POSTCARD FROM... Orcas Island, Washington
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POSTCARD FROM... Orcas Island, Washington
Bald eagles and whale-spotting, blood-orange sunsets and salmon on the grill, plus cold plunges into piney mountain lakes makes this largest of the San Juan islands worth the distance.
Hello from…
Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state. My husband (Vinny Dotolo of Jon & Vinny’s in LA) and I have been coming to the island for weeklong stretches over the last four summers to drop our kids at a local sleepaway camp. Farm stands brimming with local plums and peas, incredible orange sunsets that stretch across the rocky shores of the Salish sea, gorgeous mountain lakes encircled by pines that you jump into like a cold plunge…these are just a few of the reasons for our continued love of this horseshoe-shaped island. The only way to get here is by ferry, seaplane, or small commuter flight. But we love the ferry, which is always a beautiful journey through the archipelago (which also includes San Juan, Lopez, and Shaw)—last year we spotted a pod of actual orcas alongside the boat.
Where I’m staying…
We’ve rented houses via Vrbo and Airbnb because we’ve been with our kids for weeklong stays. But there are some decent hotel options: Doe Bay is rustic with outdoor soaking tubs on a more remote part of the island. Outlook Inn, centrally located in the heart of Eastsound, is more modern, with a few units on the water across from Indian Island. Cabins on the Point are 1900s Cape Cod-style cabins on Massacre Bay—the Turtleback Mountain Preserve trailhead is a short walk away. First-time visitors might want to stay closer to Eastsound and explore the island from there; other parts like Olga offer more exclusivity and quiet.
The best meal I had…
We had a great experience at Houlme (formerly Archipelago). Jay Blackinton and his wife, Jocelyn, run this beautiful space with creatively and love—I have a soft spot for a husband-and-wife team who have their kids helping out with service during the summer. They just redid the small and quaint indoor dining room, a good thing since the air at night can drop to the low 60s in summer. (We bundled up and sat outside.) The best dish we had was a crispy scallop chip with wonderful sockeye crudo and a pizza with summer squash. Other places we love on the island are Bucks Bay Shellfish Farm for the Dungeness crab, plus their market where you can pick up fresh-caught halibut, salmon and local produce to bring home and grill. Another special spot is Boathouse Cider House for the cider slushy (with or without alcohol). See if they have their cider donuts or popcorn going. A must!
Most fun thing I did…
Hands down going to Moran State Park and swimming in the lakes. The state park is the only public camping on the island, so lots of people come here to rent kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. (The island’s lakes have no motorized boating, so the water is sparkling and crisp.) On Cascade Lake , Sugar Shack serves Lopez Island ice cream and a damn good grilled cheese. This year we spotted multiple bald eagles perched on trees.
Also, Orcas Island Pottery on West Beach is a true artists’ haven filled with gardens, a tree house and incredible views of Waldren Island—it’s the oldest pottery studio in the northwest. Highly recommend a visit!
The book I read (and would recommend) …
Tough to finish a book while watching two kids swimming and jumping into lakes! But the one I was diving into was the The Undertow by Jeff Sharlet. An important exploration of our divided America and extremism.
The playlist on repeat...
We are so eclectic! We listen to hip-hop like 21 Savage, Roddy Rich and A Tribe Called Quest with our kids, then transition to the Grateful Dead.
A thing or two I learned…
Always book ferry reservations ahead, especially for certain peak sailing times. There are no-show fees, but if you sign up through the website they will send you a reminder and you can cancel 24 hours in advance if you decide to stay longer. You will need a car on the island, so if you don’t take the car ferry you can rent one. This also makes it easy to pull over and pick from the many wild blackberry bushes that line the public roads. (Look out for thorns!) They taste like candy, especially the ones most in the sun.
The best thing I’m bringing home…
I literally carried a pint of island blueberries and raspberries back to Los Angeles. I know we have wonderful produce here in Southern California, but there is something about the air and sea up there that makes everything even better! We are making the raspberries into a jam.
Sarah Hendler is a fine jewelry designer and vintage curator who lives in Los Angeles with her husband, restaurateur Vinny Dotolo, two children and two awesome rescue dogs. Shopping for vintage clothes, jewels and art while traveling all over the world has become a whole family tradition.
POSTCARD FROM... Orcas Island, Washington
Please do some soul searching (all y'all) about what all this increased tourism has done to the island communities in the Salish Sea. What eating salmon is doing to our endangered resident orcas. What the plethora of single family homes being turned into vacation rentals has done to the working folks who can no longer afford to live where they work (let alone provide the much needed labor force that all these amazing restaurants, shops, etc. depend on to serve tourists and summer-only residents). What it's like for those of us who live/work on these boat-access only islands, who can no longer afford to stay in our homes because of WA State's (IMO punitive) taxation system. What it's like to have to give up a home, a community, a deep sense of place, so that rich, entitled, spoiled and demanding tourists and newcomers can buy up those same houses for hundreds of thousands more dollars than we paid for them, driving those property taxes ever higher, sending more and more of us packing. And lastly, what our VERY broken WA State Ferries system has done to full-time residents who must rely on those ferries to get them to/from cancer treatments, visiting or caring for elderly and/or terminally ill friends and family on the mainland, etc. There is a serious housing crises on Orcas. On ALL of our islands. Ask the business owners. The residents. The teachers in the schools. The camp counselors at those swanky summer camps. The servers in the restaurants who have to sleep in their cars because there isn't an apartment or house to rent. Yeah, we've come to rely on that summer money. But that's no way to live. And we're slowly dying. Slowly becoming Nantucket. Mercer. Martha's Vinyard. The cat is out of the bag, to be sure. The rest of the world has "discovered" the PNW. And now you want to come here... and I get that. It's stunningly beautiful, calming, and heart-filling to live among red cedars near the Salish Sea. But something's got to give. SOMETHING has got to give. So, again... I ask you to do your homework, THINK about what your love of a place you do not live in does to those who do. THINK about what promoting a place so that many more will come might do (IS doing) to the flora/fauna of that place. The goddamn cruise ships. The Tech industry that has ruined the face of Seattle forever. The Tech-Bros who will move on from this place to wherever it's hip to go next, and the empty buildings their employers leave behind. The increased air travel, flying low over our homes every two minutes, dropping jet fuel, and the most horrific of noise pollution, onto our decreasingly rural and idyllic, quiet lives below.
I say this as much to myself, as to you. I was once a transplant myself. Do better, America. PLEASE do better. There is soooooo much here to lose.
My whole family lives on orcas. ( parents, siblings)I raised four kids there . It’s an incredible place to be from