Mike and Beth's Adventures

God bless the National Weather Service!  They accurately predicted a strong Pacific Northwest Storm with 35 knot winds and rain.  We were anchored in a idyllic bay on U-shaped Stuart Island when we received the warning.  It arrived with sufficient lead time to move to shelter in Friday Harbor, safely tied to a dock.  The orientation of the hills surrounding the harbor provide good protection.  As the storm had not yet arrived, we got off the boat for a good walk around Friday Harbor.  It is not large so easy to walk. Beth's first stop was the thrift store (it was closed), while mine was the coffee shop.  Next we visited the market for storm supplies and then scoped out the fish market but did not buy. This was followed by investigating the public transit options and checking out a few shops.  This brought us back to the harbor and a view across the marina and out towards Shaw Island. Once back aboard Amy Marie we completed various chores, did our ...

The site of the British Garrison on San Juan Island is now a National Park First a little island history on an unusual incident, in the 1860’s, associated with clarifying the border between Canada and the United States.   As a result of uncertainty on the islands ownership, both the US and Great Britain maintained military garrisons on opposite ends of the island.   Tensions rose briefly when an American killed a British pig.   A satisfactory resolution was arranged, and the island continued to be jointly occupied until 1872 when Germany was asked to intervene and render a judgement on which nation should be the sole owner.   The ruling favored the United States, so the British Garrison reluctantly left for Vancouver Island. Today, there are national parks at the sites of the two camps.   The American Camp was on an inhospitable shoreline swept by continual winds and fog, devoid of protection, and continually cold. The British Camp was on Garrison Bay, a p...