Washington State - Whale Watching Outpost at Lime Kiln Lighthouse

 

Decided to stop and see the Lime Kiln Lighthouse as we were making our way around the island by car.  This spot was famous for more than that, though.  Evidently this and other rock outcroppings nearby are good vantage points from which to watch whales as they migrated through the straight.  I never cared too much about watching whales, so focused on the structure as a subject while zeroing in on those who do care about watching whales:

Couldn't help but think of this pic, captured in Athens back in 2009, as it also features a crowd of people sitting on a rock to watch something...in this case a sunset:

Washington State - Weathered Wall in Roche Harbor

Not exactly in line with the high-brow, upper-middle-class neighborhood we were in, but was attracted to the weathered look of this wall...not unlike what was captured in Sanderson, Texas, back in 2012.

Glowing and Found Edges of same below:

Washington State - Roche Harbor Crapper Keeper

This guy was by far my favorite boat of the whole bunch, because these folks clearly have a sense of humor.  Something you don't think about, but - just as in RV's - you have to do something with the waste created while you're on board, don't you?

Washington State - Rules Are for Fools / Boat Sale

To look at this might make one think that boat people are mavericks, brazen enough to thumb their noses at society.  Well, that can't be all bad.

And you gotta have money.  Once while on vacation in Florida with some friends, we visited a marina where they sold boats...cabin cruisers like the one my dad owned.  I wanted to find out what it would cost to duplicate the experience nowadays.  We spotted one of similar size, took a brief tour of the thing, and asked the sales guy how much to buy.  Without even blinking he answered that it would be $185,000.  But hey, it came with two driving lessons!

Washington State - Roche Harbor Kayaks

Would like to have had a drone for some boat pictures, such as this one.  Gotta love the color...

Washington State - Roche Harbor Boats / My Dad's Cabin Cruiser

OK, one more boat panorama.  I like boats, but don't like to be in one, unless it's a cruise ship.  As a youngster in Orange, Texas, I saw my father in constant frustration at the problems his boats gave him, and vowed never to own one.

But it wasn't without the occasional adventure.  We actually had a cabin cruiser at one point - a big blue one that my dad once used to take us on vacation.  His goal was to travel the inter-coastal waterway all the way from Orange to Florida.  It had an inboard-outboard motor, and was big enough to fit my parents, us three boys (Mike hadn't been born yet), and our German shepherd dog.  It had a kitchen, bathroom in the bow, and living area with padded benches that folded out into beds.  The thing broke down halfway, though, and we had to settle for Louisiana as our vacation destination.  I remember it well, though only five years old at the time...

Washington State - Mansion View of Roche Harbor

Suppose you can't be in a harbor without taking lots of boat pictures.  This is Roche Harbor, at the northern tip of San Juan island.  One of our little family group didn't think I should be standing where I was taking this 2-shot panorama, and when I looked around realized why.  We'd walked right onto someone's side lawn!  No fence or anything, so I didn't get too hung up about it.

Here's a zoomed-in shot of same.  Wanna make a puzzle out of it and drive someone crazy?

Lastly, this is the house, from the other side, on who's yard we were trespassing.  Word was that it took three years to build, and the townsfolk down below didn't care for it much:

Washington State - Friday Harbor

Though we stayed on San Juan Island, only two pictures taken in Friday Harbor were considered keepers.  The 3-shot panorama above and the picture below, which looks like a panorama but was cropped from a single frame, were both captured on the ferry as we headed back down to Seattle.  As stated early in this series, the weather was made-to-order for visiting the islands; however, that being the case, the sun was out full each afternoon which was lousy for photography.  So here we are with lots of post-capture required to brighten shadows and darken highlights.  I'll take it, though; as also stated earlier, having "good" weather beat slogging around in the rain, which would have been cold even in summer at that latitude.

The pic above reminded me of these posts from another trip to Seattle...

Washington State - Lavender Farm, Picnic Tables

 

Washington State - Lavender Farm, Wagon #2

Pretty much the same as yesterday's post, from a slightly different angle.  Didn't feel the need to darken the sign here.