One exception to all the wooden buildings about town is the brick San Juan County Courthouse. Built in 1906, it is still in use. Although a  modern extension has been tacked on to the rear of the building, the interior of the original structure remains amazingly authentic ... carved wooden staircase, original safes and historic paintings and photographs. One oddity was an elaborate silk banner awarded to Friday Harbor that proclaimed: "Best Cherries in Washington 1906."

Since we had packed a lunch, we headed to Fairweather Park for a picnic. This small peaceful greenbelt is next to the marina and is a great place to relax and enjoy views of the harbor. At the parks entrance  is a colorful piece of art entitled Interaction … a set of Salish house posts that tell the story of the relationship between the people and animals of the island.

The marina is a menagerie of fishing boats, yachts, dinghies and vintage wooden boats. When Danny noticed a beautiful wooden boat pulling into the marina ... he could not resist heading down to the docks for a closer look.

The Euphemia II (1928) ... a fine cruising vessel.

The Scamper ... built in 1920 ... was featured on the cover of Wooden Boat magazine in 1991. It is now a charter boat for wildlife and sunset cruises.

Now here's one wooden boat we can afford!

The peacefulness was shattered with the arrival of the fourth grade field trip. We were again surrounded by the frantic energy of seventy 9 & 10 year olds. There was a lull while the kids broke into their various social clicks to eat. As the energy level returned, we watched their antics and laughed as we tried to remember the last time we had played a game of tag.

As much as we had enjoyed our few hours in Friday Harbor, we were eager to board the ferry to resume our saltwater adventure. The scenery on the return trip was even more spectacular. On the eastern horizon we enjoyed distant vistas of the snow clad Cascades and Mount Baker.

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