afternoon we decided that Sunday might be a good day to go up to San Juan Island. Which is something we never do out of fear of early starts and ferry waits and weekend crowds, but now that you can reserve a place on the Friday Harbor boat, it takes some of the uncertainty and need for extra time out of the early morning drive from Seattle to the Anacortes ferry terminal.

And even if you have to wait a little bit, it's a great place to hang out, at least when the weather is cooperating.

Point Whitehorn

This was two weeks ago - a gray, drizzly day for field visits and meetings north of Bellingham. But it left some slack for a lunchtime walk to the beach at Point Whitehorn, which is now a marine reserve (a park, basically).  The eroding glacial drift that forms the bluffs along here has left a residue of cobble and large boulders on the beach -- a beach I had almost to myself.  Those are Lummi and Orcas Islands to the south over the incredibly calm waters.