bobanddenisewanderlust

We decided to go to Whidbey Island today. We drove north to Hwy 20 then followed the road south through the Island. Our first stop was the overlook on the south side of the Deception Pass Bridge to look at the bridge. We walked out onto the bridge and looked both south and north. 

Our second stop was the “A Knot In Thyme” farm. Only 9 acres, so there was not much there. Their lavender was just starting to bloom.

We continued on to Oak Harbor, where we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center to find out more about the town. We went out to the bay, and there we found a Dutch Windmill.

Evidently they have decided to use a Dutch theme in town, as there was also a Dutch Inn. In the park, there was this swimming area and a wading pool.

Even when the temperatures where in the 70’s, I can’t image getting in this cold, cold water!

We continued further south towards the town of Coupeville. We stopped at the ‘Lavender Wind Farm’. They had a big ad and showed a lot on the farm map, like a maze and various plants. Unfortunately, it was just another small farm, whose lavender is not yet in bloom.

Coupeville was a cute little town right on the bay. We wandered through a few shops, then drove west to Ft. Casey. This was the Fort with a campground, right next to where the ferry comes to the island. The Admiralty Head Lighthouse is located within the park, and we had seen the lighthouse from the ferry yesterday.

The lighthouse originally was a wooden building which sat to the south of the current location. It operated from 1861 until Ft. Casey was established and its Fresnel lens moved to the Admiralty Head Lighthouse in 1903 when the new, stronger building was built. Ft. Casey was one of 3 forts built to protect the Puget Sound and the Bremerton Naval Base from foreign invaders; in service from 1901 to 1919.  The fort’s strength was in the 7, 10” diameter  mounted guns on disappearing carriages.

We ate our picnic lunch at the picnic tables in the park. Then we drove through the state park campground. We had seen the campground from the ferry yesterday and we were curious. There were no hook-ups and the cost was $22, but it would have been worth the view!

We continued south on Rt. 525 to Freeland, as Rt. 20 turned  and crosses at the ferry to Port Townsend. Freeland started in 1900 as an experiment in socialism. For $10 down, people received 5 acres of land. They would pay the rest of what they owed from the profits of all the landowners. The project eventually ended, leaving just the name of the town. We continued south on Rt. 525. Our next stop was the Bay View Historic Corner. The Bay View Cash Store was built on this site in 1924, along with the local school and hall. This created a community crossroads. The place was pretty busy, for just a little market. Behind the market was a wine tasting room, featuring wines from 3 different vineyards. Unfortunately, it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Also behind the market was a common room with WiFi and an ongoing scrabble game, what a nice touch!

The road through Bay View continuing on to Langley.

Langley is another cute, small bay front town with small shops and restaurants. We stopped in at the Dutch Shop, which had some nice items. Most of these towns look the same!

We continued southward to Clinton and ended up in the line for the ferry. We had to quickly make a right turn onto a dead end road and turn around to get out of the ferry line. We wanted to see the light house across the bay, so we took another dead end road that took us down to the bay. We looked with the binoculars and could not find the light house. So we went back north and took another road south to the very tip of the island. From the state park at this point, we were able to see the Mukilteo Lighthouse. It is right next to the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry landing. It was too far away to obtain a decent picture.

We returned north, stopping at the ‘Greenbank Farm for a wine tasting, cheese tasting, and some awesome pie.  This is their barn and here are some of the flowers. 

This farm was having a Loganberry Festival this weekend, but we thought if we were here early, we would not have to return. Bob had a slice of the Marionberry and I had the Loganberry pie.

We returned towards LaConnor, but went past the road to the Thousand Trails,  and on to the UPS warehouse in Burlington. I had ordered a camera wrap for my Nikon, and UPS had not delivered it to the Post Office in LaConnor as addressed. Instead I had to go pick it up, as they would not accept an address change or my request to deliver it to where it was addressed.  When we arrived at the UPS warehouse, the worker lectured me, telling me that they deliver to the Post Office. I had him check his computer, and sure enough it was listed as being located on his shelves, having been returned to the warehouse against UPS rules.  Oh well, so much for UPS rules…

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