Its 8,000 people are split between two main towns. Friday Harbor, where the ferry port is, is a modern, prosperous-looking former fishing village turned tourist destination (though a bit quiet on a Monday, when we were there).
Roche Harbor, at the other end of the island, is completely different. It was founded as a company town for quarrying limestone and turning it into industrial lime, and has been carefully preserved as a resort, including the 19th-century hotel ...
... the company owner's house, now the island's finest restaurant (reputedly: we didn't go) ...
... and the old company store, still a store:
We stayed in Friday Harbor for the sake of convenience, but if I went back I would definitely try this; I don't think I've ever seen such carefully preserved and concentrated 19th-century ambience.
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