I shouldn't be telling you this, as it's perfectly fine with me if you follow the herd and only visit the San Juan archipelago between May and September. But as a devoted off-season traveler, I must tout the benefits of going there now. We mingled with locals, and in restaurants, we were given great service and never had to wait for a table. We felt as if we had the island to ourselves. There were few cars on the roads, and the Anacortes-Friday Harbor ferry wait was negligible.
To save money and avoid having to eat out for every meal, we booked a large room with a kitchenette at Earthbox, formerly Elements Day Spa (Westin Hotels is enforcing its claim on the name "Elements," so it's Earthbox now). A word or two about Earthbox: It's an old motel and looks like it, but if you can get past that, you're home free. The B&B doily factor always puts me off the Victorian homes, but you'll find nothing frou-frou here. Just clean, spare modern furniture and linens, mossy greens, earthy walls.
Again, we had the communal jacuzzi, pool, and sauna to ourselves. Judging by the number of rooms, tables, and parking at Earthbox, it's not a place I'd want to be when Friday Harbor is mobbed. The walls are thin, and the capacity of the pool/jacuzzi room is only 12.
True, you're not going to get 70-degree, sunny days in November. But the San Juans are in the rainshadow cast by the Olympic Range. While it flooded elsewhere in Washington, we had dry days, sun breaks, and then one day of full sunshine. If you live in the Northwest, you should cultivate an appreciation for rain and fog anyway, and what a place to do that.
Hi! I like your place.. It seems so peaceful.. I'm thinking if i want to relax in a peaceful place, maybe San Juan is the place to be..
-david
Posted by: makati condo | April 06, 2009 at 01:15 AM