Day Trip to Whidbey Island

I’ve been holed up in my writing cave since the year began, working hard on the fourth and final installment of the Call of the Crow Quartet. Sometimes, when I’m in the thick of a project as intense as this, it’s really hard to come up for air. I’m so tempted to keep going and going until it’s done… but it’s physically impossible to crank out a 400(ish)-page novel without any down time.

So, one recent weekend, my family and I took a spontaneous day trip to Whidbey Island. It’s not far from us, a short drive north followed by a twenty-minute ferry crossing – a perfect getaway from the city.

We had been planning to head over there during spring break of 2020 to check out a restaurant recommended by a friend, but… that trip never materialized, obviously. Almost two years later, we finally made it to Ultra House to try their vegan ramen, which was amazing and definitely worth the trip.

a bowl of ramen
A bowl of vegan ramen complete with crunchy garlic and onions, sponge-like tofu, scallions, pickled ginger, spinach, corn, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and seaweed

We wandered through the shops and sculpture gardens in Langley for a while. I had forgotten how enjoyable it is to explore cute little boutique stores and unfamiliar towns. So much refreshing novelty after years of sameness!

metal sculpture of a raven
“Bowed Raven,” a sculpture by Georgia Gerber, inside a Whidbey Island garden
sculpture of a double bass instrument outside a music store
Outside a music store, we spotted this awesome sculpture created by local artist Aidan Keefe Rayner: a double bass made of rusty metal parts

On the advice of one of the shop owners, we decided to head out to Fort Casey next. We had recently gone camping at Fort Worden, right across the water from Fort Casey, so it was a lot of fun to see the similar structures and beach. There’s something about being able to explore dark abandoned buildings in gorgeous natural settings (even those that are relics of a military past I don’t think of fondly) that I will always find thrilling.

lookout tower
A concrete lookout tower stands in a green field
a green wall with a black square stenciled with the word "Deflection"
A painted black square underneath a metal visor contains the word “Deflection”
line drawing of connected faces on a wall inside a bunker
Three (or four?) interconnected faces drawn on a wall inside a bunker
Concrete balcony as seen from the beach
A concrete balcony jutting out from a bluff, as seen from the rocky beach below
Archway in a concrete balcony overlooking the beach
A narrow concrete passage leads to an archway overlooking the sea
A concrete balcony overlooking a beach
View of a cloudy sky, beach covered in driftwood, and placid water from a concrete balcony

As we rode back on the ferry, we watched a gorgeous sunset against the distant mountains. My phone was dead by that point, so I was unable to get a photo – but I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful end to a beautiful day!

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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Vern Conover March 21, 2022

    You didn’t see much, I always recommend that visitors to Whidbey should do the “Whidbey loop”.
    Which is drive to Burlington take highway 20 west, then South at the traffic circle to enter Whidbey island at Deception pass park (stop for a while) then just follow the road South seeing the different sites along the way then cross the ferry at Clinton, where it only costs driver and vehicle, passengers are free. It could be a day trip or maybe a overnight, at bed/breakfasts, hotels, campgrounds, etc etc etc. Are all over the island.

    1. Alanna Peterson March 25, 2022

      Thanks for the tip, I think we may do something like that next time because we love Deception Pass. So much to see on the island! I feel lucky to live so close and hope to spend more time exploring the area now that the weather’s improving.

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