A New Kind of Paradise

Elizabeth Bagley partakes in a journey to Washington’s San Juan Islands. Her trip started with a small helicopter ride, viewing sea lions on her way to a 60 mile trip north of Seattle to the San Juan Islands. She proves that paradise after all isn’t just what you picture in a tropical setting with a slowing setting sun.

The tranquility of the harbor when I arrived, compared to storm I had left just an hour before, is due to San Juan Island being part of a different weather pattern from the South, as the island is in a rain shadow of the Olympic Mountain Range. The result: the island receives roughly 50 percent of Seattle’s annual rainfall.

Leaving the orcas in peace, we continued cruising around San Juan Island. The naturalists pointed out sea lions, eagles, seals, and even an exotic species of sheep brought to the island originally for game hunting. Just when I was satisfied with all I had seen, we drifted back into Friday Harbor.

Serendipity Books on the outside looked like the candy cottage in Hansel and Gretel, but the inside was layered with shelves and stacks of books. A warm fire was going in a stove near the entrance taking the last bite of morning cold from the air.
Serendipity Books on the outside looked like the candy cottage in Hansel and Gretel, but the inside was layered with shelves and stacks of books. A warm fire was going in a stove near the entrance taking the last bite of morning cold from the air.