vanlife on the san juan islands

Oh my gosh, this island. I can't believe I almost skipped this place. I wasn't even going to come here. Since leaving the Olympic Peninsula, I found myself wanting to slow down. Way down. I wound up on Whidbey Island and then, not so surprisingly, ended up taking more ferry boat rides to the San Juan Islands, which I'm excited to share more with you. Some of the things I did and places I went to that, you know, might be of interest to you. I'll also share with you at the end of this video an easy step-by-step instruction on how to buy a ticket and reserve a spot on a Washington State Ferry. For some silly reason, I found it somewhat intimidating the first time I went to do it, but I promise you, after you do it once, it's so easy, breezy, and you'll probably fall in love with ferry boat rides. Iceberg Point. We're almost there. Iceberg Point is a beautiful trail on Lopez Island that shouldn't be missed if you come here. I actually hiked it twice while I was on the island. It's one giant loop, so it doesn't matter which path you take. I'd say it's a pretty easy to moderate hike with optional steeper inclines you can do if you want to. It's dog friendly, and both times I went midday, it didn't seem crowded at all. I barely saw anyone, even though it's peak season for the islands right now. If, however, for some reason you have a fear of seagulls or just birds in general, this might not be the hike for you. Never have I seen so many seagulls flying above my head during a portion of this hike. Lopez was the first of the San Juan Islands I visited, and I feel like it gets overlooked even though it's the third largest of the islands because there's so much more talk about orcas and visiting Friday Harbor on San Juan. But Lopez has some pretty special things to offer that it seems the other islands don't. It's just a really friendly place. It's known for being a great place to bike around, and when you're driving on the island, just start paying attention to how almost all the locals will wave at you as they pass you going in the opposite direction. I got really good at that two-finger steering wheel wave. I'm technically supposed to be at this event called Descend on Bend right now. It's basically a huge organized outdoor gathering for people who do van life or car camp or have some sort of other RV. Everyone gets together near Bend and hangs out for a week. There is supposed to be sunrise yoga and live music every night and raffle prizes, lots of beer, a bunch of other stuff. But yeah, it's kind of a cool way to meet a whole bunch of new people at once. I bought a ticket months ago and had every intention of going with some of the girls I met, but instead... What an amazing hike, but now I am tired, I'm hungry, so thirsty. The thing about living in a van by choice, I'm not talking about people who are under certain circumstances where they don't have a choice. But yeah, the thing about living in a van is that oftentimes you end up with so much freedom, so many choices, and so many decisions to make on a daily basis that it gets really overwhelming. It's a privileged problem to have, no doubt, but I just wish I could better explain the mental paralysis, the internal struggles and anxieties that come with it. But then again, maybe it's just me. Is it just me? Probably just me. I can be really indecisive at times. Most of the time. Basically what I'm saying is being an indecisive person is not conducive for van life. It's kind of funny how quickly my brain wants to label something as good versus bad in the moment. The whole reason I ended up on these islands to begin with is because the last few days I've been feeling really burnt out. I think it's a combination of too many days in a row spent in cities, not enough alone time to recharge, and lots of editing days back to back to back. Sometimes it's really challenging to come up with good ideas for videos every week. I would argue that creativity in and of itself is hard. Creativity on demand is even harder. Borderline impossible sometimes unless you're willing to go a little bit insane. Call me crazy, but the number one thing I found most attractive about being on the islands was this feeling of being somewhat stranded, or rather just distancing myself from it all. The air is salty but fresh. The breeze keeps you cool. Almost too cool. So dress in layers. And even though the islands are somewhat small, I think the more days you can give yourself to explore, the better. These places aren't meant to be rushed through like cities. They're meant to be savored. Because the sun sets here, turn the sky into every color. And once that last ferry boat leaves for the night, there's really no choice but to simply be where you are and take it all in. And the wildlife is rich and plentiful here. If you come, I highly recommend taking a kayak tour in one of the bays. You might just get to see harbor seals up close. And go whale watching too. Seeing a humpback whale or a pod of orcas swimming in the Salish Sea is so special. Oh my god. As of the release of this video, this is how you book a ride on one of the Washington State ferries. Links will be in the description box below to get you to the proper websites. Most ferries are loaded on a first-come first-served basis, with a few exceptions I'll talk about later. During peak season, I'd suggest arriving plenty early. There are bathrooms you can use once you're waiting at the port, but I'd suggest bringing lots of snacks with you. Purchasing your tickets in advance online saves everyone time when going through the toll booth. Just know that your ticket does not guarantee you a space on any specific scheduled ferry. Single ride tickets are valid up to 90 days from the time you purchase. The fare price differs depending on if you're a walk-on passenger, if you're bringing a bicycle, if you have a motorcycle, or if you're taking a vehicle on board. Kids 5 and under travel for free. My van is between 14 and 22 feet in length, so it cost me $15.80 to ride one way from Port Townsend to Coopville on Wooden Bee Island. Add to cart and then create an account or check out as a guest. I always selected mobile ticket for the delivery method because it's available immediately after purchase. I just screenshot the QR code and have it ready to scan at the toll booth, but you also have the option to have PDF tickets emailed to you or tickets snail mailed to you if you're willing to wait for them to arrive. Again, buying your ticket online just helps to save time, but it doesn't guarantee you a spot, so always arrive early. It's okay to purchase your tickets right at the toll booth too though. There are two routes that have vehicle reservations available and are highly recommended. I happened to have taken both. There is a separate link to make a reservation. Select where you're departing from, where you're arriving at, pick the date you want to take the ferry, then select your vehicle length and height and it'll show you what's available. Sometimes these ferry reservations fill up fast, so don't be surprised if the time you want isn't available and it says standby only. They reserve 90 percent capacity and leave the rest open to first come first serve standby. In that case, you should arrive extra extra early and hope you make it on. If you reserve a spot and don't show up, there is a no-show fee, so they do ask for your card information when you make a reservation online, but it's not a ticket. I repeat, it's not a ticket and that's really all there is to it. Plan ahead and get to the ferry early. Buy your ticket or show your mobile ticket to the person at the toll booth and someone will direct you and tell you what lane to park your car in while you wait for your ferry. Hope this helped. Thank you so much for watching. Stick around for the bloops and I'll catch you in the next one. We are on a moving ferry, folks. She cannot speak before 8 a.m., people. She cannot speak. I need a shower. Easy, breezy, beautiful. Have a go. Could you not breathe so loudly, my darling dog? This is embarrassing. We are focused. Why am I someone who goes caffeine free? What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? Because you get the jitters if you drink caffeine, love. True that. Little chipmunk. Hi. What am I doing? Easily distracted, aren't you? Nope. She got it wrong again. Stumbling over my words. Yeah, please don't stare at me, sir. I know what I'm doing looks strange, but I'm talking to people. You just can't see them right now. Oh, here comes another one. Oh, and another one. Don't film and I can't ground. What do you think you're doing? Oh, she's staring. Look away. And I was going to go to the send-on vent. That's funny.