Monday, July 21, 2008
More summer fun in Anacortes
Erik remains busy keeping all the cogs of our operation turning smoothly, so I've been given the opportunity of a guest appearance.
Summer weather is the Pacific Northwest's best kept secret - for three months out of the year, the gray clouds and rainshowers disappear and we enjoy day after day of beautiful sunshine. Those of us fortunate enough to spend every day out on the water love starting our tours in fog cover, only to watch it burn off by noon to reveal a cloudless sky. Afternoons usually reach the 70s, with an occasional break into the low 80s, which most locals consider to be a little too hot.
With all this sunshine, the only place to be is out on the water. Our day tours have been bustling, with even more whale sightings and frequent encounters with bald eagles and peregrine falcons, harbor porpoises and river otters, and baby harbor seals hanging close to their moms and quickly ballooning up to adult size.
And we continue to take more and more multi-day trips to Cypress Island and Sucia Island, spending full days out on the water, hiking and exploring the islands, and enjoying the long, late evenings of the Northwest summer making s'mores by a campfire on the beach. It doesn't get much better than that.
I hope to see you out on the water!
Julia Wentzel
Summer weather is the Pacific Northwest's best kept secret - for three months out of the year, the gray clouds and rainshowers disappear and we enjoy day after day of beautiful sunshine. Those of us fortunate enough to spend every day out on the water love starting our tours in fog cover, only to watch it burn off by noon to reveal a cloudless sky. Afternoons usually reach the 70s, with an occasional break into the low 80s, which most locals consider to be a little too hot.
With all this sunshine, the only place to be is out on the water. Our day tours have been bustling, with even more whale sightings and frequent encounters with bald eagles and peregrine falcons, harbor porpoises and river otters, and baby harbor seals hanging close to their moms and quickly ballooning up to adult size.
And we continue to take more and more multi-day trips to Cypress Island and Sucia Island, spending full days out on the water, hiking and exploring the islands, and enjoying the long, late evenings of the Northwest summer making s'mores by a campfire on the beach. It doesn't get much better than that.
I hope to see you out on the water!
Julia Wentzel
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Kayaks, Sunshine, Wildlife -- One Cannot Complain
Well your regular blog reporter, Erik, has found himself quite busy lately. With our many kayak tours going in and out just about all hours of the day, I'll be sitting in for him this fine afternoon.
Recent weeks here in the San Juan Islands have been enjoying an especially sun-filled summer. Our Deception Pass and Burrows Island kayak tours have been going very well, taking out paddler after paddler into these two nearby but distinct scenic locations. And speaking of scenic, just today we had Orca whales pass by tours at both locations! They looked to be some members of the resident J-Pod heading South and virtually unnoticed by other boaters.
This brings me to mentioning our multi-day kayak tours: Last week our guide Peter and guests were privileged in watching whales pass by them on Strawberry Island, just off of the West coast of Cypress Island. Strawberry is a fantastic little place to set up camp on our tours, it's just right for landing a kayak and nothing larger.
The past two weeks have been nothing short of fantastic for us at Anacortes Kayak Tours; I look forward to offering you news of the same nature soon to follow. Actually, I look forward to getting on the water!
'Til next time,
Corey McCartney
Recent weeks here in the San Juan Islands have been enjoying an especially sun-filled summer. Our Deception Pass and Burrows Island kayak tours have been going very well, taking out paddler after paddler into these two nearby but distinct scenic locations. And speaking of scenic, just today we had Orca whales pass by tours at both locations! They looked to be some members of the resident J-Pod heading South and virtually unnoticed by other boaters.
This brings me to mentioning our multi-day kayak tours: Last week our guide Peter and guests were privileged in watching whales pass by them on Strawberry Island, just off of the West coast of Cypress Island. Strawberry is a fantastic little place to set up camp on our tours, it's just right for landing a kayak and nothing larger.
The past two weeks have been nothing short of fantastic for us at Anacortes Kayak Tours; I look forward to offering you news of the same nature soon to follow. Actually, I look forward to getting on the water!
'Til next time,
Corey McCartney
Saturday, July 05, 2008
July 4th Celebrations
For the last five years we've been talking about converting one of our kayak trailers into a float for the Anacortes Fourth of July Parade. This year we finally managed to make it happen.
Shane, from Island Adventures, and I designed some banners to hang off the sides of the trailer, and everybody else helped out with the balloons and other decorations. The best part was all of the kids that we rounded up to help toss candy, orca whale erasers, and orca whale antennae toppers to the crowd. We filled the deck of the trailer with over a dozen kids who belonged to the extended Anacortes Kayak Tours/ Island Adventures family. It was not a quiet place to sit!
Our tours have had a few interesting encounters recently, including a seal trying to gnaw on a kayak's bow toggle, a message in a bottle floating by, and about 25 eagles filling the branches of a single tree. You never know what you might see out there. We've had more whale encounters as well, they seem to be spending a little more time on our side of the islands this summer....must be a some sort of change in the travel patterns of the salmon.
Well, the big push of our peak season is upon us! The next 8 weeks will bring us the best weather of the year and some of the most fun days of summer. Our overnight kayak program is just about full through the middle of August, if you are considering joining us on one of our great trips then give us a call.
Shane, from Island Adventures, and I designed some banners to hang off the sides of the trailer, and everybody else helped out with the balloons and other decorations. The best part was all of the kids that we rounded up to help toss candy, orca whale erasers, and orca whale antennae toppers to the crowd. We filled the deck of the trailer with over a dozen kids who belonged to the extended Anacortes Kayak Tours/ Island Adventures family. It was not a quiet place to sit!
Our tours have had a few interesting encounters recently, including a seal trying to gnaw on a kayak's bow toggle, a message in a bottle floating by, and about 25 eagles filling the branches of a single tree. You never know what you might see out there. We've had more whale encounters as well, they seem to be spending a little more time on our side of the islands this summer....must be a some sort of change in the travel patterns of the salmon.
Well, the big push of our peak season is upon us! The next 8 weeks will bring us the best weather of the year and some of the most fun days of summer. Our overnight kayak program is just about full through the middle of August, if you are considering joining us on one of our great trips then give us a call.
