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Pacific Northwest Tour: Whidbey Island

In my five years living in Seattle, I’ve visited many parts of the Pacific Northwest, but still haven’t made it to some of the most talked-about areas.  Last weekend I decided to day trip to one of those places – Whidbey Island – and I wasn’t disappointed.

I drove north of Whidbey Island on I-5 and came down onto the island across Deception Pass.  When I first arrived, heavy fog blanketed the area.  I couldn’t see one end of the bridge from the other or anywhere close to the water below me.  By the time I hiked a couple hours through Deception Pass State Park, though, the fog had lifted.  These two shots capture the change pretty well:

The area is simply beautiful.  The water was blue and clear and the islands make an excellent backdrop.

I drove south from Deception Pass to Ebey’s Landing, the start of another hike I’d like to take in the future.  By now the weather was perfect and the Olympic peninsula and mountain range made for a great backdrop.  I didn’t see any whales surfacing but hopefully will on another trip.

I kept driving south through the island and took the ferry from Clinton to Mukilteo and back to Seattle to finish a great day (with a stop at Albertson’s for my favorite summer beer: Kona Brewery Longboard.  Kona also makes my favorite winter beer: Pipeline Porter).

Check out the rest of my photos here.