whidbey island.

This week Cathy and Pat have given us the gift of freedom. Our kids are having a blast and I’ve rarely seen them so uninterested in having attention from David and me. So we’ve been free to hole up and read books or escape for an evening walk or a morning in downtown Ballard — whatever we feel in the mood for. It’s been so very restful.

Yesterday we drove 30 minutes to the coast and took a ferry to Whidbey Island for the day. The sun shines bright here each day now, but it’s still breezy. We wear sweatshirts in the morning and gradually shed clothes during the day as the sun warms everything up.

Cathy told us about a hidden-away coffee shop on Whidbey, which we searched for as soon as we crossed over. We wound our way deeper into the woods until we were certain we were lost, then turned onto a tiny little tree-lined road, and at the end was a coffee roasting company — part warehouse, part log cabin — with a bustling cafe and a secret garden patio. We ate a hot breakfast and took time sipping coffee and reading.

At 58 miles long, Whidbey is the longest island in the continental U.S., so it took us an hour to drive up to Deception Pass at the northern tip. The fog cleared away while we walking the beach, rocks crunching underfoot and we could see mountains all around.

After Deception Pass, we made our way back south. We stopped at the little sea town of Coupeville to explore and find something to eat. We walked out on the dock and ducked in antique shops and finally settled ourselves at a wine shop on the water.

We sampled six Washington wines, some local cheese, and oysters. I might have topped our tasting off with a couple dark chocolate truffles. Then we drove to Double Bluff, where David went on a two-mile walk and I settled myself at a picnic table with a book.

I sat there with the golden evening sun warm on my back, surrounded by families with children happily splashing in the tide pools, the wide stretch of blue water studded with boats and paddle boards, towering evergreens along the cliffs, and on the horizon snow-capped Mt. Baker. There was grass and sand and rocks and water and greenery and piles of driftwood. So much color and contrast and beauty all in one place.

As the sun set, we made our way to Langley, a town on the south of Whidbey. One of our favorite parts of the day was all the different glimpses of the island we saw. Everything from beachfront vacation homes to wild cliffs to suburban stretches with McDonald’s and Home Depot. On the road to Langley we passed stretches of organic family farms with vine-covered greenhouses, straight out of a food memoir.

We bought slices of cheese pizza from Village Pizzeria in downtown Langley, and ate them outside on the sidewalk with a view of the water spread out below us. Then we finished our evening with a movie at the little local theater down the street.

We got home at 11:30 last night and fell into bed exhausted and with such happy memories of our adventure. Thanks Cathy, Annie, and Pat!