A beautiful cruise...

Oh, and we saw whales, too!

I went to Roche Harbor early so I could have breakfast at the cafe there before work.  The scooter ride there was lovely.  Breakfast was great.  I started prepping the boat, listening for any whale reports.  The boat I was driving today...

Due to a miscommunication, one party of 7 was a bit late getting to the boat, so we were a little late getting off the dock.  Checking with the guests, no one was on a tight schedule - takes some of the pressure off.

It was a beautiful sunny day - check out the blue sky...

The only report at the time was a long ways away.  Seems that is becoming a trend with this boat.  Our naturalist let folks know our plan and double checked that the guests all had the extra time we'd need.  "Let's go for it!"  Good attitude.  I let the office know we'd be late in getting back.

The tide and currents weren't working in our favor, adding to the time.  Other ship traffic decided this would be the best time to cross our path.  Here's a tug and barge as we were getting close...

I took us through the prettiest part of the San Juans, Wasp Passage.  Between Orcas Island and Shaw Island, through Obstruction Pass, across  Rosario Strait, then over the top of Cypress Island.  We departed from one of the furthest west parts of the San Juans and were heading to the furthest east area.  And, it was definitely worth it...

When it was time to head back, I took a slightly different route to give the guests some new scenery... and the scenery was beautiful.

We stopped along the way to check out bald eagles and seals.  Naturalist Sarah, on the bow, visiting with some of the guests...

Passing one last ferry on the way back to Roche Harbor...

Happy guests when we got them back to the dock.

Truly, one of the prettiest days so far this season.