San Juan Island

Living in Seattle we are lucky to have access to Washington State's San Juan Islands, although it's still a logistical challange to get there. Our 7yo son is very hard on himself and hates his food allergies so the purpose of our trip in June, 2023 was to build his confidence that he is strong and capable. We did this by having him compete in a junior triathlon as the youngest participant.

Our plan somewhat backfired when our little racer wiped out on his bike 15 minutes before the race started. He face and legs were bleeding and he said he quit. However, right before the race he calmed down and agree to do it. He's the last kid in line to begin the swim. The water was very cold!

He finished all 3 portions of the triathlon and was quite proud of himself. Although he got very banged up and might not want to participate next year he did get the confidence boost we were shooting for. Back in Seattle he made plenty of folks know about his accomplishment. 

To celebrate our two racers (Susan did a 10k as well), we went to downtown Friday Harbor for Mexican. Mexican is our go-to cuisine because as long as they hold the cheese they can usually accomdate our dairy, egg, nut and fish allergies. We went to Hermosa. It's down an alley and small but definitely hit the spot. It's an open kitchen so we were able to speak directly to the chef.

While we typically would not introduce a new cuisine to the kids on an isolated island, we ended up chatting with the owner of Aloha Friday and felt comfortable ordering our kids some chicken teriyaki, rice and edamame. They loved it, had no reactions and our daughter even told the staff it was her favorite restaurant in the world. The only problem is now she wants teriyaki sauce at home and on all her foods. 

We came to the island for the races but if you are going to one of the most unique islands in the country, spending some time at the shore is a must. First we went to Lime Kiln Point State Park and the next day we visited San Juan Island National Historic Park. Both are amazing picnic spots. Unfortunately we did not see any orcas from the shore (although we did see a pod on the ferry ride). But we give the tide pools at both parks an A+ rating.