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Wednesday, Dec 3, 2008
How to kayak with the biggest fish, hunker down on the California coast and make it up the Northeast Corridor in one piece.
Jun 8, 2000 | My partner and I are traveling to Orcas Island in September for our best friend's wedding. We are hoping to do some sea kayaking and would like to do so with the whales. How we can go about organizing such a kayaking trip and get other information for planning the visit?
September, especially after Labor Day weekend when the summer hordes are gone, is a great time to visit Orcas Island. Orcas is considered the most scenic of the San Juan Islands, located north of Seattle in the straits between Washington state and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
You'll definitely be able to kayak, though frolicking with the whales is less certain. First, Orcas Island is not the best place for whale watching. "The vast majority of whales are seen off the west side of San Juan Island," according to Tom Carter of Shearwater Adventures on Orcas. Secondly, the best time to see the whales is late May to mid-July, and you'll be there outside that peak period.
Still, if you're set on giving it a try, it's fairly easy to take an inter-island ferry from Orcas to San Juan Island and hook up with a kayaking company there. Shearwater (phone 360/376-4699) can help direct you. If you stay on Orcas, the company offers three-hour trips, day trips and multi-day trips, as well as classes for all skill levels.
An excellent source for planning your trip is the recently revised "Best Places San Juan and Gulf Islands," edited by Jan Halliday (Sasquatch Books, second edition, 2000).
From Seattle, most visitors drive 90 minutes north of the city to the ferry at Anacortes. For ferry schedules and prices, check the site for Washington State Ferries or call (206) 464-6400.
You also can fly to Orcas, either from Sea-Tac International Airport or by seaplane from Seattle's Lake Union. Harbor Airlines, phone (800) 359-3220, makes the trip from Sea-Tac, and Kenmore Air, phone (800) 543-9595, flies from Lake Union.
Check out the Orcas Island Organizations site for links to the chamber of commerce and accommodations. The island has a good selection of B&Bs and resorts.
While on vacation in California, we plan to drive from Los Angeles up the coast to San Francisco. Where can we find out about inns along the way?
California is an inn-rich state, and you can plan your lodging using "A California Directory to Bed & Breakfast Inns," published by the nonprofit California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns. The directory covers more than 360 B&Bs and is organized by five geographic regions; the areas you'll be driving in are Southern California and the Central Coast, and dozens of inns are described for those parts of the state. There's also contact information for the local tourist bureaus.
To get a copy of the directory, send $7 to CABBI Directory Request, 2715 Porter St., Soquel, CA 95073. At the CABBI site you can find the same information, including a map on which you can click any area and get a list of local B&Bs. Many of the inns have their own Web sites, and you can locate and link to them through the CABBI site.
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