Wanderlust Traveler: Whidbey Island (Langley, Freeland, Coupeville, and Deception Pass State Park)

Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm

Although I had lived within 30 minutes of Whidbey Island for the majority of my life, I had ever taken the time to visit the island. Over the course of many years I had heard numerous great things about the island, including the quaint towns of Langley and Coupeville and the popular Deception Pass State Park.

While I was on a trip with my family the year prior at Lake Crescent, we had discussed the idea of initiating an annual family trip to locales around the Puget Sound area. My Aunt Staci recommended that we stay on Whidbey Island for the next trip as one of her best friends had a family home near Freeland that we would probably be able to use for free. It sounded like a great idea to me, especially because I would be able to bring the dogs and also because Whidbey Island had been on my list of places to visit for quite some time. A few months later, we agreed upon a weekend in August that most of us could attend. In addition to the two nights we were going to spend at the beach house, I also made a reservation for a third night up in the small town of Coupeville at a bed and breakfast.

Much to my surprise, while I was completing research for the trip I found out that Whidbey Island is one of the longest islands in the United States, measuring 45 miles long (or 36 or 62, depending on who you ask!). Regardless of where one stands on the island, you are never more than five miles away from the water. Whidbey Island is an extremely popular place for Seattleites to escape from the city, especially during the summer months. The island can be accessed from three points; via ferry from Mukilteo, which is about 20 miles north of Seattle; via ferry from Port Townsend, which is located on the Olympic Peninsula, and lastly via the Deception Pass State Bridge, located on the very northern tip of the island.

Day 1 (Friday, August 7th 2009)

After a very long 10.5 hour day at work, I raced home and quickly began packing up the car. I drove to Mukilteo where I thankfully only had to wait about 45 minutes in line for the ferry. I was waiting for the ferry that would take me to the town of Clinton on Whidbey Island. My sister Kimberly and the rest of the family had waited nearly two hours in the same line several hours prior, so my wait time didn't seem too bad. Much to my surprise, the actual duration of the ferry ride took only about ten minutes, so before I knew it I was on the island.

Once off the ferry, I drove onto the island and met up with the family who had just finished eating dinner. I followed the family to the beach house, which was located within the town of Freeland in a small neighborhood called Mutiny Bay. The house was just a short three minute walk to the beach. After settling in, I relaxed with the family for the rest of the evening which involved several hours of long conversations regarding old family memories and stories.

Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island

Beautiful home in Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island

Day 2 (Saturday, August 8th 2009)

After eating a casual breakfast with the family, Kimberly, the dogs and I left around 10:00 and headed towards Langley where we had planned on visiting two farmer’s market. The first one that we stopped at was called Bayview Farmer’s Market at Bayview Corner. We arrived just after the market had opened, so the parking lot was full of dozens of cars. We weren’t sure if dogs were allowed at this farmer’s market (as they sometimes aren’t at others) but after checking, we were informed that dogs were welcomed!

I was pleasantly surprised at the size and variety of the market; it was much larger than I had expected it would be and had at least 40 vendors selling a wide range of goods from vegetables and fruits, to baked goods, to an array of art, including photography, jewelry, fountains, and much more. We made our way through the aisles, stopping to photograph and eat some of the beautiful food. I chose to purchase some lumpia and BBQ pork from a Filipino food stand. For those of you who aren't familiar with lumpia, they are similar in concept to an egg roll or spring roll, except that they usually tend to be shorter and skinnier. Kimberly opted to spring for a dessert and bought a chocolate toffee bar cookie, which I was fortunate enough to take a delicious bite of!

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

Fruit tart for sale at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

Lumpia stand at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

BBQ pork and lumpia at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Chocolate toffee bar cookie from Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

From the Bayview Farmer’s Market I planned on heading to another farmer’s market. As we approached the South Whidbey Tilth Farmer’s Market from a distance, we could see that it was tiny in comparison to the one we had just visited. We decided to go ahead and stop in anyways as we figured that it never hurts to just walk around. Although there were quite a bit of cars in the parking lot, there was definitely a lack of vendors selling products; in total, there might have been six or seven, none of which had a rather large selection of items for sale. After wandering around for about five minutes, we turned around and headed towards Langley.

