A Seasonal Look at San Juan Islands

President Theodore Roosevelt slept here in 1906, and things on San Juan Island haven’t changed much since. The De Haro Hotel, where he stayed when he visited his old friend John S. McMillin, who owned the Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Co., is called the Roche Harbor Resort now, and it still has its original 22 rooms and four baths built in 1896--and probably the same furniture, from the looks of it.

Located on San Juan Island, in the group of islands of the same name, Roche Harbor can be reached only by float plane, private boat, Washington State Ferry or, every spring and fall, by the 80-passenger Spirit of Alaska.

The latter is how we arrived on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September when the harbor was filled with sailboats and yachts and the flowers in Mrs. McMillin’s formal gardens were in glorious autumn bloom.

As its name implies, the Spirit of Alaska spends the summer sailing between Seattle and Juneau, but in September, October and April, it makes two- and five-night cruises in the Pacific Northwest.

On the weekend cruise, it calls at the hard-to-get-to San Juan Islands, and on the longer weekday cruises, visits not only the San Juans but travels north to Canada’s Vancouver Island to cruise the pristine Princess Louisa inlet. It also stops at Vancouver and Victoria on the midweek cruise.

The Spirit of Alaska has just the right laid-back, casual style for the San Juans, with no dress code and long, family-style tables at which passengers sit where they please and chat about the day’s activities as they pass the salt and pepper.

Most of the passengers are near or past retirement age, with a mix of couples and singles and a sprinkling of pairs in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

The San Juan Islands’ cruise sails from Seattle on Friday evening, and dinner is served while the ship sails through Elliott Bay, with the lights of the city twinkling in the distance. Saturday morning the ship makes a bow landing on an isolated beach in the islands and lowers a gangway for passengers to go ashore, where they can explore and walk the beach.

After breakfast, the ship arrives in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, where passengers are given box lunches to take ashore and an option to take a free tour across the island by van and rejoin the ship in Roche Harbor.

We chose instead to stroll around the picturesque town, then reboard the ship to sail to Roche Harbor. That’s how we came across the Whale Museum, created by dedicated volunteers who have spent 15 years tracking the three pods of 89 orcas who inhabit the San Juans.

On Orcas Island (not named for the whales but for a Spanish viceroy of Mexico), the ship calls at tiny Deer Harbor, then arrives at historic Rosario Resort at dusk.

A baked Brie in pastry with a garnish of green grapes was served at cocktail time in the vessel’s lounge, followed by a dinner of salmon or glazed Cornish game hen.

At 9 p.m., passengers trooped uphill to the resort for a dramatic concert on the Aeolian pipe organ, accompanied by a slide show depicting the history of the turn-of-the-century mansion.

Sunday morning turned out to be our favorite call, when the Spirit of Alaska sailed into Port Townsend on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula, and we joined local guide Ken Webb for a walking tour of the Victorian town, designated a National Historic Monument.

Webb was full of yarns about the town’s early days when it specialized in smuggling and shanghaied sailors, opium dens, bordellos and saloons.

In the 1880s, the town decided to clean up its act in anticipation of the arrival of a railroad and the chance to become the premier seaport of the Pacific Northwest.

The shacks and shanties were torn down and the whole waterfront reconstructed of brick in elaborate three- and four-story structures. But with only 15 miles of track completed, Union Pacific withdrew in 1891 and the town became an unfulfilled dream.

Today, of course, the beautiful Victorian town is chockablock with visitors all summer long, and on this particular autumn Sunday morning, it was sunny, serene and winsome.

After the walking tour, a champagne brunch was served on board, and the ship sailed back into Seattle under clear blue skies with sunlight sparkling off Puget Sound.

Prices for the two-night cruise start at $299 per person, double occupancy, but we’d hesitate to recommend the two small cabins available at this price.

The cabins have twin beds set in an L-shaped configuration, plus a third overhead bunk. The three beds virtually fill the cabins, which instead of windows have a port light (a small window high up on the cabin wall). It could be claustrophobic even on a short cruise like ours.

A better buy would be one of the light and airy cabins with twin beds on the upper deck for $449 per person, double occupancy, or a somewhat larger cabin with double bed, built-in table and benches and a big window for $499 per person, double occupancy.

Deluxe cabins ($549 per person) or suites ($599 per person) are only slightly larger, with the same furniture--double beds, built-in table and benches. In all accommodations, the wash basin is in the main cabin, while the toilet and shower are in a small adjoining bathroom.

The five-night midweek cruises are from $699 per person, double occupancy, for the small lower-deck cabins, to $1,479 per person, double occupancy, for top-deck suites. Air fare is not included.

Upcoming departures for the two-night San Juan Island sailings are Friday and Oct. 25, and April 3, 10, 17 and 24, 1992.

The midweek Princess Louisa inlet cruises are scheduled for next Sunday and Oct. 27, and April 5, 12, 19 and 26.

For brochures or more information, call Alaska Sightseeing Tours/TravAlaska at (800) 426-7702.