Stuffies Vacation Alone

Greetings, Stuffie friends! Scottie, Amelia, and Ranger Rita here. Our landlords recently went off to Europe without us. No problem! There’s a reason Amelia Airheart started her own airline, after all! Off we went to Orcas Island (in Washington) because we saw some amazing pictures from Dan & Marial’s trip. After taking the ferry from Anacortes, we needed a break, so we headed to this super pottery place and enjoyed the beautiful gardens. Our favorite part was the tree house. (Sorry, there’s no picture- you’ll have to go there yourself to check it out.)

Of course we had to do a special boat trip to see Orca whales- that’s what the island is named for! It was a pretty windy day, so we decided to be safe and stayed inside the cabin. It was a lot of work looking and looking…. and looking! 

Everyone got excited when they spotted what they called a “pod” . After some debate we realized it wasn’t an “iPod” but rather a group a whales that are kind of like family and swim together. Luckily, our captain was able to follow the pod for a very long distance without bothering them. Apparently they were looking for seals to eat. Too bad they didn't ask Amelia to to fly above the water and scout for them. It would have been no trouble to see lunch with her excellent vision!

Of course, every trip with Ranger Rita needs to be educational. So, on the way back to the dock, she pulled out this chart showing the different kinds of whales (we only saw Orcas), dolphins, seals, and sea lions. It was all very interesting. And then it got very exciting. The captain yelled out (okay, he just talked into the loudspeaker) and said they’d found a family of Stellar sea lions of the coast. It’s a pretty rare find around here, so it was quite the feather in his cap. They look small from a distance, but are really big- some weigh up to 2,400 pounds! Whoa- that’s a lot of dinners!

After a great afternoon on the boat, we made it back to shore in time to see the sun setting over the pier. Scottie spotted a boat with a big motor on and was about to jump on board. Unfortunately, Amelia noticed there were no keys in it, so we couldn’t have taken it anywhere. So we just enjoyed the sunset looking into Canada! 

The next day, we decided to check out the highest point on the island- Mt. Constitution in Moran State Park. It was a spectacular view, as you can see.

We flew to the top of the lookout tower. Too bad it was locked so we couldn’t go inside. I just pretended to climb to the top. Still fun!

Ranger Rita had researched the park before we went on the trip. She knew so much about the geology, ecosystem, and human history of the area that the ranger said she could be in charge! We hope she decides to stay in MN for work. It’s a pretty long flight for Amelia Airheart so visiting her on the island would be tricky.

Can’t wait for our next private vacation. See you next time!

-Scottie, Amelia Airheart, and Ranger Rita