Wedding gift from Melissa’s parents was a weekend at Turtleback Farm Inn on Orcas Island. Neither of us had heard of this place and we planned to zip away on our “mini honeymoon” later in the summer, when the warm air was sure to be hanging around. On August 28 we slid onto the ferry and we were on our way! By 9pm we had checked in to our “Meadow View” room and by 10 we were snuggled into bed, beat from our busy workweek.
Turtleback Farm Inn
We fell in love with the farmhouse. It was built in the late 1800′s and totally restored in the 1960′s. A gorgeous building, we ate breakfast each day out on the porch and enjoyed the serene surroundings and sounds of sheep bleating and chickens clucking in the nearby fields. The rooms were cozy, comforters on the beds stuffed with wool from the farm’s sheep and sewn muslin covers – heaven! I could easily stay another weekend here.
View from our corner room
During the day we explored all of Orcas. It might be the biggest of the San Juans but you can drive from one end to the next in under an hour. We visited Deer Harbor, found the foot of Turtleback Mountain (there are two bases you can hike it from), ventured up to the top of Mt Constitution, and stopped by the East Sound – kind of downtown area – for some farmer’s market time and lunch at Rose’s Cafe, which makes a very tasty meal indeed.
Farmer's Market in East Sound
Dinner on Saturday night was at Inn at Ship Bay restaurant, we didn’t get a seat by the window but the view would have been second to the tasty dishes. Everything sounded so good that we each ordered an appetizer, had our own entree (we could have shared), and also treated ourselves to two desserts – a total rarity! Stuffed and totally pleased by the end of our meal, I can definitely give this restaurant 5 stars. The waitstaff was so helpful and friendly, the restaurant itself was elegant and the setting of it was pretty cool – an old pear orchard overlooking the Ship Bay – and the food was mouth watering, sourced from mostly local ingredients (even the meats). Wow.
A blissful weekend was our mini honeymoon!