South Whidbey Tilth Farmer's Market

Once in Langley, we randomly met up with the rest of the family, who just happened to be walking down the same road we parked on. Langley, whose population is just a mere 1,000 people, happens to be the third largest incorporated area on the island. The city was founded in the late 1800's and is now simply a few streets of shops and restaurants catering to the many visitors who wander through during the busy summer months. Kimberly and I walked into a few of the stores on First Street, including the Whidbey Island Soap Company and Moonraker Books.

Downtown Langley

Flowers in downtown Langley.

Downtown Langley

View from Downtown Langley.

Downtown Langley

We eventually decided upon buying some pizza for lunch at Village Pizzeria while everyone else dispersed their separate ways. After ordering a cheese pizza we had some time to kill, so Kimberly and I headed over to Second Street to check out a few more of the stores including the Langley Village Bakery. The smell inside the bakery was fantastic, so even though we had pizza that was being cooked for us, we both decided to buy some treats. Kimberly purchased a tres leches while I requested one of the cinnamon rolls and an almond cookie. There were a ton of cinnamon rolls in their display case, so I figured it must have been an item that they were well-known for; well, I was quite wrong. While the flavor itself of the cinnamon roll was decent, there was a very minimal amount of frosting so the bread was quite dry. The almond cookie on the other hand, was flaky, buttery, and very delicious!

Cinnamon roll from Langley Village Bakery.

We finally made our way back over to the pizza place. The pizza was decent; obviously not anywhere near close to the best we have ever eaten, but still good nonetheless. After we had finished eating, Kimberly indicated that she was quite tired and wanted to go back to the beach house and offered to bring the dogs with her while I continued to explore the area.

Pizza from Village Pizzeria in Langley

After leading Kimberly back to Highway 525, my first stop was the Whidbey Island Winery. Because most of Whidbey Island is located within a rain shadow, parts of the island are ideal for growing grapes. When I walked into the tiny tasting/showroom, there was no one inside. I thought for a moment that it might be closed until one of the workers came out into the room and greeted me. The winery offered a tasting of six wines for just $2 per person. The first wine I sampled was called Island White, which was a sweet white that I ended up purchasing a bottle of for $11. I also tried another white called Siegerrebe, along with a rose called Rosato, but the rest were all reds (Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah) which I am not a fan of. After finishing the tasting, I stayed around for a few minutes, talking to the worker about wines and the different places that I had traveled and sampled wines at.

Whidbey Island Winery

From the winery, I headed over to Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm, which is famous for once being the largest loganberry farm in the world. On the particular weekend that I visited, there was a special event called the Highland Games that was occurring on the grounds of the farm and which sounded very interesting to me. When I arrived, I was shocked to find hundreds of cars in the parking lot and an entrance fee of $8 per person which turned me off immediately. However, I did see lots of bagpipers in kilts and heard their beautiful music playing, which almost changed my mind regarding the steep entrance fee, but not quite enough. I decided to stop by again the following day when the festival was over so that I could actually visit the farm.

Next, I headed back towards the house, first stopping in at South Whidbey State Park. I parked the car and then took a short .5 mile hike down to the large but disappointing beach. It was covered in rocky pebbles and wasn’t too interesting, at least from a visual perspective. I’m sure that the lack of sunshine and overabundance of gray clouds played a role in my assessment, but it definitely wasn’t an overly impressive beach, blue skies or not!

South Whidbey State Park

After getting some exercise on the hike, I stopped in at a grocery store in order to pick up a few items for dinner before driving back to the beach house. Upon my arrival, I immediately went to go find Kimberly and the dogs, whom I quickly found sleeping on the bed in my room! I woke them all up, and then they left shortly thereafter and headed to the beach. I, on the other hand, went straight to bed as I was still quite exhausted and was in dire need of a nap. I slept for about 2.5 hours before finally waking up. After getting up, I helped everyone prepare dinner, which was a huge feast of several different BBQ options, pasta salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, guacamole, and a ton of other items. After eating way more than my share fair of food and causing myself to feel sick, the family headed out for a walk to the beach, where we hung out for about an hour. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing with the family, with lots more reminiscing about old memories and fun times.

