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# Carole Orlin: A city slicker's guide to the San Juan Islands
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/092907-story/
- Published: 2007-09-29T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T01:03:55.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Carole Orlin* loves to share it. His love for Orcas and Rosario is contagious. Meeting with him is a must. He is the heart and soul of that resort.

One thing I — an admitted city slicker — had a difficult time with was the difficulty of getting a cell connection. Fortunately, the staff knows the “special” places on the property where you can get a connection! At any given time, you can see several people standing on a certain hill talking on their cell phones. The islands have a well-established inter-island ferry system, which allows you to travel by ferry easily and for free from one island to the other (as long as you either walk on or bring a bicycle). Many people will go to Lopez Island for a day of bicycling or to check out their farmers’markets.You can rent bicycles,kayaks... virtually anything you want on these islands. I found it more convenient to be based on one island and just take day trips to explore the other islands, but others chose to spend a few days on each island.

The people that live on the islands are friendly to tourists, but they love and protect their island lifestyle. When you’re there, just keep in mind the words from an 1851 speech by Chief Seattle of the Suqamish tribe of Puget Sound: “You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin, whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth.”

The people that live there seem to live that belief, and that is one of the many gifts I received from my trip to the majestic San Juans.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/092907-09_02.jpg)

ONE TREE PLATEAU: The natural beauty of the San Juan Islands may not be on most people's radar, but it should be. (Photo: Photo courtesy)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 29, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/092907.pdf?ref=smdp.com)