Scenes from today’s adventures on and along Sucia Island, a 564-acre protected marine park in Washington State’s San Juan archipelago: great blue herons meditating on moody morning skies; spring meadows flaring with patches of camas, lupine, and Indian paintbrush; juvenile bald eagles learning to fly; harbor seals slipping suddenly above the water’s surface to spy passing kayakers; gargantuan sea lions hauled out on shoreline rocks, slumbering in the afternoon sun; one of Lindblad Expeditions’ talented naturalist-guides extolling the virtues of bullwhip kelp (it’s edible, can serve as an instrument, is used by otters to wrap and protect their young); and orcas breaching, again and again, as my wife and I watched from the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird in silence, immensely grateful for the opportunity to slow down, take a much-needed time-out from the haste of our daily lives, and see again.