Day 3 (Sunday, August 9th 2009)

After waking up for my final morning at the beach house, the first priority was to get the house back to the condition we had received it in. On our end, this involved a full hour of cleaning; it was astonishing to see how messy and disorganized the house had become after only two days. After we had completed the cleaning, I got ready to go and said goodbye to the dogs, who were going back home with Kimberly. As I drove away, the dogs looked at me pitifully from the door as though I was abandoning them; it was quite sad and I felt terrible for leaving them!

From the house in Freeland, my first stop was the Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm. Many years ago, the 522 acre farm was once the largest loganberry farm in the entire world. The farm was operated until 1996 when the owners shut it down. The following year, the county purchased the historic landmark and now operates a wine tasting room, cheese shop, and a multitude of art galleries within the grounds of the property.

Although the grounds were quite beautiful, especially situated next to a pond setting, the dreary gray clouds weren’t the most optimal for photo-taking, so I was quite displeased. I first wandered over to the cheese shop which, in addition to many types of cheeses, was also filled with a variety of eclectic food, including oils, soup mixes, dried meats, and spices to name just a few. Before leaving, I walked over to the pond area and took some photos of the surrounding gardens before finally taking off. I was slightly upset with the clouds and my inability to get any great shots of the property.

Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm

Next I drove about 15 minutes north to Coupeville, which was founded in 1852 and is the second-oldest town in the state of Washington. Within the small downtown area, there are 50 structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In fact, Coupeville holds the impressive title of having the largest historical preservation district in the country. When I learned of this information during my research for the trip, I was instantly drawn to the city and knew that I would have to spend at least a night in the town.

Coupeville

Upon my arrival in the city, I parked the car and then wandered around the downtown area on First Street. After peeking into several restaurants, I decided to eat at a place called Captain Jack's Hideout (formally known as the Mad Crab) as they had a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings listed on their menu which sounded delicious. As I arrived, I was promptly seated at a corner table with an awesome view of Penn Cove. As previously mentioned, I ordered the bacon cheeseburger topped with onion rings. The lunch entree came with a side of either soup or salad, and I opted for the New England style clam chowder. Unfortunately, I had to wait quite awhile for the food as the restaurant was short-staffed with only two servers. However, the wait was worth it as the food was delicious; the clam chowder was not made from a thick cream base but was still quite flavorful. My hamburger was huge, especially with the onion rings stacked on top, and was placed atop a Kaiser bun. I rarely ever eat hamburgers; in fact, I probably hadn’t ordered one in a restaurant for several years, but for some reason that day I had a craving for one. During my meal, the gray skies slowly began turning into blue skies, which made me incredibly happy since I hadn’t see one speck of sun during my trip.

Bacon Cheeseburger topped with onion rings from Captain Jack's Hideout in Coupeville.

Next I drove over to the Anchorage Bed and Breakfast, where I had a room reserved for the night. I checked into my small but functional room (the Chalcedony), I left and met up with Kimberly and the rest of the family.

Anchorage Bed and Breakfast in Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

Although I hadn’t planned on seeing my family again, they decided to meander their way up to Coupeville since they were still waiting on a load of laundry to finish. During our walk, we stopped in at an ice cream shop called Kapaws Iskreme where we each partook in eating some delightful ice cream.

Kapaws Iskreme in Coupeville

Afterward, the rest of my family headed back to the beach house, while I left downtown Coupeville in order to reach Fort Casey State Park. This military fort was once part of the Iron Triangle that guarded Puget Sound in the 1890’s (the other two were Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, and Fort Worden in Port Townsend). My main reason for visiting the State Park was to see the Admiralty Head Lighthouse, which was built in 1903 but only used until 1922. During my visit, I was able to tour the attached house, but I was not able to go up into the lighthouse as it was undergoing a renovation. Afterward, I walked down to the ammunition bunkers, where I wandered around the spooky and dark underground storage facilities.

Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island.

Admiralty Head Lighthouse in Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island.

Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island.

Instead of heading back into Coupeville, I decided to drive back to Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm again. Since the sun was out, I figured I could replace my disappointing photos from earlier in the day with much prettier ones. It wasn't too bad of a drive as it was only about 15 minutes away. When I reached the farm, there was hardly anyone on the grounds, so I was able to quickly take my photos without any obstructions.

Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm

Next, I drove back towards Coupeville, where I stopped in at Ebey’s Landing State Park. This park is part of the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve. This area of 17,500 acres was the first designated national historic reserve in America and was set-up in 1978 to ”protect a rural working landscape and community on Central Whidbey Island” (NPS.gov). At Ebey’s Landing State Park, I simply strolled the narrow beach for about 20 minutes, enjoying the views and the two passing cruise ships that were headed up to Alaska.

Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve on Whidbey Island.

After my quick detour to the beach, I headed back to B & B to rest for about 1.5 hours. While relaxing, I made 20:00 dinner reservations at a nearby restaurant called the Oystercatcher. When I later arrived at the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised to see a small but cozy place that was filled to the brim with customers. After conferring with the menus, I was planning on ordering the Roasted Chicken with a red gooseberry pan sauce and romano beans; however, upon placing my order, I was informed that they had sold out of the chicken. I panicked slightly for a moment, until the waitress told us that they had a cod special, which I decided to order instead. My entree came with a choice of soup or salad; I ordered the salad, which came with freshly shaved parmesan and thinly sliced radishes.

Exterior of Oystercatcher restaurant on Whidbey Island.

Salad from Oystercatcher restaurant on Whidbey Island.

After finishing the salad, they brought out my entree. The fish was surrounded by a light cream sauce, and placed atop a bed of vegetables, including French green beans, fingerling potatoes, and onions. The fish was light, flaky and absolutely delicious, especially with its perfectly pan-seared crunch.

Cod special from Oystercatcher restaurant on Whidbey Island.

For dessert, I requested an order of the Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau with salted caramel and toasted hazelnuts. The cake was unbelievable light, delicate, and moist; I made sure to dip each tiny bite that I ate in the caramel sauce, which tasted divine when it melted in my mouth. The salty caramel sauce perfectly complimented the very sweet cake and was literally one of the best desserts I had ever eaten in a restaurant. In total, I spent about $50 with tax and tip for a very satisfying and delicious meal.

Flourless Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau from Oystercatcher restaurant on Whidbey Island.

Day 4 (Monday, August 10th 2009)

As I had indicated the day before to the proprietors of the B & B that I would be at the 8:30 breakfast, I woke up at 8:00 but barely had enough time to get ready. When I sat down, I was shocked to see how fancy the setting of breakfast was; there was formal china plates, crystal wine glasses, star-shaped butter, and fancy-shaped napkins. For breakfast, I was served melon, kiwi, blueberry loaf bread, and a spinach and egg quiche with chicken and apple sausage. As I ate, I happened to initiate conversation with the couple that was sitting across from me. Through our discussions about the horrid rainy weather outside, I found out that the husband, like myself, was also an avid amateur photographer. As a result, the two of us talked for a great detail about photography.

After breakfast, I checked out of the hotel and headed north up to Deception Pass. Deception Pass Bridge connects Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island and was built between 1934-1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Surrounding the bridge is Deception Pass State Park which is 4,134-acres large and is one of the most popular state parks to visit in the state. I had planned on doing a good deal of hiking, but due to the dreary and wet weather I decided against doing that. Instead, I found a short .2 mile hike near North Beach to complete that allowed me to view the underside of Deception Pass Bridge. Afterward, I drove across the bridge and stopped to park the car in an area on the north side of the bridge. From here, I walked slightly downhill in order to obtain some more photos of the bridge. One thing that stood out to me was the gorgeous emerald-colored water that sparkled from beneath the bridge. Had it been sunny out, the bridge would have been even more beautiful; alas, I was still able to appreciate its beauty on the very cloudy day that I visited.

Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island.

From the park, I headed home, with a few stops along the way.

Although the weather was not as cooperative as I would have liked, we all concurred that we had a great weekend trip to Whidbey Island. I mentioned several times during the trip to my family that I simply could not believe that we had never taken the time to visit the island as it is less than an hour from where we live. There are so many different options of things to see and do on the island; my personal favorites were the historic town of Coupeville, the Bayview Farmer’s Market near Freeland, and the Admiralty Head Lighthouse at Fort Casey State park in Coupeville. While one could easily tour the entire island in less than a day, those who spend a night or two will be able to slow down and feel the true “island time” where life is simple, enjoyable and very relaxing. Its definitely a place I will be heading back to more often in the near future.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Whidbey Island (Langley, Freeland, Coupeville, and Deception Pass State Park)

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