Where did Friday Harbor get its name?

There's a local legend that when the early European explorers first arrived, one of them said, "What bay is this?" and got the answer to "What day is this?"

Actually, the harbor gets it name from an early settler named Joe Friday in the 1800s...just the facts ma'am (but it's true!)

What's in a name?

Many of the ferries that sail through the San Juan Islands and throughout Puget Sound are named with Native American words native to the area. Here are the names of some ferries and what they mean:

• Chelan -- Derived from 'Tsill-a ne'; meaning deep water.
• Cathlamet -- From the Chinook word 'calamet,' meaning stone.
• Elwha -- Elk.
• Hiyu -- Plenty.
• Hyak -- Fast or speeding.
• Illahee -- Land, place, or location.
• Issaquah -- Derived from the word 'isquowh', a description Native Americans used for squawking birds.
• Kaleetan -- Arrow.
• Kitsap -- Chief Kitsap was a war chief and medicine man under Chief Seattle.
• Kittias -- Derived from the K'tatas tribe that lived along a shallow portion of the Yakima River in central Washington.
• Klahowya -- Greetings.
• Klickitat -- A Native American tribe in south-central Washington; means "beyond."
• Quinault -- River with a lake in the middle.

What time do the whales go by Whale Watch Park at Lime Kiln?

Whenever they want to. Unlike a zoo, there is no guarantee of seeing an orca whale. In 1995, reports indicated the whales passed by 24 0f 31 days in mid-summer.