Whale watching

Had written about Orcas Island earlier and one of the activities we had over there was Whale watching.

Even though we had booked on line, we were lucky to get the right type of boat, a small one, pretty fast and not very crowded. 

En route, we did see a Puffin floating but it was not easy to photograph the little bird from far.  
The guides were good enough to tell us some facts about the whales, like the oldest among them (known as the Granny) is 104 years old.

There was a particular area where the whales frolic around and the crew knew the exact spot where we could find them. 

It takes some time to train the camera on them to get some shots.

There were many other boats in the vicinity, all waiting for a chance to get a glimpse of our frolicking friends 

And a few colourful sail boats too. 

It was good to see that all the boats kept a respectable distance from the whales. 
You can see more pictures in the 6 min video that I made. 

When the boat was at a slower speed, I went on the upper deck and got to see the man at the helm (always good to know who the driver is)

One of the lighthouses on the way back (I presume it is a light house)

Some other scenes on the way back

The crew of our boat, answering questions.

Everyone was generous in tipping them for their good service. May be they read what was written in the boat, “you never want to tip the boat, but feel free to tip the guides”

Cherry Hill at Orcas Island

Had been to the Orcas islands two weeks ago. What a wonderful place. 

Like they say, getting there is half the fun. There is this bus from Seattle airport that takes you to the Anacortes Ferry point. 

From there the Washington State Ferry takes you across to the island in about an hour.

You can be on the outer deck to take in the view 

If the wind is too chilly you can while away your time at the lower deck trying to fix the jig saw (it is large and you may succeed in assembling just a part of it in an hour)

 Once you disembark you can pick up a rental car. The drive from the ferry point to the place where we stayed was just marvelous.   

The cottage that we stayed in  - Cherry Hill Cottage 

and the view from the window   

If you care to step out you get to see this 

A wonderful place to relax. You can spend the afternoon under a tree reading a book 

or just laze in the evening looking at the setting sun filtering through the leaves 

  The cottage has a fully equipped kitchen with all the required amenities that one needs for a stay.

The rooms were tastefully decorated and a special mention should be made about the different types of flower arrangement in each room. I was taken in by the array of books that they have stocked. Three binoculars for bird watching. Talking of bird watching, I spotted some in and around the area. 

Racoons, rabbits and deer were the order of the day. 

The deer just waits for someone to forget to close the garden gate, and hence this sign 

We made friends with the horse at the neighbouring stable. So every day in the evening we used to amble over to say hi to him 

When we reached Cherry Hill Cottage we found this note by the owner: 

Thanks Marilyn and Jerry Eisner for giving us this wonderful opportunity to relax.

Made a small video of the ferry. 

By the way on the pathway to Cherry Hill Cottage I stumbled upon this Woodpecker’s nest. More on the chicks and their mother in my next blog.