Seattle - San Juan Islands flights from $169 pp/ow!
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Island Hopping with Kids

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Island Hopping with Kids

A weekend jumping from Orcas to San Juan Island.

Watch the sun slowly dip down from the comfort of your own balcony after you’ve scrubbed the dirt and washed the sand off your little ones from a long day of exploring. Instead of battling crowds and waiting in lines, introduce your children to the finer things in life like clams caught mere steps from where they are eaten. Spend your mornings walking out to an island made accessible only by low tide.

Listen in awe at the excited squeals from each discovery of sea stars, sea cucumbers, and crabs. Spend the day whale-watching and the evening on a sunset sail. From Lopez to Orcas and San Juan Island, each has its own distinct sense of place and will have a unique draw to visitors. When you cannot decide which island is right for you, don’t. Instead, plan an “island-hopping” adventure, combining the best of what a couple of islands have to offer.

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Celebration Worthy Pints at Cairn Brewing

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Aug 24, 2021
Celebration Worthy Pints at Cairn Brewing

You won’t find Cairn beers in the grocery store or on tap at the bars around town. A taste of this neighborhood brewery requires a trek to the north end of Lake Washington. It’s worth the visit (especially if you find yourself just .8 miles away at Kenmore Air’s headquarters).

Nestled beside the Burke-Gilman Trail, Seattle visitors can easily trek, bike or bus to this dog- and family-friendly taproom. The brewing area is set among communal tables that spill onto a large patio. On tap, you’ll find a selection of more than 15 beers ranging from seasonal ales to year-round favorites.

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Meet the Kenmore Air Family

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Aug 18, 2021
Meet the Kenmore Air Family
Munro’s descendants and their spouses: Leslie Banks, Tim Banks, Gregg Munro, Margie Munro, Todd Banks, Jayne Banks, Olivia Banks, Hunter Banks, Mason Banks, Allison Russell, Chris Russell, Kylie Russell, Logan Russell, David Banks.

3 Generations of Mr. Munro’s Descendants (and Counting)

AT THE NORTH END OF Lake Washington, tucked beside the mouth of the Sammamish River, sits a humble airport. It has sat there ever since Bob Munro founded Kenmore Air in 1946 with two high school friends.

What started out as a one hangar, single seaplane company has grown into a thriving multi-faceted business. Today — 75 years later — picnic tables serve as departure “gates”; employees park among company aircraft, and, Munro’s descendants have been raised — quite literally. The original family home still stands at the westernmost edge of the five-acre campus where Munro and his wife Ruth raised their three children, Leslie Banks, Gregg Munro and Margie Munro.

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Washington’s Pig Headed War

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Jul 26, 2021 Mike Vouri
Washington’s Pig Headed War
Photo by Tomas Nevesely

The killing of a pig nearly plunged the United States and Great Britain into war in 1859. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed.

Long before the San Juan Islands were a vacation destination, they were the focus of an international crisis ignited by an unlikely incident: The shooting of a pig in a potato patch. This was the famous Pig War of 1859, when military and naval forces of the United States and Great Britain almost came to blows in midsummer after the death of the Berkshire boar.

But in the end, not a single shot was fired. The nations opted for peace, an outcome that was commemorated more than 100 years later with the creation of San Juan Island National Historical Park. The issue, aside from mid-19th century notions of honor, was mainly about real estate.

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75 Years of Doing it Right

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Jul 11, 2021 C. Marin Faure
75 Years of Doing it Right

To most of us, flying is simply a fast and efficient way of getting from here to there. But it can be so much more. Accelerating across the water at the point of a sparkling vee of spray, lifting off to look down through big windows at the shining towers of a city beside a deepwater bay, skimming close over a jigsaw puzzle of islands and inlets, soaring around the ice-draped peaks and looming volcanoes that make up some of the most impressive mountains on the planet… Now that’s flying.

