2 things we enjoyed on San Juan Island was the lavendar farm and a whale watching trip. We got lucky and saw 2 pods of Orcas. (We had a car.)

Patrick, what suze said! Hence the parentheses and quotation marks in my post.

Mt Rainier vs. St Helens.... St Helens is more interesting for a day trip, but it's a 3+ hour drive from Seattle. Had you stuck with your Oregon plans, cjacob, it would have made better sense.

I'd also suggest a car on San Juan. To give an idea of distances, Roche Harbor is about 15 miles from Friday Harbor, and the oft-recommended route around the island about 35 miles. You could reach popular spots on a mo-ped, but judging by my experience last summer, a bicycle might be just as quick. At least it was for me....

IMO your pick between Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens depends on what you want. Mt. St. Helens may be more interesting because of the volcanic eruption, but Mt. Rainer (which hasn't erupted YET) is greener and lusher and IMO even more beautiful.

The Pan Pacific has tiny rooms, that is why it is so much less $$. It caters to Japanese tourists here for baseball and sightseeing. It's fine but the rooms are european size.

The Herbfarm's chef has left which was the main reason to go. I would go to Barking Frog for dinner.

I also really like Novelty Hill/Januik winery, also Mathews Cellars, Brian Carter, DiStefano, Mark Ryan, Sparkman,and JMCellars

The complex that Mark Ryan is in is like a business park and there are a bunch in there but I think most are sat/sun

Re the Herbfarm--friends who have been recently (since Jerry Traunfeld left) say that they didn't feel there had been any drop off in quality with the new chef. I haven't been myself since he left but these are people whose opinion I trust.

I think it's more a question of whether someone wants to invest the time and money in having a 9 course, 4 hour plus meal.

In any event, I agree that the Barking Frog is a great place to go.

There is a bus system on San Juan Island. My mother and I used it. We stopped at Lavender Farm, Lime Kiln, and Roche Harbor, then back to Friday Harbor. It worked for us. Here is the link:
http://www.sanjuantransit.com/schedules.html

Rainier vs. St. Helens - if you had to choose just one, my choice would be Rainier. You don't say what time of year you are going, but we went in August when the wildflowers were at peak. From Paradise, I did the Skyline Trail. It was about 6-7 miles. Arrive early to get a parking spot and bring water and trail mix. It was absolutely beautiful.

Spend the night near Mt. Rainier at either Ashford or Packwood (its probably too late for in-park lodging), then see Mt. St. Helens the following day from the east - its amazing.

A recent plus for the Pan Pacific is the new Seattle Streetcar runs right in front of it. It goes just on one straight and short route, but now connects South Lake Union are with downtown (ending ~5th & Olive I think the last stop is).

We did Woodinville wine country in a day, which included 2 full tours at Chateau St Michelle and Columbia, lunch at Red Hook Brewery, toured some smaller vinters, dinner at The Herbfarm and a show at the ampitheatre (Fiona Apple). It was a great day, but we saw literally everything there was to see and do there.