Wandering To Whidbey Island

The first of our excursions here in Washington is to Whidbey Island where Jim’s daughters live.  We started up I-5 catching views of the Cascade Mountains to the east and north with snow covered Mt. Baker peeking out from behind them.  The persisting sunny and warm weather of California and Oregon continues to amaze us here in Washington, which is infamous for its rain.

Moving north and west from Mt. Vernon toward the island, water appears in all directions framed by mountains and trees.  There are lakes, inland sloughs and waterways with boats enjoying the pleasant weather on a Sunday and the traffic tells us everyone wants to be outside.  We cross the inlet called Deception Pass and people line the bridge on both sides gazing down at the swirling water and photographing boats navigating its currents.  I have done this too in the past on the narrow footpath across the bridge, but it makes me nervous with the traffic at this height above the water.

Whidbey Island is a Naval base for the military and evidence of their popularity is visible from roadside signs to businesses touting a welcome to our sailors.  Jim’s grandson was in the Navy as was my father, so we enjoy seeing the support they receive here for their efforts.

We shared a great Italian lunch with Shari and Jason, met their dogs, cat and “the girls” (four lovely chickens that produce beautiful eggs by the way.)  Shari’s kitchen gave me ideas for painting ours in Florida creating a desire to be back there to start some work on ours this winter.  Funny how eventually being on the road yields to the desire to be back in our home.  That must be my feminine, nest-building genes expressing themselves!  I am kicking myself over not taking photos of Jason and Shari while we were there, but will do so before we depart.

After we leave, we wind down through La Conner, where Jim lived in Shelter Bay with its beautiful marina and where hay is being gathered in the nearby fields once covered with tulips in the spring.  La Conner is quaint-a former fishing town, which is now a huge tourist attraction with its trendy boutiques, antique stores, restaurants and ice cream/coffee shops.  This is another one of those places that tug on my heartstrings to settle into in a tiny little house with a white picket fence lined with flowers and a speck of lawn-a place where one would light up a fire and sip a warm cup of coffee on a long, rainy, winter afternoon.

We continue back south and over the Skagit River through Burlington to I-5.  Still busy with traffic, we cut east off the Interstate toward Arlington.  Here we pass a stable once owned by Jim that still operates today boarding horses and providing an indoor arena.  It is nice to join visual memories to stories I have heard.  If only we had met years before, I could have joyously managed this business surrounding the very core of my childhood loves-horses and stables while Jim worked at his insurance agency.  The smells of horses and straw, leather tack and wood all serve to bring back happy memories of days spent in such places at the age of 14.

Last, but not least, we pass over the Stillaguamish River and see people playing along its shores and floating downstream in huge inner tubes.  In the slanting rays of the late afternoon sun they enjoy the glorious summer that has come to Washington this year and it is a good thing.