My wife and I just returned from six days in the Seattle area. Here are some tips and recommendations I hope my fellow travelers might find helpful. I planned every detail of this trip, using the web and several travel books.
We flew into Seattle on Monday morning from Washington (DC) Dulles on Delta via Atlanta. (We used frequent flier mileage so we had to take whatever was available.) Rented a compact car from Thrifty. Book your car as far in advance as possible. I booked in May for late July. Prices nearly doubled in the following weeks! I checked rates on Expedia and then went directly to Thrifty's website to book. We stayed in Lynnwood at Marriott Courtyard-just off I-5. (Marriott Rewards point redemption.) Had dinner at Anthony's Beach Cafe at the marina in nearby Edmonds. They have an $8.95 all- you-can-eat fish and chips on Monday nights and $14.95 a-y-c-e fried prawns on Tuesday. Great deal for a great meal. Eat outside and watch the sunset. Drove to Mukilteo-Clinton ferry on Tuesday morning to sail to Whidbey Island. Ferry wait was about 1/2 hour. Stayed in Langley at the Eagle's Nest B&B. Fantastic place, great location and gourmet breakfast. Ask for the Garden Room - very private and lots of room. Ate dinner at the Langley Cafe. Good food, but service was inattentive. Drove north to Anacortes on Rt. 20 over Deception Pass bridge. State Park is worth a visit. Drive up Mt. Eby for the view of Puget Sound. Anacortes-Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) ferry was a 2-hour wait, but we grabbed a take-out lunch at Charlie's near the ferry terminal. Ferry to San Juan is a beautiful trip (on a nice day). On San Juan, we stayed 2 mights at the The Trumpeter Inn B&B, about 2 miles from downtown Friday Harbor. Wonderful place, beautiful spread in the country with hot tub and shaded hammock - heavenly!
Ate dinner Wednesday night at the Front Street Ale House -- mirco brews and good pub food. On Thursday we took a whale watching cruise on the Western Prince out of Friday Harbor. Saw many orcas, seals and eagles. Also visted Whale Museum, Roche Harbor, Lime Kiln State Park and the Britsh Camp at San Juan National Park. Nice hiking trails and views. For dinner we ate at The Place by the Ferry. Wonderful Dungeness crab cakes and salmon. On Friday, we got in the ferry line at 2:00 pm for the 5:00 pm ferry back to Anacortes. Walked around Friday Harbor, window shopped and ate lunch on deck at Friday's Crabhouse, overlooking the harbor. We each had a fresh Dungeness crab. (We brought our own crab pick/forks from home, as we didn't want to miss a morsel of this tasty treat!) Friday was cloudy, so the ferry ride wasn't as pleasant. Drove back to Lynnwood for another free night at the Courtyard. Drove into Seattle on Saturday morning. Walked the Pike Place Market (a must!) and took the monorail to Seatle Center to visit the Music Experience. (WE did thre Space Needle on a previous trip.) Great place, but you need lots of time to do it justice. It was mobbed on Saturday, as many people were in town for the SeaFest torchlight parade. Had dinner at Etta's Seafood across from the Pike Place Market. Excellent seafood and service. Watched the parade before driving back to the airport for late flight back to the east coast. All-in-all, a very relaxing trip. Advance planning pays off in better prices and fewer hassles. I strongly recommend San Juan Island. Next time, we'll spend a full week and drive less.

John,

Thanks for the great information! Do you have any suggestions regarding how to cut down the ferry waiting time in Anacortes? We'll be travelling to Orcas Island with two kids, and 2 hours is a long time to wait even with lunch.
Also, what is the State Park near Anacortes?

Thanks again.

The only way to lessen the wait for a ferry in Anacortes is NOT to take a car and walk on. With a car there is a long wait. That's life. If it's low tide the kids can walk down on the small beach below the car lot in Anacortes. Take books to read. Talk to other people.

As for the park on Whidbey the first poster probably means Deception Pass State Park. Also we have stayed at Eagle's Nest B&B in that same room about 6 months ago and *disliked* our stay as the male owner was brusque to us and our friends who also stayed there. The hot tub also was not working the whole time we were there but no price break was given

John,
How was travelling from Lynnwood down to Seattle? We want to visit the city, but we're staying at an Embassy Suites in Lynnwood because the price of the hotel vs downtown hotels was more reasonable for a family of 4. We have a car and will travel northward after our Seattle stay so I thought this would be a good location for the northbound journey.

Lynnwood is a typical suburban mall-and-freeway sort of place, about 20 min. from downtown Seattle on I-5 except during rush hours, when (most of the time) it's around 35 min. The "reverse commute" on I-5 (from Seattle instead of to Seattle) is most pronounced very early in the morning (until only around 7:30 AM) because Lynnwood is on the route to the big Boeing complex in south Everett, where they start early. Otherwise it's wide open northbound after 8 or so. Not the case southbound, where the rush can last until 9. Vice versa in the afternoon.

1. There's no way to cut down on ferry waiting time unless you walk on. Summer traffic to the islands is heavy. Next time, we're planning to go in spring or fall to avoid the crowds.
2. The state park on Whidbey Island that I reffered to is Deception Pass State Park.
3. Sorry to hear that Howard had a bad experience at the Eagle's Nest. We found Jerry to be a very warm and hospitable host. Not everyone can deal with the B&B experience. We've found it to be wonderful way to meet people and pick up valuable tips that have improved our travel experiences. Regarding the defective hot tub: things break down. It worked fine when we were there. I wouldn't ask the Holiday Inn to give me a break on the bill if their spa was out-of-service when I stayed there. Why expect it from an innkeeper?

The hot tub was not broken or defective.
The owner said he changed the water so no one could use it the 2 days we were there. When we called and booked we told the female owner the hot tub was the main reason the 4 of us wanted to meet up at their B&B. She never told us it would be unusable.