Fidalgo Bay Resort is a personal favorite and serves as a great home base from which to explore the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, and of course Anacortes. On this trip, we stayed from April 18 to April 26, with the goal of taking in the Tulip Festival the area is famous for.
The nearby town of Anacortes has just about everything we need if we left it at home or are running low. With two large groceries, lots of interesting restaurants, excellent hardware stores, and an eclectic blend of art studios, fashion boutiques, bookstores, antique shops, and marine stores, Anacortes has a lot to offer.
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| While the resort was pretty full for the first weekend and the tail end of the Tulip Festival, midweek left us lots of space. |
The park is divided into two (east and west) gravel parking lot style areas with the paved bike/walking path between them. We've stayed in both areas, and we've visited in both our previous tent trailer and our current motorhome. The sites are well-maintained level gravel. Grass separates each site, and a picnic table is provided. The park is big-rig friendly, including slide outs. The facility is very well maintained and has continuously improved during all the years we have been coming back. The park is also pet and children friendly. The sound coming from Hwy 20 is mostly white-noise.
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| We were in site #26 in the East Park |
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| Looking across the bay towards Anacortes |
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| The view from site #13 where we will be in 2016 for the Tulip Festival |
Tulip Festival
We've always wanted to visit the area during the Tulip Festival, so it was a treat to combine our desire to spend a week in Anacortes with this colorful event. The unusually warm weather had us catching the end of the harvest, but a visit to RoozenGaarde (
www.tulips.com) allowed us to enjoy the variety of shapes and colors that tulips come in.
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| On the way to the Tulip Festival |
The tulips bloomed early this year so we caught the tail end of the festival on Monday with a visit to the home of
www.tulips.com. RoozenGaarde is well worth the visit. In addition to the gardens, there is food, music, a gift store, and lots of places to sit in the shade and take it all in.
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| The home of www.tulips.com |
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| The park is set up to launch are retrieve small craft easily |
Whidbey Island
One day after work, Laura and I hiked to the highest point on Whidbey Island (
http://www.deceptionpassfoundation.org/around-t…/goose-rock/). While a steep climb, the view was worth the effort.
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| As advertised, it was a steep hike. |
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| Deception Pass below. |
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| One of the frequent rest stops on the way to the top. |
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| Laura smoking Dale up the trail. |
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| At Goose Rock. The ice age scraped away all the soil. |
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| The highest point on Whidbey Island. |
A View from Cap Sante - Anacortes
On a blustery day, while Laura stayed in the motorhome, I went exploring. The view from the peak is quite stunning, particularly on a sunny day. Behind the curved breakwater to the left is Seafarer's Memorial Park where Laura and I launched the kayaks.
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| Dale Mack selfie |
Visiting Fairhaven Village - Bellingham, WA
Less than an hour north of Anacortes is Fairhaven Village in Bellingham. We ran up there for lunch and some sightseeing. It turned out to be a very walkable small community with lots to see, and things to taste. We definitely want to come back and do more exploring in Bellingham.
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| Visiting Fairhaven Village. Lunch at Skylark's |
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| Inside Skylark's |
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| We're coming back here for lunch. |
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| A more quirky lunch destination for next them. |
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| Wonderful architectural interest in this repurposed building. |
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| Sugar-free Gelato |
Orcas Island by Car
One aspect we like about Anacortes is its proximity to a Washington State Ferry terminal. Parking is close to the terminal if you choose to walk-on. A day trip from Anacortes to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, or to Orcas Island is very scenic. On this trip, we decided to visit Orcas Island. I had only seen Deer Harbor and Rosario Resort while on cruises, but Laura had once taken the island shuttle, so she'd seen places like Eastsound.
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| Day trip to Orcas Island. |
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| One of the stops the ferry makes on the way to Orcas Island. |
Although the day started out very foggy, by the time we arrived at Lopez Island, things were starting to clear up. Lopez Island was hosting a large bicycle ride around the island, so the ferry was full of cyclists.
This was our first time taking a car into the islands. We had to leave the kayaks at camp because their added height would have increased the cost of taking the car on the ferry.
Eastsound - Orcas Island
Located at the northern end of a long sound, Eastsound caters to those who arrive on the island by car. Besides the shops to visit, the town has many beautiful gardens.
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| Eastsound on Orcas Island |
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| Eastsound |
Laura and I had a late breakfast at the "New Leaf" inside the Outlook Inn. The meal was wonderful, and it was combined with a great view of the sound from the windows.
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| Outlook Inn |
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| More Eastsound |
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| The pebble beach at Eastsound. |
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| Walking around the shops and the gardens. |
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| There is lots of artwork sprinkled about Eastsound. |
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| Laura Mack |
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| Main Street, Eastsound. |
Doe Bay Resort - Orcas Island
From Eastsound, we headed to the east side of the island so we could spend the day backtracking our way back to the ferry. Doe Bay Resort looked just the way a family run resort would be imagined to look. From the general store to the cabins, everything had a welcoming feel to it.
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| The cove at Doe Bay. |
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| Cabins at Doe Bay |
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| Looking out on Rosario Strait from Doe Bay Resort. |
Lieber Haven Resort - Orcas Island
From the parking lot, Lieber Haven Resort didn't seem that inviting. It wasn't until you walked from the parking lot to the water that the beauty of this destination reaffirmed why its location is a resort. Located at the southern end of Orcas Island, the resort overlooks Obstruction Pass.
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| Obstruction Island in the background. |
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| Lieber Haven Resort |
Olga - Orcas Island
The village of Olga turned out to be mostly residential. While there had been a store in the past, nothing was open during our visit, nor did it look to have been open for some time.
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Olga is a cute town but not much happening tourist-wise.
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| Olga. |
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| I suspect the loss of the docks cost Olga its tourism. |
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| Olga looking east. |
Mount Constitution - Orcas Island
The drive to the top of Mount Constitution was steep. It was amazing to see folks on bicycles working their way to the top. Parking is limited at the top, so I imagine it would be tough to find a spot on a summer day.
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| Atop Mount Constitution (2454 ft.) on Orcas Island. |
Fog and clouds still surrounded the peak when we arrived. Once at the tower, the clouds parted so Laura could have her view of the islands. Seriously, the timing was amazing.
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| Rosario Resort |
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| Still a little early in the season |
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| Rosario breakwater. |
Deer Harbor - Orcas Island
Deer Harbor has been a destination for us both in our Bayliner 38 and twice in our former Catalina 22 sailboat. Located on the western side of the island, it sits in a picturesque setting.
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| Our visit found an American Tug rendezvous |
Orcas - Orcas Island
The town of Orcas is the ferry landing for the island. We ate our picnic-style dinner on the dock while waiting for the ferry to return us to Anacortes.
