FoodTrek: GIRLS Weekend and Adventuretime on the San Juan Islands

A friend of mine said the best thing a little while back: "We need to have an adventure." It's something easily said and pondered over for a lifetime, and so rarely acted upon, but I'm glad to say we took this promise of adventure by the horns and set out for an extended weekend of food, photos and  premium cable series marathoning. With cameras at the ready, we set forth to explore the San Juan Islands. Onwards!

Welcome to the Hotel De Haro, such a lovely place, such a lovely face - Photo by Wasabi Prime

FoodTrek: Island Vacation in a Day

Cloudless blue skies above a water view... a chilled, frosty beer covered in condensation sweat from the sun... a tall, ombre tropical drink with a wedge of fresh pineapple... I made a summer trip to the Island, but not the one you're thinking of... 

Being on Island Time for a day - Photo by Wasabi Prime

...No, not Hawaii, but Orcas Island! Yes, we stayed within our own state to get a taste of Da Islands. It had been something I wanted to do, visit Orcas Island for a day and just see if it was doable, since the San Juans aren't exactly a quick hop, skip and a jump away. Generally the challenges behind going to the San Juans for just a day is the travel time. You have to drive up to Anacortes to catch the ferry -- that's at least an hour drive -- and then you wait in a long line of cars, hoping you got there early enough during summer's peak season to make sure your car makes it on that boat. The ferry ride varies depending on the island you're trying to get to, Orcas takes about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on conditions. We left early in the morning, so the boat had to slow down when we hit a big fog bank. We thought we would be clever by doing walk-on for the ferry, which loads you super-fast and you don't have to arrive super-early to get your car in position, but the trick is always the ability to be mobile once you're on the island. There's a shuttle bus that goes around Orcas Island, but the problem with that is, if the ferry schedule is off (and it often is), the bus leaves without you and you're stuck for a while, since the shuttle pickups to take you from the ferry terminal to Eastsound are infrequent at best, with wait times being as much as an hour if you miss your pickup. Boo. Despite the good idea of the Orcas Island transit bus, I would say skip it and bring your own car, in case of ferry late-ness. We were stuck renting a car for the day (round trip cab ride to Eastsound was about as much as a car rental), negating the money we saved by doing a ferry walk-on, and it was a grumpy way to start the day, but whatever! I would not let our day trip be scuttled by a morning hiccup!

Orcas Island Saturday Farmers Market - greens aplenty! - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Day trip or not, Orcas Island is amazing year-round. And Eastsound, the most popular city to visit on the island, really blossoms during summer, since that's the busy season. The last time I was here, it was mid-season, so the weather was more unpredictable, rainy one moment, sunny the next -- status quo for island living. In the summers, the Orcas Island Farmer's Market sets up shop on the Village Green in Eastsound, which was a treat to visit for the first time. I was tempted to get a bunch of things, but didn't want to haul fresh produce around for the day. But I did admire the goods -- I saw beautiful little artichokes, plenty of fava beans and sugar snap peas, and over a grill, I saw the most enormous oysters on the planet being cooked up. They were locally harvested and the size of a pro-wrestler's fist. Pretty dang big. But we saved our appetite for an early midday snack at Rose's Bakery and Cafe. I love their baguettes. Not too big, not too small, just the perfect size to get one to go, which I didn't mind hauling around with me in a reusable shopping bag. I got a package of Lesley Stowe's Raincoast Crisps (the cranberry ones), which are pretty much my favorite crackers in the known universe. I know it's a bakery and I could have gotten some of their bread, but to avoid the indulgence of eating a whole loaf of bread in one sitting, I saved our fresh baguette for later and went with a small package of crackers that I shared with the Mister, along with some cured meats freshly sliced from Rose's deli to fuel us for the day.

Allium for a deck-side lunch and cocktails - Photos by Wasabi Prime

One of the nice things about the day trip was being Indy-free. I know that must sound heartbreaking to hear, but as much as I'd love to bring the fuzzy mutt with us everywhere, having a dog with you makes it difficult to browse shops and go where you please. We could tie her up outside of every store, but that makes her whine and be miserable, which in turn makes everyone miserable. Plus it was hot, so tying up a dog in the sun, especially one covered in black fur, would just be cruel. Indy got to spend the day likely sleeping on our bed while we were gone and I took advantage of being Indy-Free and shopped around Eastsound, getting all manner of crafty, beautiful and locally-made jewelry, cards, soaps and the like. Those were all intended as gifts for others, but I picked up a big bag of coffee roasted on neighboring Lopez Island for ourselves, which was a nice treat.

