This past weekend, KLC and I were sans children and were finally able to use our thrice-changed reservations since October at a place called Doe Bay. (The relatively uninteresting reason why we had to change the reservation three times involved moving and some other domestic duties.)
Doe Bay is an area and the name of resort on Orcas Island in the San Juans. For those of you are unfamiliar with the San Juans, they are a chain islands just about 1.5 hours north of Seattle. To get there, you need to drive to the town of Anacortes and then take the ferry. (BTW, the whole Washington State Ferry system is very extensive. It's not like the couple of ferries to Nantucket and the Vineyard. There are ferries leaving from multiple land locations and going to a slew of different islands and other parts of the region -- including Canada.)
The bottom line is that we had a great time and Orcas Island is beautiful. Doe Bay itself is a resort that's been around for decades. It definitely retains some of its original semi-hippie vibe, with some modern updates. For example, the hot springs are apparently a little more formalized with a new sauna to boot.
One nice thing about Doe Bay is that they have a range of options for where to stay. You can rent a house or a cabin on the higher end, or just stay at one of the many campsites. They even have a group kitchen if you want to save money on meals. I do have to say, however, that the Doe Bay Cafe is one of the best reasons to go. We had two dinners and two breakfasts there and it really is fantastic.
As far as where we stayed, we went the middle of the road and slept in a yurt. There is a bed and chairs, but no electricity. Or heat. You would think this wouldn't be a problem in July, but I will say that it gets a little chilly at night in the San Juans. We also had some sort of critter(s) scurrying around the outside of the yurt, but other than that, we slept great. Plus the view was fantastic. (My iPhone died so I never took any pics, but KLC did and I'll link to hers once they're up.)
So that's my plug for Doe Bay. They apparently eschew traditional advertising (again, the original mentality shining through) and rely on word of mouth from people who stay there. If anyone makes it over to this neck of the woods, I definitely think it's worth a stay.