That this remarkable experience can be had by simply buying a ticket on Kenmore Air is due entirely to a single gust of wind which shortly before the outbreak of World War II flipped over a tiny, two-seat Aeronca floatplane on Seattle’s Lake Union. Seattle seaplane pioneer Lana Kurtzer salvaged the plane, stacked the pieces behind his shop and forgot about it until 1944 when a pair of young Navy Reserve aviation mechanics asked if he’d be willing to sell it.

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Paula West, Pottery Artist

Paula West, Pottery Artist

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Jul 7, 2021 Mikaela Judd
Paula West, Pottery Artist

In a small converted garage, roughly six miles southwest of Friday Harbor, you’ll often find Paula West covered in clay.

A Connecticut native, she came to San Juan Island in 1990 (by way of New Hampshire, California, Oregon, and Canada). It was here that she met her husband, Joe Cooper. And it was here she set up her studio in 1993.

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Express Assistant Chief Pilot Christina Rzeplinski

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Mar 8, 2021 Mikaela Judd
Express Assistant Chief Pilot Christina Rzeplinski

Flying wasn’t the original plan for Christina Rzeplinski. But after taking a private jet to tour colleges on the East Coast, the trajectory of her life was forever changed. Christina wanted to be a pilot.

“I was really lucky. A girlfriend from high school took me with her to tour colleges. We flew on a private jet to New York, Boston and Connecticut,” Christina said. “Most people get on a private jet and think, ‘I wish I could always fly on a private jet.’ I got on and said, ‘I want to fly this thing.’”

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6 Cuddle-Worthy Destinations in the San Juan Islands

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Oct 21, 2020 Mikaela Judd
6 Cuddle-Worthy Destinations in the San Juan Islands

Slow-paced island life, farm-to-table cuisine, and intimate accommodations make for the perfect winter escape.

Though the San Juan Islands aren’t as popular during the drizzly season, the relatively deserted towns make for a crowd-free adventure. The slow pace allows shop owners and artisans linger with customers. Cloudy days offer their own kind of beauty. Mist often clings to fields and shrouds shores, lifting like a translucent curtain.

The hikes remain beautiful and wildlife plentiful during the fall and winter months. But don’t feel pressed to go exploring. These cuddle-worthy destinations feature cozy fireplaces that may keep you indoors all day and all night. Whether it’s a solo getaway or a party of two, the San Juan Islands offer the perfect mix of solitude and hospitality.

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Caitlin Hunter — Boeing Field Supervisor

Caitlin Hunter — Boeing Field Supervisor

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Oct 12, 2020 Mikaela Judd
Caitlin Hunter — Boeing Field Supervisor

Raised in the airline industry, Caitlin Hunter’s no stranger to helping make a passenger’s travel day fly by smoothly. She joined her mom at SkyWest Airlines in 2005, doing anything and everything that was needed.

“You name it, I’ve done it. Working the ticket counter. Loading bags. Pushing the airplane out. Being a gate agent. I’ve done everything but fly the airplane,” Caitlin explained in a break between customer service calls.

Five years ago, she joined the Kenmore Air family as a Seasonal Customer Service Agent. “Kenmore is a great place to work. I absolutely love it here,” she said. A people person through and through, Caitlin’s upbeat attitude made her a perfect fit for working with customers and she was quickly hired on year-round at the Lake Union seaplane terminal.

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Picnic Perfect: Where to Buy the Best Picnic Essentials in Seattle

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Aug 26, 2020 Mikaela Judd
Picnic Perfect: Where to Buy the Best Picnic Essentials in Seattle

From sandwiches to a mix-and-match spread of fixings, discover some of the best places to get picnic food in Seattle.

Derived from the French term ‘pique-nique,’ a picnic initially described gourmands who brought their own wine when dining out. But by the Middle Ages, this beloved pastime began to acquire the respect it so rightly deserves. An elegant and leisurely affair — Seattle picnics are particularly renowned, if for no other reason than they mark the scant three months of Emerald City sunshine.

So, gather ye blankets while ye may. Load your coolers with a nosh-worthy spread from some of the area’s best shops slinging eat-with-your-hands goods. And, find yourself a sunny spot to lounge.

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