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| Driving on the Ferry at Mulkiteo for a short trip across Possession Sound |
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A look back at Mulkiteo
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| Looking South down Possession sound to Puget Sound, That point on the right is Possession Point on Whidbey, to the left is the mainland. |
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| Approaching the Ferry Landing at Clinton |
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| This Eagle was awaiting our arrival at the Ferry Landing in Clinton |
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| Forest like these all over the PNW |
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| Whidbey being the Largest of the Islands in Puget Sound also has the most agriculture, lots of small family farms. Also because it has the most flat land. |
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| It took Three of us to finish off this big bowl of Penn Cove muscles, Best Ever! |
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| Ebby's Landing, I think it is absolutely amazing how they get your Automobile pictured on this seemingly low tech poster. |
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| I am sure there are lots of stories of this Coupeville Wharf here on Penn Cove |
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| A look back at the Coupville Waterfront |
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| Did'nt have time to checkout the house at the end of the Wharf, maybe next time. |
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| Looking West toward the end of Penn Cove, this is where our lunch of Penn Cove muscles came from! |
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| You find Mooring Balls through out the Islands and even on a day like this you will see sailboats and their crew taking advantage of another great PNW weekend. |
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| Coupeville, the family truckster on the left. |
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| On the way back to the Ferry we stopped in Langley, a small historic village. |
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| At Langley looking South East with Camino Island on the left and Geoney Island in the distance |
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| Looking Northwest up Saratoga Passage |
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| Did not have time to walk the trail. |
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| The presence of the Native Spirit is very important to the present day inhabitants. |
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| Some cool hotels at Langley |
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| Looking back as we Leave Whidbey at Clinton, cold not help but wonder if the West side of the Island that is exposed to the Straits of Juan De Fuca has the same type of development since it is exposed to some of the worst weather in the Sound. |
Day Trip to Whidbey Island
My Daughter is a Planner, we just did not realize this till we committed to coming up to Seattle to help out with our new grandson Drew. We are all flying back to Texas in a month or so and she wanted to do a Road Trip Trial with this 5 month old. Well we understand Sea Trials where you take your vessel out for a overnighter to check out all the systems and make sure everything is performing as required for a safe trip as well as check out the skippers preparedness as well. Same Thing here. She plans on making the drive from Austin to Ft. Worth so D can meet his Great Grandparents and so this day trip to Whidbey Island will take about the same amount of time one way. We stowed all the baby gear in the family truckster and headed North down I-5 to Mulkiteo. I thought we were headed further North near Anacortes where you can take a bridge over to Whidbey. I really wanted to drive over the bridge that we had traveled under on several occasions when we were on the Victoria Clipper and went through Deception Pass.
She realized I was near the exit for Mulkiteo and reminded me to exit, that is when I learned we were taking the Ferry over as it would take to much time to go that far North since it was not planned. OK, I'm just happy to be here and I like Ferry rides over any body of water anyway. She and Russell had been to Whidbey several times when they were looking for Island property to build a summer home, so they knew their way around. It was a cold rainy day but so what, it's the PNW! The Father took advantage of his day off to go snow hiking in the Cascades near Snoqualmie Pass so this was the best time to do this Sea Trial.
We took a leisurely drive from Clinton to Coupeville, about 1/2 the distance of "
Whidbey Island is approximately 35 miles (56 km) long (from the extreme north to extreme south, and 1.5 to 12 miles (2.4 to 19.3 km) wide, with 168.67 square miles (436.9 km2),[3] making it the 40th largest island in the United States. It is ranked as the fourth longest and fourth largest island in the contiguous United States, behind Padre Island, Texas (the world's longest barrier island)": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Island
The island is so long it has three different climate zones affected by all things PNW and primarily the Strait of Juan De Fuca which runs smack dab at the center of the island and the Fraser River Valley which affects the North end of the Island. We have a Sailor friend in Corpus, Johnny Huddelston, who was stationed at the Navel Air Station and by his many comments about living up here I have sort of deciphered what it must be like in the winters on the North end of Whidbey, but I still want to see it and especially drive over the bridge at Deception Pass!
Each of the islands we have visited have their own unique flavor and Whidbey is the same except the island is sort of split North and South due to different economies. The North Half is more affulent due to a Navel Air Station and all the activities surrounding it. The Southern half is more small agricultural and tourist based.
We stopped at Christopher's for Lunch in Coupville and as my daughter had planned we got there just before the doors opened. We had a nice leisurely lunch on the Famous Penn Cove Muscles scooped up from the waters near by and Baby Drew was happy all the way through. 1st half of trial a success.
We stopped in at Langley on our way back to the Ferry to check out this spot that the Admiral and I want to see again when we have the time to perhaps stay overnight at one of the quint hotels or bed and breakfest.
Most of the islands in Puget Sound are cruisers dreams since everyone is a boater and very friendly to those traveling by boat by having nice anchorages, marinas or a mooring ball and fun stuff to do ashore. A lot of local History and just one example is Ebby's Landing :
http://www.nps.gov/ebla/index.htm
We were back on the Ferry in good time and back in Drew's terrarium in plenty of time for his evening meal.
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