Deception Pass and Friday Harbor: Whidbey Island, WA Part 2

With our last two days along the coast, we took every opportunity to seek out and enjoy the unique sights of the Pacific Northwest and eat fresh seafood.  We managed to spend a day checking out the rest of Whidbey Island and a day exploring Puget Sound and Friday Harbor.  We even got in a few last ocean sunsets.

After waking up to a stereotypical Pacific Northwest coastal day of overcast clouds, mist and sea fog, we decided to have a lazy morning and wait for things to clear.  After lunch, the weather started looking better so we headed off with our friends, Bryan and Karen, to check out Deception Pass and find a quaint seafood place for an early supper.  You probably remember Bryan and Karen from our previous posts.  They were at the rally with us and  we were able to join up with them for another few days.   Deception Pass connects  Whidbey Island with Fidalgo Island. It is spanned by two WPA-era bridges, one short and one long.  We walked back and forth and underneath. What a terrific view.

After walking the bridge, we hiked down to the bottom to North Beach. The hike was rainforest-like and the view of the bridge from the beach was magnificent.

We drove on to Coupeville for seafood at Toby’s Tavern.  Fried clam strips was our experiment this time.  They were awesome.  But probably spoiled us for future clam strips as they were fresh from the local bay that day.  Back home in time to catch another fantastic sunset.

The next day started out slightly overcast, but cleared quickly.  Our day’s adventure was hosted by our friends, Brian and Kelli.  They had invited us along with Kelli’s brother, Jeff, to visit Friday Harbor.  It is a town on San Juan Island.  As the story goes, a sea captain, while entering the harbor, saw a man on shore and called, “What bay is this?” The man on shore thought he said, “What day is this?” so he answered “Friday.”.  Great story whether exactly true or not! Getting to the island requires a one hour ferry ride.  Now those of you that know Jennifer understand she is not a great fan of boats, in fact, she avoids them.  However, being the true adventurer she is, she tackled her aversion and came aboard.  It is a large ferry that handles cars and even semis.  The ride was calm, breezy and I think she actually enjoyed it.  We even went out on deck to watch the scenery.

The town is all built on the hills rising up from the harbor and full of lots of colorful buildings.  We walked around the town, visited some shops and stopped in at the Whale Museum.  There are a couple of pods of Orca that inhabit the local waters, but we did not see any. Not really the right time of year.  

The main event was lunch at Downriggers.  Kelli had made reservations there and we sat out on the patio with a great view of the harbor and marina.  We managed to cross off another seafood selection as we all shared a plate of baked oysters.  This was out last opportunity for fresh seafood and we really enjoyed the oysters.  For those of you counting, we managed to try eight new kinds of seafood.  They were all delicious, though we think we are spoiled now with fresh seafood and it will be tough to beat.

The ride back was another calm one.  Brian and Kelli said that because the Sound is so sheltered, the water is calm most of the time, unless there is a storm.  The skies had completely cleared and the scenery was amazing.  There were a lot of other boats out on the water and we all had fun watching them.

Our last night at an RV park usually involves picking up, getting organized, unhooking and general housekeeping.  We did manage to enjoy one last beautiful sunset.

It was so great to see Brian and Kelli again, we had a ton of fun and look forward to our next adventure with them.  It was also fun to see Bryan and Karen one more time before we go our separate ways. We will see them this winter if their plans bring them our way.

Next time, from oceans to mountains and one of our favorite places in the U.S.