Our daughter Ami lives with her husband Paul in Seattle and they invited us to sit their home last week while they vacationed on the coast so we made the ten hour drive up and celebrated Sally's 70th and Father's Day by 'doing the town' as they say.
And what a town. For starters we did brunch at Salty's in West Seattle which was on their way to the coast. It's a very famous place and our friends Ted & Nancy Pfeiffer who used to live in Tacoma raved about it so we thought we would treat Ami and Paul in thanks for the kindness they were showing us. Salty's is a two-story affair on Alki Beach, right on the water, with outdoor dining when the weather is nice which it was that day (we'd brought it with us).
But the food! Both floors were taken up almost entirely with buffet tables spilling over with everything from eggs and pancakes to oysters and crab legs. The spread was just mind boggling. Each floor was nearly the size of your average basketball court. They must surely employ dozens of chefs who start Saturday morning and work through the night. The choices were endless and world-class. Even Paul who is an EMT and noted for his big appetite only made one refill.
So, with four of their equally renown Bloody Marys and tip we dropped two and a half bills. The most we've ever spent on any meal, anywhere, anytime. But unforgettable.
Anyway we also did an overnight on San Juan Island, famous home to the Orca or killer whale pods that reside in the San Juan de Fuca Strait. San Juan is one of four large islands in the group served by the Washington State Ferry system so we drove north to Anacortes where the ferry terminal is and caught an early one on Wednesday, Sally's birthday.
It's incredibly lush on the island and we immediately started out on the loop road that encircles it just looking to explore. We spotted cars pulled over with people pointing and shooting cameras and without realizing what it was all about we just fell into an amazing scene ___ the arrival of a pod of killer whales. Not having my wits about me I only took still shots rather than video but at least I can share them more easily. We were on a bluff overlooking the water and shooting downward. We could not have been more fortunate or close, even the whale watching tour boats farther out by law cannot approach these animals.
The island is a millionaire's retreat, yachts and private aircraft clog the many harbors including famous Roches Harbor where rooms go for $400+ per night. We had fish tacos and crab quesadilla for lunch there and Sally bought alpaca yarn at Krystal Acres, the huge luxurious alpaca ranch in the photo. There were several thoroughbred horse and alpaca operations on the island all worthy of a Hollywood movie. A local bragged that San Juan had more pilots per capita than most places in the world.
This is getting long, best quit while I'm ahead.
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