Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1998 10:40:31 -0700
Reply-To: "Charles \"Luke\" Lukey" <luke@SEANET.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Charles \"Luke\" Lukey" <luke@SEANET.COM>
Subject: Trip Report: San Juan Island, WA
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The Vehicle: 1967 VW Type2 "Riviera" camper.
The Load: Two adults, two little kids, four bikes, three tents, one small
trailer.
Start Point: Seattle, WA
Destination: San Juan Island, WA
The run up to the ferry landing at Anacortes was quick, the 1776 hammering
along nicely, no flickering green light signaled by the Gene Berg temp
sender. The dual Kadrons really "open up" the performance of the motor, as
opposed to the prior residents, the 34mm baby Webers. Gearing is still a
hassle, need to consider change to a 3.88 ring & pinion. Freeways are a
fact for this Bus, no sense fighting it.
The toll for the ferry boat ride was $29.00, not bad when you consider the
trailer and the fact that getting off the islands is FREE - you're only
charged for Westbound passage. Waiting the boat, people coming up, asking
about the bus, reminiscing about camping trips they made in other buses,
little kids staring at the twin windshields like I used to look at my
neighbor's Model A radiator cap. People who camp in Toyotas do not get
this sort of attention. I like it.
The San Juan Islands range in size from piano sized rocks to the three
"major" islands, San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands. There are about 5000
permanent residents on San Juan, most of them in the town of Friday Harbor.
When my wife and I left Friday Harbor for Seattle 18 years ago, the place
was working class inching toward a better cut of flannel shirt. Now it's
gone clear over to the J. Peterman catalog. Lots of nice restaurants, gift
shop where the hardware store used to be, an Internet cafe called The Menu
Bar. Moped rentals, espresso bars, outdoor dining - the only place that
hasn't gone all touristy is Herb's Tavern, an institution done in macrobrew
and probably the most democratic place in town.
I've never been to Martha's Vineyard but I'll bet it looks a lot like
Friday Harbor.
We'd booked a campsite for the week at Lakedale Resort. Lakedale is at the
center of the island, maybe five miles from town. Our site (#55) was right
on the water. Nice breeze, perfect place to watch the sun and moon rise.
That's the upside.
The downside: Site #55 is at the bottom of a very steep driveway. The
rent at Lakedale is high - $27 a night for a premium site and they still
charge $1.00 for a four minute shower. And then there are the Speed
Bitches.
The resort driveways are criss-crossed by a series of narrow but deep
ditches. Some of them are marked with signs warning of the speed ditch.
Most of the D's have been modified to B's by disgruntled customers. The
Speed Bitches are effective - I found a large piece of taillight lens, my
kids found several nuts and bolts during our stay.
Lakedale has it's problems, but there are not many alternatives. San Juan
County maintains a camping park on the West side of island, but it's
usually full. Interesting location, though - you're looking right at the
city of Victoria, BC, a few miles across the Straits. The two other
camping parks are boat-in only.
But Lakedale has boat rentals, swimming, fishing and a special area for
bicycle campers. They've got a web site, check it out.
Besides marveling at the changes and visiting with relatives, we did a few
other interesting things.
Roche Harbor: The place to be if you're the yachting type or if you just
want to put your upper middle class aspirations on display. No jeans here,
lots of noses in the air. Good pretzels.
The Mausoleum: Final resting place of the Macmillan family, this huge
edifice is worth the 1/2 mile hike, if only to wonder at the uncompleted
column and the missing chair at the roundtable/tomb. My wife tells of a
"black sheep" son who somehow offended the old man and blew his chance to
spend eternity deep in the woods. Reading the accomplishments of the rest
of the family, this guy probably voted for Roosevelt or something equally
heinous.
English Camp: The Queen's version of the Pig War story. A few buildings,
rangers to explain it all. Interesting garden, small and compact, very
British.
American Camp: Sprawled all over the South end of the island, a walking
tour guaranteed to wear the kids out, interesting tales of the man who
later wrote "Robert's Rules of Order" and the man who later led Pickett's
Charge. Display cases full of artifacts, cryptic notations like "Given the
thousands of empty liquor bottle found on the site, and the relative
scarcity of ink bottles, it can be assumed that drinking and not writing
took up the available leisure time among the troops."
The San Juan County Fair: As small and folksy at it gets. Fresh produce
wilting in the sun, musical acts as dreadful as anything found at a college
coffee house and a fascinating display of early farm equipment. My father
in law explained the subtle differences between a "tractor" a "seed drill"
and a "manure spreader" to a small group of impressed city slickers. "So
once you're done with the seed drill, what do you do then?" "Pray for
rain."
VW's on the Island: A mid 60s Kombi parked next to an early bubble window
on the East side of the island - the Kombi may still run, it used to when
we lived there. 1965 Kombi in town, pretty rough, obviously a Working 2.
A '67 Deluxe sitting next to the road and a long way from the house - no
sign in the window, but you never know. Father in Law has been tasked to
get the details. Several early Beetles still doing the Daily Driver thing.
Overall, a great trip. No rain, speed limits and geography make it a great
place to break in a new motor. Enjoy.
Charles "Luke" Lukey
Seattle, WA
