Things to do with kids in Friday Harbor, WA

Cattle Point Lighthouse

This is on the grassy side of the island and you can hike over to the lighthouse pretty easily if you have an energetic kid. If he needs to be carried though I'd skip the lighthouse part and just go play at the beach in this area. There are bunnies in this part of the island too - especially in the evenings. 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60957-d146314-Reviews-Cattle_Point-Friday_Harbor_San_Juan_Island_San_Juan_Islands_Washington.html

San Juan Island National Park

One of our nation's newest National Parks!! This was a State Park for a long time and it made the upgrade list a year ago or so to National Park and got itself a little face lift in the process. You should go check it out. It's on the west side of the island where you're most likely to see whales. http://www.nps.gov/sajh/index.htm

The Whale Museum

Speaking of whales. Go check this out - it's pretty cool and you can walk there from downtown. There's neat gross stuff like a giant whale brain embalmed in a jar and other things your kid will think are the coolest things ever.

http://whalemuseum.org/

American Camp/British Camp/Pig War

There's some history to know about the island. It was disputed territory between the US and The Queen back in the day. There was a pig. Lives were lost. Things were stolen. Dozens of hours were spent fighting. Dozens. And the military camps are still on the island. It's kind of cool to read up on the history and then go see the camps. They're also State Parks. Go. Learn. Feed ducks at the park. Wear a coat.

Fourth of July Beach

This is out by the lighthouse on South Beach and if you like sea glass it's the best beach to find sea glass on the island. At one time there were rum runners in Canada during prohibition and when they would get caught they'd dump the goods overboard and the glass washed up on Fourth of July beach. As the name suggests, this is also a good place watch fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Coffee

Crow's Nest Coffee :) Mary and her husband Jon own this place and one of them is always always there. They brew Vivaci from Seattle and it's easily the best on the rock. Their breakfast sandwiches and burritos are AMAZE BALLS.

https://www.facebook.com/CrowsNestCoffeeShoppe

http://crowsnestcoffee.com/ - ok so they need a dev team. We love them anyway.

RESTAURANTS!!! (You can also ask Mary & Jon for recommendations)

 The Cask & Schooner is damn good and kid friendly and right there in town. If it looks too good to be true don't be frightened off. It's perfect. The food is delish and trendy and the wine list is killer and the prices won't kill anyone. Do that if you're tired and all you can do is stumble out of your hotel and beg to be fed.

If you want a fancy date night dinner you can always go out to Roche Harbor and you'll get a great meal and a beautiful view.

The Back Door Kitchen is heavily recommended as some of the best food on the Island. I don't know if they're open in winter. Check into that.

Other places worth the wait and the price:

Duck Soup Inn - middle of the island may not be open in winter

The Place - down on the ferry landing

The Market Chef - also highly recommended

Chill (cheaper) food:

Mi Casita Mexican Food

The Rumor mill

Herbs Tavern - classic old timer salty dog joint

The Doctor's Office - Ice Cream Shop :)

OK - I can keep going but I should NOT do that. Post in the comments if you have questions.

My Favorite Things To Do in New Orleans

Ok here’s my list of favorite things to do in New Orleans. I created this for a friend who will be traveling there next week. This city has a big piece of my tourist heart. I don't claim to be a NOLA insider, but these are the things I do when I visit. I scribbled this in no time at work so there are quite a few things missing. I'd love for you to point them out in the comments. 

Bourbon Street – Go watch fraternity boys binge drink on Bourbon Street for like 15 minutes and then leave. (I know there are other things to do here but the booze/vomit smell generally deters me from discovering what they are. I come back when sauced enough not to care.)

Royal Street – Walk from Bourbon over to Royal Street and mosey in that direction for a while. There are lots of artists and antique shops on this street that are fun to look into. I bought a watercolor from a guy on the sidewalk here that I love (above). There are good deals if you’re looking for art, there are also some fine pieces by talented artists. A variety at your disposal.

LaLaurie’s house – If you keep walking down Royal you’ll eventually come to an area that has more residential homes and vacation properties. In this neighborhood at 1140 Royal you can see the home of this woman  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie who is something of a New Orleans ghost legend and one of the character’s on American Horror Story this season if you’re into that sort of thing. I usually visit NO at Halloween so this is right up my alley. 

Mansion Tours – Right next to LaLaurie’s house is a place that gives mansion tours. I wasn’t able to get in when I last Fall, but the tours are supposed to be excellent. I’d be curious if you checked it out how that went.

Jackson Square – If you head back down Royal the way you came, turn on either St Ann or St Peter St toward the canal (away from Bourbon). Go down about a block and you’ll see Jackson Square which sits in front of St Louis Cathedral. There’s history about this place. I don’t k now what it is. But it’s probably interesting to read. The square is usually overrun with artists and street performers and on a nice day it’s a great place to people watch.

Café Du Monde – walk through Jackson square down toward the canal and look across the street – you’ll see Café Du Monde. They’re famous for their beignets (doughnuts). Good stuff. Their coffee isn’t half bad either. That’s a good place to sit and watch the circus at Jackson Square. The spectacle of traffic will make you laugh as well. http://www.cafedumonde.com/ 

Magazine Street – great shopping. Cute houses.

Garden District Tour –There are dozens of these just pick one that sounds good. If a reader has been on a particularly good one I'd like to know about it. 

Marie Laveau’s House of VooDoo – for all your spell casting needs. It’s on bourbon street. You can find things there like shrunken heads and idols to help you sleep better at night or get rich. All fun.

The Frenchman – this neighborhood has great jazz music but it’s getting more of a party vibe over the years.  You could check that out.

FOOD

Yes there’s Starbucks.

Olivier’s

http://www.olivierscreole.com/

This is one of the last Creole Family-owned (Creole owned) restaurants in the French Quarter. The owner is an incredibly kind gentleman who personally built us a “tasting” menu when I was last there. All of the food – ALL OF IT – was insanely good. 

NOLA

http://www.emerilsrestaurants.com/nola-restaurant

This is a great restaurant owned by Emeril Lagasse whom my dear father once referred to as “that sellout”. I thought his food was actually quite delicious. And I enjoyed the restaurant decor. Food was a bit on the expensive side but good. Food portions are not huge. There’s a good chance you’ll have to wait so make your reservation and go down to the bar on the corner. It's cute and the bartenders are friendly.