If you get up today and want to escape to an island: well, there are some beautiful ones in Washington State: the San Juan Archipelagos.
I recently visited one of the islands. Odlin county Park on Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands was the setting for a beautiful outdoor wedding I attended this summer. Lopez is part of the San Juans, jewels of the northwest, 743 islands strong, 60 inhabited.
The islands accesssible by ferry, chartered yacht, boat or plane (or perhaps a kayak or canoe between islands) are Lopez Island, San Juan Island, Orcas Island and Shaw Island. Once there, all of the islands have county-maintained parks and/or campgrounds; some have tourist accommodations. A few have shopping communities.
Lopez Island
Since Lopez was my destination that day, I traveled to Anacortes by car to catch the Washington State Ferry. I chose to park and walk on, since there was wedding transportation on the other side.
While sailing along I kept my eyes peeled to view wildlife and sea dwellers that inhabit the island waters and surrounding neighborhood. It was an overcast day, so I wasn't able to see much, but the ferry ride was enjoyable.
It's about a 45-minute ride to Lopez from Anacortes on Washington State Ferries. Though going to the islands was a real treat; being on Lopez Island after a long while away was even better.
Living on the eastern side of the state I am now more enthralled than ever with green when I go west; there's a lot of brown where I live now. I miss green. Lopez was dripping with green from every branch and blade of grass. Green is so much more vivid on the western side of the state and I enjoyed all the shades of green from the moment I stepped on the island until leaving. Beautiful.
Lopez is one of the less developed islands, with lovely forest all around you; you won't find any fast food there. With a population of about 2,200 people, it's a quiet existence away from the madding crowd.
Lopez Village is the only semblance of a town and it offers art galleries, restaurants and shops. The rest of the island is pretty quiet. There's a state park, Spencer Spit, and the Odlin County Park where I was. This Island is a great place for biking, since it's the flattest island of the bunch.
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