When you are on a long vacation, seeing all that can be seen, often there comes a time when you need a vacation from the vacation. If you plan your excursion right, you can do that while visiting the San Juan Islands. Port Townsend, which is a short ferry hop from Whidbey Island on the Olympic Peninsula, and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, are perfect stops to park the car and get back to civilization for awhile. Plan your trip right and you can hit both between your exploratory jaunts.

Port Townsend is loaded with relaxation based palaces to go. It is a small historical town with Victorian homes, many of which can be toured. There are bed and breakfasts, art galleries, and Centrum, an arts foundation that gives you the chance to absorb jazz, classical music and even fiddle festivals. Fort Worden, one of three 19th century forts on the Puget Sound, houses a museum and a theater. An interesting note: the film, Officer and a Gentleman, was filmed here. It is a town in which you can relax and have some fun.

Friday Harbor? Luxurious in a tucked away setting. Hotels, cottages, bed and breakfasts, fine restaurants. It’s all there: hot tubs, in room massages and pet friendly. Interesting mix. They know what you need. And in case you are one who can never just relax: sea kayaking. Once you dry off, Friday Harbor has its own historic district and museums. The town has some history, being started by the Hudson’s Bay Trading Company in 1845, beginning as a salmon curing station. Ask a local about the “Pig War”, a skirmish between Canadians and Americans at the time. Yes, it was a long time ago and quite humorous.

Finished with these two towns but want more of the same? Roche Harbor is your next stop. But don’t let the evening regalia there surprise you. Every night at sunset the colors ceremony commences with anthems and cannon. The cannon is there to wake you up from your vacation away from the vacation and get you kick started again!