Another nice treat was visiting Allium Restaurant again, and saying "Aloha" to chef and owner, Lisa Nakamura again. Busy as always, especially with ice cream shop Lily downtstairs, we showed up early, before the dinner rush, to have a late lunch from their afternoon snack menu. It's a nice thing to visit a popular place during off-hours -- no waiting, it's late enough in the day to have cocktails without anyone giving you a judgmental stare, and you'll likely have your pick of the best seats. Of course we sat out on the deck. Sunny, beautiful and even more vacation-like when you have a tropical drink. So relaxed, you just wanted to kick back and never leave. All that leisurely wandering got our appetites up, so we had some of the marvelous goat cheese crostini, a hearty salmon salad and the buttery-rich truffled gnocchi that I know would probably make better sense on a chilly day, but their gnocchi is out-of-this-world good. We felt like we were going to roll down to the ferry terminal, we had such happy, full food bellies.

Tell me about the rabbits, Orcas Island - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Speaking of the ferry terminal, in my best Lenny impersonation from Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, I have to say: "Tell me about the rabbits, George." We made sure to leave Eastsound and return the car in time to wait for the late afternoon ferry to slowly whisk us back to Anacortes and we were met with Late Afternoon of the Lepus. Seriously, the grassy park near the ferry terminal was rabbit-palooza; I had never seen so many bunnies lounging since the Playboy Mansion. They were adorable wild rabbits, all looking fairly healthy and well-fed, just lounging in the shade of a tree. A flock? A warren? I had to consult Mr. Google to find out it's just called a herd, which is boring. I was rather hoping it would be more poetic and exciting like an obstinacy of buffalo, or a flamboyance of flamingos. Nope, a herd. Well, the herd of rabbits were chillin' much like the rest of the people waiting on the late ferry, its lateness just being compounded from the morning's fog slowdown. But you don't visit the San Juans with a precise military-like schedule. You really are on Island Time, and "whenever" should just be added to timepieces everywhere. We didn't bring Indy, but judging from a very sleepy retriever snoozing in front of one of the stores, not even batting an eye when I took its photo, everyone is just super mellow and laid back.

By land or sea, it was a pretty nice way to spend a summer day - Photos by Wasabi Prime

We caught our "whenever" ferry back to Anacortes, enjoying the very pretty sights on the way back as the sun started to set. And we were still in that lazy Island Time frame of mind on the drive back home, and I think that was probably the best souvenir we could have had from this whole trip, just that sense of Letting Go. We arrived with a schedule in mind, it got sort of blown to bits, but we made things up along the way and still had a really nice day trip. I'm looking forward to going back to Orcas Island again before the summer's over, this time for a full weekend, but at least it's nice to know visiting for a day isn't impossible. And dude, what is up with those rabbits? A second trip will have to determine if that's a regular thing with the ferry terminal.

FoodTrek: Once in a Blue Moon, Wasabi Takes a Holiday

It's official, Mr. Wasabi and myself are "one of those people." You know, the kooky couple who treats their dog like their child and insists upon taking their fuzzy friend everywhere, even on vacations. We've gotten to the point where we plan our trips based on the ability to bring the dog, aka, the frap-taculous Miss Indiana Jones, Indy to her friends. While we haven't crossed the threshhold of true pet insanity and come up with coordinating outfits (they just don't make cute argyle-knitted twinsets for dogs of Indy's size... yet), we did manage to discover a fantastic pet find if you're visiting Orcas Island -- make sure to get a barn, er, loft at Once in a Blue Moon Farm.

Life on the farm with Wasabi and company - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Yeah, sure, maybe it doesn't sound appealing at first -- staying in a barn?? It's actually an old carriage house, and the whole upstairs has been renovated into a really charming loft space with a full kitchen, bathroom, and two sleeping areas. Plenty of room for two people and a big, fuzzy dog, and it can easily keep a family comfortably nestled as well. We specifically chose this spot because they are openly dog-friendly -- Once in a Blue Moon's website says it on the homepage that they love pets -- and it's a working farm.

