Eastsound & Crab (Singular)

One crab. Seriously! Sure looks like overharvesting to us.

ToG spent the last two nights anchored in Deer Harbor, Orcas Island. Nick got this good shot of six little swallows hanging out on our bow rail:

We took the bikes into the dock with the dinghy yesterday for the 20-mile round trip ride to Eastsound. A few hills but we had more than enough battery power.

This restaurant/inn is a few miles out of Deer Harbor and looks very intriguing!

I'd like to expound on Eastsound a bit here. As much as we enjoy Lopez Village (Lopez Island) and Friday Harbor (San Juan Island), Eastsound (Orcas Island) is really the most charming. It's in between in size, with lots of shops and places to eat (including the award winning Matia), plus a decent grocery store. Last year when we visited there was quite a bit of construction going on so this year there are some new roads and sidewalks. Very nice. The town is landscaped beautifully and easily walkable.

The problem is, it's difficult to reach by boat. The village of Eastsound sits at the north tip of East Sound, a seven mile long/two to three mile wide bay running north to south, almost bisecting the island. It seems to be windy and choppy a lot, at least most times we've been there. Rosario Resort is on the east side, about half way up. We've stayed there a few times and attempted to dinghy up the sound to Eastsound. Once was fine, once we had to turn around. We've also anchored in Judd Cove, right near the town, but that was less than ideal due to wind and waves. We have ridden our bikes to Eastsound from Rosario as well.

This photo shows the top of the bay and you can see the chop - it was very windy there yesterday:

We tend now to anchor in Deer Harbor and ride bikes into town. There are a couple of different routes. Hardly any shoulder, which makes bike riding a challenge, but we have found most drivers to be careful and courteous.

It was not windy inland so riding was pleasant. Somewhat overcast, but beautiful! Some of the interior sweeping farmland views are stunning.

For anyone wanting to visit the San Juans, Orcas Island and Eastsound are sure to please.

We are now making our way back to La Conner. Makes us a little sad to leave the SJI's!