Pacific North Wonderland Day Four: Orcas Island and the North Beach Inn

 Where did I leave off? Oh yeah, we were on the ferry! Riding a ferry is a pretty foreign concept to me so I was all about it. The only other time I have been on one was during our honeymoon in NYC, we rode the Staten Island Ferry. This was better!

 I was like "Let's take a cute selfie!" but it was a little too windy and cold. Haha, this is not quite as cute as our photo from Niagara Falls last fall.

 After a few frigid minutes (maybe seconds?) we retreated inside to the cute waiting area. Love that blue/coral/black color scheme.

Orcas is part of the San Juan Islands and we passed lots of other islands to get there. I spent most of the ride just staring out the window.

 Travis worked on his new book. I loved these comfy bench seats.

 We drove off the ferry onto the south west corner of the island and took the main road up to the north side. We stayed at the North Beach Inn, which is on a private beach, so there was a private road to get there. We called it the path to Narnia since you went through this tunnel of trees.

When we drove up the first night there were a bunch of deer just hanging out by the road. I was thrilled! Turns out we would see tons of deer all over the island. They have no natural predators here so they aren't scared of much. Isn't this guy cute?

 I heard of this island and this inn on Amy Morby's blog back in the spring. The second I read her entries about Orcas Island I put it on my must visit list. We even picked the same cabin she stayed in, the Robin Hood. I mean, look at how cute it is! It was built in 1932. I loved everything about it.

It had a main room with the fireplace and two beds. It is beachfront so there was a gorgeous view out that window.

It also had a little kitchen. The first night we went to a local co-op and bought food to make during our stay. We were on the island right at the end of tourist season so most of the restaurants were closed for the season. We weren't expecting to eat out anyway, and it was nice to make dinner in our cozy cabin ever night.

 There was plenty of wood to take for our fireplace, and for making fires on the beach.

Here is the view of our little house from the beach. There were big logs to sit on, and the beach was covered in smooth  rocks.

Since we were on the north side of the island our view was mostly the sea and uninhabited islands. It was incredible. The three nights we were there were all clear and we watched amazing sunsets, then looked out into almost complete darkness! It was so awesome.

 Here we are, dressed as cat burglars watching the sunset on the first night. It was romantic!

 That pink sky! The islands in the distance! I really want to go back someday. It was nice to spend a few days somewhere pretty secluded in the middle of our busy trip.

 We ended the night falling asleep in front of the fire. What a lovely day.