I went on a trip to Orcas Island last week.  It is so beautiful there, surrounded by dense forests, farmland and a lot of water. It seems that everyone on the island is some kind of artist--it has more artist studios and art galleries that I have ever seen on such small an area.  Even though it is suffering some of same gloomy July weather that Seattle is, it doesn’t seem to matter so much when you are in the woods. Only about an hour-and-a-half from the city to Anacortes and an hour ferry ride to Orcas, a trip to the island this summer should not be missed.  Here are some of the best eats and activities to do on the island this summer: 

Allium--Chef Lisa Nakamura recently opened this restaurant on the water.  She has trained with major chefs like Thomas Keller and worked at the French Laundry.  The restaurant still has some bugs to work out, but was wonderful overall.  The small restaurant is located on the upper floor of a building that used to be a house.  The details are there--wooden paneling, big windows looking out onto the water, watermelon served as an after dinner treat. The biggest successes of the night were the pecan pie--an individual serving with a bacon crust and the lavender quesadilla with the lavender bits right in the cheese.  

Anthony Howe--Anthony Howe is a magical artist who makes shiny silver sculptures that spin, sway and make noises.  All are harnessed by the wind.  On Orcas Island, he has a sculpture garden and studio hidden in the woods where visitors can see a huge body of his works--including one hung from a tree that falls and makes a clanging sound like a drum and another made of spinning mirrors--in their natural environments.  The gallery is free, but isn’t open very often to visitors. 

The Outlook Inn--This inn overlooking a bay was a beautiful place to stay.  A Victorian inn, the inn’s out buildings have been perfectly modeled after the original structure’s design. The view is fantastic, but so is the staff and the restaurant.  The New Leaf Cafe has a front porch you can sit on and for cool Washington nights, they have heat lamps and wooly blankets, as well.  The drinks were excellent--I had one with a cajun pepper-salt rim topping jalapeno-pineapple vodka. The crab cakes also had a spice to them and were perfectly sized for frying, opposed to the behemoths usually served. 

Orcas Moon Alpacas--I am obsessed with alpacas now after visiting this farm.  They are one of the cutest animals I have ever seen with long necks and sweet little two-toed feet.  They also have long eyelashes and sometimes even blue eyes! I’m smitten.  This farm is also adorable.  Our tour guide was a young boy.  His family recently moved to the island from Chicago and he was excited to show us his chickens, cats, donkeys and a huge bunny rabbit on our tour of their farm.