Pet-friendly travel done right at Once in a Blue Moon Farm - Photos by Wasabi Prime

They have acres' worth of gardens, grazing areas for their sheep and alpacas, an impressive section for chickens, geese and a very photogenic turkey, and their harvests help supply the local restaurants on Orcas. Owner, Shana Lloyd, is there to greet you when you arrive, and she's probably the person you'll chat with over the phone or email when you book a room. She's super-sweet and happy to give you a tour of the farm. There's several different spots where you can stay, but we opted for the loft as we definitely wanted the kitchen. That's one of the tricky things about taking your pet with you -- always plan on cooking at least a few meals in the place you're staying at, so making sure you pick a spot that you don't mind spending a bit of time at is worth it. Knowing we had access to farm fresh eggs was icing on the cake!

Farm fresh eggs, the right way to start the day - Photo by Wasabi Prime

Shana was such a doll and gave us a basket of beautiful multicolored eggs, which we used for both breakfast and dinner. We've gotten more accustomed to traveling with Indy and bring some basic groceries that travel well. You know, the important stuff -- a bottle of wine, flask of favorite Scotch, some savory snacks like peppered salami and a jar of sundried tomato-stuffed olives. The basics... right? Slices of hard-boiled eggs served with the bread we got at Rose's in Eastsound, topped with salami was our breakfast of champions, and the eggs were just as good for dinner, served atop a simple spinach salad. A bag of greens, some smoked turkey, blue cheese crumbles and a little jar of pre-mixed dressing is easy enough to bring in a little cooler, and it's easy to add new ingredients like fresh bread or eggs to make the salad even more hearty.

Green Acres is the place for me... - Photos by Wasabi Prime

Shana was so kind to bring us a plate of cookies she made with, of course, the farm's eggs. She was saying when you raise your own chickens you're never at a loss for eggs, just a challenge to figure out ways to use them! One of the things we brought was a container of cocoa. A quick trip to the store for a little carton of milk and we spent one rainy afternoon with hot cocoa and cookies. Sometimes vacations don't have to be about filling the day with tons of activities, but reminders to slow down and enjoy the quiet, simple joys in life. It helps when you've got a view of the farm and can look out onto the field to see the alpacas and chickens wandering about.

Life on the funky farm - Photos by Wasabi Prime

I loved the quirky, vintage country-feel of Once in a Blue Moon Farm. The main house is a bright green-turqoise color that's hard to miss, and the springtime flowers were in full bloom, cheery blossoms covering the trees and tulips and daffodils everywhere. I'm sure the farm changes its look, depending on the season. And there's funky decor everywhere. It was easy to make little discoveries in every corner, so definitely bring a camera to capture everything.

The local residents of Once in a Blue Moon - Photos by Wasabi Prime

The weekend spent here was relaxing and it reminded me of when I would spend summers at my grandparents' home in Maui, in the little town of Makawao. The noise of the modern world falls away, no highway sounds aside from the stray car driving past the gravel road, the cel coverage is spotty so there's no temptation to be glued to your phone. You wake up to the sound of roosters crowing and the morning light pouring in through the windows. It's easy to fall into the natural rhythm of the day's hours. Bring some books you've been meaning to read or a board game. These are the activities we don't often get to indulge in, as other things get in the way. It's almost jarring when you first settle in, the quiet of the place and no typical distractions like ringing phones or checking email, but take a stroll around the farm, watch the chickens scratch around for a bit; you'll settle into relaxation mode soon enough.

Parting views of Blue Moon - Photos by Wasabi Prime and Mr. Wasabi

I have to give a thumbs and fuzzy paws-up to Once in a Blue Moon Farm, and much thanks to Shana for making us feel so welcome. They've done a lovely job of making their farm into a welcoming experience for guests, and you get to sample a little of that sweet, quiet contented life that they're fortunate to enjoy year-round. When you drive around Orcas Island and see so many little farms everywhere, you can't help but wonder what it would be like to live in that little peaceful space, even if it's just for a weekend. This was a perfect escape from the modern world. Something else about farm living and life on Orcas in general -- be mindful of what you bring and what you leave. Many places compost what they can, but anything you can do as a visitor to the island to reduce waste is appreciated, even little things like bringing your own travel mug for coffee. Along with Indy, we're looking forward to another visit to Orcas and Once in a Blue Moon Farm very soon!