Wedding on Orcas Island

We went to orcas Island last weekend for the wedding of Melody's co-worker Alex and his bride Irene. This post has some photos, but there are quite a few more (including some from our hikes) on the Orcas Island page.

Alex and Irene getting married

Alex and Irene getting married

The ceremony was held at the Orcas Hotel, and as you can see there was a great view of the ferry dock. The ferry didn't leave until just after the ceremony, horn and all!

Banana slug (not the bright yellow kind) on the trail

Banana slug (not the bright yellow kind) on the trail

This fungus looked a lot like a giant clam

This fungus looked a lot like a giant clam

Since the various events were held in the evening, we had the opportunity to hike around during the day. We went up Turtleback Mountain on Friday, where we had a great view of Waldron Island. Saturday's hike was much more ambitious, starting at Mountain Lake and taking a 7.5 mile, 1,400 foot elevation gain hike to the top of Mt. Constitution. We had a picnic lunch at the top and went up the watch tower where there were great views. On the way up, we saw a lot of flora and fauna, such as in these pictures.

Our room ("The Nook") at Turtleback Farm Inn

Our room ("The Nook") at Turtleback Farm Inn

Morning fog over Turtleback Farm

Morning fog over Turtleback Farm

We stayed at the Turtleback Farm Inn and enjoyed our time there. Who can complain about free cookies in the afternoon and breakfast in the morning? The room wasn't large (not much larger than what you see in the photo, plus the attached bathroom) but we were able to coordinate our movements enough to not step on each other. We left early Sunday morning and saw that the fog was settled in the valley.