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The Resident Orcas of the San Juan Islands made an appearance for our kayak tour today.  While observing the intertidal zone invertebrates just north of Half 'Moon Bay, the whales approached us from the south and put on a dazzling show with tail slaps, side-swimming, and even a few breaches.  We also encountered many playful harbor seals, who danced alongside us in the bull kelp forests and did spins in our boat wakes through the eelgrass beds.  The massive tidal exchange...

Some days you spend all of you time searching for what you want, and other days it comes to you.  Today was the latter.  Leaving from County Park on the west side of San Juan Island, we paddled to Lime Kiln Park where the K-Pod orcas greeted us in a feeding frenzy.  After the show, we paddled north and stopped for lunch on a sunny beach, headed back on the water, and were once again passed by K-Pod who had turned north.  Both times they delighted us with their acrobatics...

What a picture perfect day we had!  Departing from County Park, we paddled south towards Lime Kiln State Park to drink in savory views of the Olympic Mountain Range with a dash of Mount Rainier on the horizon.  Turning our course north we rode on glassy water with the flooding tide as our conveyor belt, seeing circling bald eagles, purple ocher sea stars, and a few curious harbor seals.  The views of the Canadian coastal ranges shone as clear as they've ever appeared this...