San Juan Islands, WA

We just got back from the beautiful San Juan Islands. For those who have never heard of them, the islands are just a few hours north of Seattle - near Victoria and Vancouver Island. They came onto my radar because of the pictures I saw pop up on Pinterest of the moody shores, orca whales and tiny harbor towns - all with beautiful snow-capped mountains as a backdrop!

We arrived into SeaTac very late on Wednesday morning, so Thursday came very quickly. We made a quick drive to Anacortes (fueled by donuts and lattes), where the ferries to the San Juan Islands leave from. It was a breezy 1 hour ferry to Friday Harbor where we grabbed some picnic rations and drove to the British Camp on the northwest side of the island. 


There are a few great hiking trails here - we picked the Bell Point and Young Hill hikes. Bell Point was lovely, but Young Hill was STUNNING. It was basically straight up hill, but we were rewarded with views of Vancouver Island in the distance.

We made a quick drive to Lime Kiln point which has an amazing lighthouse. We were also able to grab a picnic table and watch for whales for an hour or so. Luckily we saw some minke whales - unluckily, no orcas!

Afterwards, we stopped in at the San Juan Vineyards for a tasting, and picked up a bottle of their newly (as in that day!) bottled Pinot Gris. We stayed at the Friday Harbor House Hotel where we were upgraded to their "Harbor View" room. After relaxing for a bit, we walked to dinner at Topsl Sushi. I seriously loved Friday Harbor because the town was so adorable and completely walkable.

The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel and met up with our tour group for our morning kayak tour with Discovery Sea Kayaks. I didn't bring my phone, but grabbed these pictures from the tour guide afterwards!

We were starving after kayaking all morning, so we walked to the San Juan Island Cheese Co. which may have been my favorite meal on this trip! We chatted with the owner and I told him that I was an aspiring baker and that we loved the focaccia bread. Well I emailed him after the trip and he GAVE ME THE RECIPE!! Amazing!

We went to the Pelindba Lavender store and I loaded up on amazing lavender products. I would have to say that my favorite was the lavender lemonade, but I've also greatly enjoyed using my lavender eye mask! 

We went off to explore the south side of the island that afternoon - walking the Mount Finlayson and South Beach trails until it got dark out.

It was drizzling out, so we stayed in and ate an amazing meal at our hotel that evening. The next morning, we had time to drive back out to Lime Kiln for a brisk morning hike and wander around the farmer's market in town before we had to catch the ferry back to Anacortes. Luckily we still had a few days to enjoy the PNW! 

Up Next: Or few days near Seattle (aka wineries, daffodils and amazing bridges)!

Managing Anxiety when Traveling

I've struggled with anxiety my whole life. It's one of those things that waxes and wanes, but it's always there. When Jason first got the job at Southwest, all I could be was excited - where should we go first? The options seemed limitless!

Well, soon the anxiety set in - how do we book hotels if we don't know if we'll make it? How can we get around without Google directions internationally? What about the can't miss attraction - should I book tickets and risk not making it? My Type-A-obsessive part of my personality took over.

And for some things, it's definitely a positive, right? I always "over-plan" (which usually equates to "perfectly-plan") trips. I can't tell you how many times we've had to use this kind of stuff to help us. Last-minute Australian visas? Yep, I've got us covered. Where was the exact pickup spot for our bus in Teotihuacan? We're good! But my stress levels usually sky-rocket in the weeks leading up to a trip - and this isn't fun for anyone. Jason has helped me tremendously in this regard over the years, but somethings are just too ingrained to truly change. 

So how do I cope? I work on the things I can control:

Plan

What I've learned is that travel is stressful, and it's natural to get anxious. And what helps me manage that anxiety? That excessive planning. 

So yes, I really do love the trip-planning! But it's also a coping mechanism for me. Knowing the plan (even if it's hypothetical) is crucial to my ability to manage my anxiety levels. It absolutely isn't a perfect solution, but knowing in detail, how to purchase an Oyster card, how much to put on it, and how to easily navigate the London underground, help me to feel more calm before and when we arrive. 

Booking airport transfers is also wonderful! That way, we have someone waiting for us when we arrive and we can just relax after a long day of travel.

Treat.Yo.Self

Planning some intentional downtime into our trips is always a must! We love to get cheap massages in Asia, grab a long and luxurious dinner, spend an entire day (or two) at the pool - whatever relaxes you. This is vacation after all.

We try to eat healthy/local food. After airline food, I usually need a few days to detox. Taking care of your body is key! We also love to go for a hike or take a yoga class.

Book a Tour

Jason and I aren't typically fans of big tour groups, but we do enjoy the smaller groups (Eating Europe Food Tours is one of our favorites) for a more personal experience. It is also nice to not have to think about logistics for a bit - they take care of everything for you! We also hire private guides when we can afford them and it just makes everything JUST a bit easier. 

At a minimum, we book tickets to the attractions that we just can't miss. For example, I made reservations for ice-skating at Somerset House a few months before we left. That way, I didn't have to worry if tickets would sell out or not. If I would waited even a few more days, we would have missed out on our favorite activity in London! 

The one thing I will say to those who deal with anxiety is to try and not let it be an excuse  to not travel. The memories we make FAR outweigh any negatives. 

And sometimes I can even convince Jason to book tickets when all the uncertainty becomes just a little too much. For example, our next trip to the San Juan Islands in a few months has been attempted a few times, but either flights were full or hotels on the islands were sold out. So we finally just booked everything and we couldn't be more excited!

Looking Forward: 2017

2016 was a year full of international travel: Bali for my big 3-0, Tulum for Jason's birthday, Ireland and London. We started the year with some downs (mainly Tahoe and annoyances in Bali), but more than made up for it from February on with some amazing trips. 

We had such a great time exploring Russian River with our best travel pals, eating our way through Boston, having a cousin catch-up in Portland, going on a doggie trip to New Orleans and taking a quick trip to St. Louis to visit family. It was also great to visit Texas Hill Country a few times for a bachelorette and a wedding!

Overall, 2016 was great to us and we're well underway with the planning for 2017. We're hoping to make our annual trip out to Northern California wine country, visit the San Juan Islands, and head back to Portland for family wedding festivities! If we're lucky, we might be able to fit in a few weekends trips around the US as well.

For our "big trips", we jumped on a CRAZY deal to Hong Kong in April and we will also be heading back to England to explore more of the countryside (The Cotswolds, Cornwall, Dorset) and spend a few days in London in August. At the end of that trip, we'll head to Innsbruck, Austria for a few days of alpine adventure!

We never stop being thankful for this incredible opportunity to travel, explore and expand our thinking. We are truly better people for the experience. Thanks SWA!