Orca spotting and African Peanut Soup

I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to catch the ferry from Seattle to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. The air was crisp, the streets were practically empty, and the city was still asleep on a Sunday morning, but the ferry terminal was already abuzz with activity as two boatloads of passengers work their way through the check-in. Upon arrival at Friday Harbor, I stayed on the ferry to go on some whale watching. The winds were calm, the weather a bit chilly and overcast, and there was a whole fleet of private boats cruising around on a holiday weekend. We learned about the food chain in the oceans, marine habitat, and Spongebob Squarepants' foe, that evil plankton fellow. We also had plenty of sightings of orcas as they stuck their dorsal fins above water right before surfacing, and shot water out of their blowholes. The flip of the tail was also a real crowd pleaser.

After the whale watching, we went back to Friday Harbor, where I spent most of my hour on dry land looking for a post office (I know, it's closed on Sundays, but I was hoping to buy stamps from a vending machine). After getting directions from two locals, still no sign of the post office. It wasn't until much, much later when I was aboard the ferry heading to Victoria, BC that I picked up a map of the island and realized that the town's post office was tucked behind a parking lot. I was there, probably stared at the building on the street wondering why there weren't any mailboxes or any sign of the USPS nearby. It was past lunchtime and I was pretty hungry by this time, so I ordered a bowl of the African Peanut soup at a local cafe to take with me onto the ferry. According to the chef, the soup consisted of peanut butter, tomato juice, onions, yams, and probably something else. While waiting for the soup, I started having second thoughts and wondered if I should have ordered a cup instead of a bowl of this mystery soup, or perhaps go with something safer like a cookie. I stuck it out and got my soup, and it was divine through and through. Very rich and creamy, tomato red color, small chunks of sweet yam, and a distinct but delicate flavor of peanuts...heaven.

Arrived in Victoria early this evening, and am again amazed by this city. I caught the tail end of their blues festival on the waterfront, checked out "Chinatown" (all 2 blocks), and just kept wandering hoping to get lost.