Would you consider working here on Orcas Island?

Our view from the top of Mt. Constitution

A young orca swimming

Quaint town of Eastsound

Eastsound shop

We spent the last few days of June in the San Juan Islands on lovely and peaceful Orcas Island.  To get here we had to take a ferry.  So we spent a night in the port town of Anacortes and were pleasantly surprised by this little spot.  We stayed in a little inn about 20 blocks from downtown that served free fresh baked chocolate chip cookies at 6:00 pm (thanks dad).  We spent the afternoon exploring the waterfront and downtown area.  As we were exploring we ran into Angel (a yellow lab) accompanied by her kind owner.  It’s funny how we always get the dog’s name but sometimes not the owner’s.  We had a nice walk and chat with Angel and her owner.  He told us we were going to fall in love with Orcas Island.  Later in our walk we spotted two guys carrying a little john boat out of a Marine Store.  We were about 15 blocks from the marina and we thought surely they wouldn’t be carrying the boat all the way there.  We watched them walk about 3 blocks before we started to pass them.  As we passed I offered to help them carry the boat.  They looked very relieved and said if we didn’t mind helping they would appreciate it because they had to make it all the way to the marina.  Jake gave me the most evil look…oops!  So about 10 minutes later we were at the marina winded and sweating from carrying a boat down the sidewalk.  The nice gentlemen thanked us profusely and also told us we would fall in love with Orcas.  Jake informed me that although they were nice they were not very smart.  They had a truck parked at the marina and should have driven to the boat store to pick up their purchase.  Oh well – we can’t all be smart at everything! J  We turned in early that evening because we had to be up at 4:30 and at the ferry dock by 5:15 to catch the 6:15 ferry.  We boarded the ferry to Orcas Island and were lucky enough to have the sunrise as our boat ride entertainment.  We arrived on Orcas and made our way to the other side of the island to a little town called Rosario.  We reserved a room with a bathroom, microwave, and fridge through vrbo.com.  When we arrived, we met the owner, Torrey (a retired special education teacher).  After chatting with her for a while she told us she wanted to give us a wedding gift and she gave us the other part of the unit which included a big living room and kitchen for no additional charge.  How sweet is that?!?  So, we were spoiled rotten with our accommodations.  We originally thought Orcas was a volcanic island, but it’s not.  The San Juan Islands all used to be mountain peaks.  At some point the valleys were filled in with water and the mountain peaks became islands.  I’ve become a lot more interested in geology on this trip.  Some pretty crazy things happen to form this beautiful land we live in.  Our condo was just up the hill from the Rosario mansion – the private home of Robert Moran (mayor of Seattle back in the day).  It is now a resort with a really cool museum on the 2nd floor.  We headed to the main town on Orcas Island called Eastsound.  It actually reminded us a lot of Manteo, NC and we both fell in love with it pretty quickly.  The shop owners were super friendly and always up for a chat.  The town had lots of quirky and yummy local restaurants.  We enjoyed strolling through the town and browsing through the shops.  The next day we headed out on a whale watching adventure.  We took a boat out of a town on the other end of the U-shaped island called Deer Harbor.  We spent about an hour traveling through the San Juan Islands and ventured into Canadian waters to meet up with a group of transient orca whales.  We had a naturalist on board who taught us a ton about resident and transient orcas.  The first sighting of these amazing creatures was so very exciting.  There is something so cool about seeing an animal in its natural habitat.  We were able to observe the orcas for about an hour – an adult male, adolescent male, a couple of adult females, and 2 young.  It was just awesome!  On the boat ride back we saw some harbor seals basking in the sun and a beautiful bald eagle.  We cooked in every night on the island because we were so excited to actually have a kitchen instead of our camping stove!  We enjoyed lots of good meals with an awesome view from our deck.  Our condo was within walking distance of Moran State Park.  We enjoyed a great hike around the lake and to Cascade Falls and loved the view from Mt. Constitution.  We returned to the quaint town of Eastsound and decided to visit the only pharmacy on the island – an independent pharmacy called Ray’s.  Jake was immediately drawn to the section dedicated to northwestern wine and ciders.  While looking at the different labels we were approached by an employee who made some wine recommendations and talked with us a little about the pharmacy.  He turned out to be the owner of Ray’s pharmacy and was very interested in talking with Jake about school and his time working at Pitt Street (an independent compounding pharmacy in Mt. Pleasant).  At the end of the conversation he said, “Would you consider working here on Orcas Island?”.   Then he gave Jake his contact information and asked him to stay in touch.  I think that counts as Jake’s first job offer as a pharmacist! J  It was fun to think about living on Orcas.  It sure is a beautiful spot with friendly people.  It’s laid back and has lots of places to explore.  The only downside is it’s a long way from the people we love.  Neither of us were ready to leave this mountain top island.  It felt like a good home for a few days.  We will definitely be back – at least to visit.  We hope all is well where you are!

A pod of transient orcas