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Brings back so many great memories in SJ Islands!
That little boat looks really fun. I have always loved Doe Bay, and I used to go every summer.

One of the few places left on the N. West Coast where you can camp, overlooking the ocean!
An amazing place to commune with nature; "shush", keep it a secret ;-)

I liked bicycle camping; no waiting in line with the car at 6am for the ferry!
Maybe next time I'll try it on a kayak; I hope the inflatable holds air!

My dad has kayaks; we go out in the mountain lakes in AZ. There is an area there cordoned off as Bald Eagle sanctuary and as I took my new mini cam and looked through the viewfinder to capture the bird landing at the top of a tall pine, I immediately rolled the boat over!

Don't look through your viewfinder while in the boat :-)
I was fortunate to have another kayak nearby, and hand off my cam or I might have lost it..

And by good fortune, I had days before, watched the video on how to get back into a kayak after rolling it!
I had the procedure down but might have failed if I had not trained myself how to do it.

Hahaha, that is a fantastic story! I would have been panicking about keeping the camera above water too, that hand-off must have been something special to witness. Fortunately, inflatable kayaks are pretty stable (albeit slow). The only time I've rolled was on a whitewater stretch of river and it was my own fault.

I'm happy to be able to share memories of the San Juans with you. They are just a straight-up special place.

wow, you guys had lots of fun. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! Have you been up to the San Juans at all? I love how close they are to Seattle!

Not yet. But one day, I hope. Just need to overcome fright of ferries :). I glad curie approved your post.
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Thanks for nominating me! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe you can start with the ferry over to Bainbridge with someone you trust along for the ride. It's not too long a journey and there's some good food on the other side.

We want to start with Whidbey Island first as a family trip.

That sounds perfect, and you can always drive around if you decide you don't like the ferry (or ride on to Port Angeles if you do!)

Hello. I enjoyed San Juan Island ten yr. ago - with my cousin Suzette.
It was a nice boat ride over, as I got to see #EAGLES in their nest !

At Friday Harbor island, I saw the #Whale museum (& a cool educational film on orcas ).

Good tip u had, as to Craiglist and finding a #Kayak for cheap .

Also, thanx for tip about LIME KILN Park -- will have to ck it out, as I LOVE #lighthouses !
Plus the alpaca farm looks of interest - noted.

Awesome, I hope you get to return and make new memories! It is a really great place for lighthouses, it seems like there's at least one on every island.

Yea, Lighthouses are inspiring
(I enjoyed 1 at in CA ) -

Kayak is on my to do list at least once, when i grow some courage, it's kinda scary for me to be in the water with such small boat!!

Try it on calm water at sunrise or sunset - it's totally relaxing! While slower, wider or inflatable kayaks are surprisingly stable.

Great article. UpVoted and re-steemed

My husband wants to drag me there with the tiny children. You make the whole affair sound much more appealing :)

Hahaha, this would be a difficult trip with little ones. But the San Juans are a pretty magical place that I keep returning to year after year.

Along the way, stay alert for orcas, porpoises, harbor seals, Stellar sea lions, otters, bald eagles, and great blue herons. (We saw all of these except for the orcas!) Also keep an eye on the tides and weather, since currents and waves can be strong.

Wow you saw a lots of animaals there!!

Three days on the water gives you lots of opportunites! The otters came at a time when I desperately needed some motivation to keep paddling. :)

I have never tried kayaking , Canada look so beautiful .

You should try it soon on one of your upcoming trips! Maybe Abel Tasman or Fiordland in New Zealand. :) It's a really cool feeling being right on the water.

Thank you sharing your adventures with us. You really made my mouth drool for anticipation of traveling again. And I love craigslist, you can find lots of deals there as long as you play smart and safe.

I've been doing little local adventures like this one all summer (I'm lucky to live in such an awesome place), and I'm excited to go to farther-flung places too!

The day I bought the kayak was actually pretty epic, maybe I'll tell that story sometime. Craigslist is sweet!

Amazing! It looks like you had a lot of fun and it sounds like a real adventure! Do you often go kayaking together? :)

During the summer, we try to take it out about once a week, either on nearby lakes or the Sound, but it usually ends up being less. The downside of the inflatable is that it takes a lot of time to set up and clean up, but it's still so much fun!

It Looks so fantastic! I love your Video! I hope, you had a great time!

Thank you! Glad to hear you liked the video.

Nice little adventure! Never heard of these islands before, cool! Just went to check out your website, cool idea the bucket list list and the favourite hikes, might have to do something similar for the hikes we have done in Norway this summer.

Hey, thanks for checking out my website! I love documenting things and My Maps on Google is great for favorite hikes and places.

I see you're living on a converted schoolbus! Sounds like a fun leap to take - I've stayed in someone else's bus before (and in a converted airport shuttle) and it's way comfier than the back of a normal car!

Wow looks like a great adventure. Very nice :-)

Thanks for the tips! Have you tried kayaking on the Outer Banks of North Carolina? Once did 5 days trip from Cape Lookout to Ocracoke--paddling on the sound and camping on the beach side. Absolutely epic. Bring out the big anti-mosquito guns tho

That looks amazing! I only just visited North Carolina for the first time this year (without my kayak) and can definitely see the appeal. I will put it on the list for potential kayak camping trips in the future.

Holy smokes, now that is some deserved reard over there :) So glad to see this!
Schweee

Thank you! It's thanks to @geekgirl and @curie!

Schweee?

I just ran over and schwee'd you back. The wind was carrying me too quickly.

yuhuuuuu....
nice trip broe @therovinggreader

Haha, thank you!

Your welcome..

This was an interesting article with nice pictures! Looking forward to more from you!

Thank you! There's definitely a lot more where this came from haha.

"i like hiking and kayaking"=Cute I love the San Juan Island area... Thanks for sharing

Thanks for reading! :) The San Juans are indeed a special place.