Weekend report

As a birthday gift, the Hubster arranged for a nice getaway to Orcas Island in the San Juans this weekend. Here's a map to help with visualization ... Our base for the weekend was the Rosario Resort, which has an interesting history. Robert Moran served as Seattle's Mayor in the late 1800's, and had a successful career building ships with his brothers. They manufactured several ships for the government, including the battleship Nebraska, launched in October 1904. The stress of his working life was wearing him down, however, so he retired and built the mansion at Rosario for around $22 million (in 1909!). His retirement was good for him, and he lived 40 more years. Sadly, the financial burden eventually became too great, and he sold the mansion and property during the Depression for a mere $50,000. As the keystone of the Rosario Resort, it is beautifully restored, and a lovely place to visit. Over the weekend we played golf at the Orcas Island Golf Club, encountering some of the local residents. We hiked in Moran State Park, saw waterfalls and visited the historic Watch Tower at the top of Mt. Constitution, which has a wonderful view. We rode the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and returned back to our quiet waterfront room. We even managed to find something for the gun lovers while driving through town on our way to the ferry this morning. ** Update ** According to John Donovan, this is an M114 155mm howitzer, otherwise known as "The Pig". The food was excellent, the relaxation total, and the scenery terrific. I think my favorite picture, however, is the one I captured of the Information board outside of a shop on Orcas, showing the picture of each person from the Island serving in the military. I think that this community gets it ... Hi-Res here