So, it’s been a hot minute, and I apologize this post has taken so long! I hope to make it up to you dear readers by an overloading of pictures and some lovely tips for a day of fun over on Whidbey Island!

This was a semi-sporadic/slightly planned outing in that we originally thought we would be traveling in a certain way there and visiting a couple of places we actually did not and instead found alternate routes and other activities to enjoy which enabled us to be out of the car more and still be able to travel to the Island this particular weekend.

If the above sounds slightly complicated and confusing I, again, apologize. To elaborate: there are multiple ways to get onto Whidbey Island.

Route #1 Port Townsend/Coupeville

is the more obvious way to travel when going from Bainbridge Island to Whidbey Island. However, to take this boat one has to purchase tickets beforehand. Which entails planning. and timing the home departure meticulously. Something not so easy to do with three little kiddos and a dog… and a spouse who has a demanding job (leaving weekend events to not be thoroughly discussed adequately enough to make a timed out itinerary). Which is what happened for this weekend in March.

We waited too long to purchase ferry tickets and all the morning sailings were booked by the time we were working through the details of the trip (the night before, ha!) So I hopped on the computer to research the other routes to Whidbey and was pleasantly surprised to see there was another route which would take relatively the same amount of time from Island to Island. It also meant taking an extra ferry boat, and if you know me, you know I’m never upset about an extra sailing!

Route Option #2: Clinton/Mukilteo Ferry

So we took our regular ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle and then drove up to Mukilteo to hop on the 10:30 ferry to Clinton on Whidbey Island.

The day was absolutely lovely! And we brought the Nintendo Switch for the kids to “switch” taking turns with for the thirty minute segments of the trip because it takes about thirty minutes on our boat to Seattle. And from Seattle to Mukilteo took about thirty minutes that day with the traffic at minimum. The sailing from Mukilteo to Clinton is then about thirty minutes. Giving each kid an equal amount of time to play and get out on the ferry boats :-)

To put the routes into perspective: from Bainbridge to Port Townsend is generally a little over an hour, with the ferry crossing over from Port Townsend to Coupeville taking a little over thirty minutes. Hence: route 1 and 2 for us was basically the same amount of time Island to Island! Making the day actually happen for us, and adding places to our itinerary we otherwise probably would not have ventured to, which was actually a big plus for me!

A quick side-note about the third route to Whidbey Island, if you want to avoid a lot of ferry boats (for some crazy reason!) or if you want to do a giant loop:

There is a way to drive onto the Island (and/or off the Island) by going through Deception State Park. I would Love to say more about this route, it was originally on our itinerary (we were going to leave earlier and do a giant loop, but alas that just wasn’t in the cards for this day… stay tuned, as I hope to make it up there this summer!) For those interested in what the original thought was: I planned on taking the Port Townsend Ferry, exploring Fort Casey, shooting down to the dog beach, then over to Coupeville for ice-cream, and ending the adventures up in Deception State Park where we could take the bridge across after exploring the park for a bit. And drive back to Seattle for dinner and to take our regular ferry boat home.

But, like I said, things didn’t go “According to Plan… A” ;-)

We started our adventures with a leisure ferry boat ride from our Island to Seattle and a lovely little drive over to

Mukilteo.

My favorite bit about getting to go to Mukilteo was the Mukilteo Lighthouse Park! It’s worth arriving early for the ferry just to be able to get out of the car, stretch your legs, and explore this cute space! I love lighthouses. I love old buildings with rich histories. To live in a lighthouse is definitely on my bucketlist. Or at least to have the chance to stay the night in one! Maybe I get that from watching Pete’s Dragon one too many times as a kid, but either way I think they’re fascinating structures which I will never get tired of.

The boat ride from Mukilteo to Clinton is about twenty-five minutes. And is absolutely gorgeous! We didn’t spy any whales during our crossing but we all kept our eyes peeled, and I suggest doing the same if you go this route. You never know what you might see! (Someone let loose a rabbit at the fairgrounds in Langley a few years back, and, to put it simply, now you can find bunnies everywhere around there! check the picture below:)

Next we drove through Clinton and up along following the water a bit to the little town of:

Langley.

This town is so cute y’all. And, again, it was not part of our original plan. And, again, so glad the plans changed! The shops which line the two main streets are nothing short of utterly charming. Take a few minutes to stroll, peruse the local shops, and find a good cup of coffee or tea at one of the many options. The walking path along the waterfront yields plenty opportunities to scope for local marine life. Which is right up my kids’ alley, and honestly they probably would have been good with just doing this! They really got into it ;-)

Langley has even transformed the old local Firehouse there into a glassblowing studio, check out their website: Callahan’s Firehouse.

And right next door to the Firehouse is where we lunched/brunched at the Useless Bay Coffee Company. The food was delicious and the coffee/chai was SO good! I highly recommend getting the cheeseburger if that’s your type of food, because we all were in some serious food envy of our oldest child’s lunch order, I mean check out that burger!! Doesn’t it just look amazing?!

Most delicious Cheeseburger we’ve found to date

It became very apparent very quickly that Whidbey Island is the place to go to be surrounded by fellow whale lovers. They go all in in their whale watching endeavors and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the nods (big and small) to some of our favorite marine life. Topping the charts of favorites was probably the bells set up anyone can ring if they do in fact “Spy a Whale.” And these are insanely tempting and difficult for children not to play with! We were able to, barely, keep our kids from ringing them.

I must say, though, I would have been amused if they had managed it… I could only imagine what happens when those bells get rung: the flocking of the entire town to the sounds at a streaming pace. And then the urgent scoping out of the water for the treasured sight of dorsal fins rising high above the waters. What a community to be a part of to be sure!

If you’ve got the time: check out the Langley Whale Center and take a stroll along Seawall Park! You won’t be disappointed, even if you aren’t gifted an opportunity to see the majestic whales journeying up the Sound.

After some posing, pictures, and ushering children back to the car it was time for our next stop:

Double Bluff Beach

And the entire reason we brought the dog.

Because: Giant, sandy expanse of beach covered in driftwood logs. And designated off leash space for your canine companions! Oh Em Gee. Did our dog go absolutely nuts!

This has been the largest beach we’ve gone to up here in the PNW so far (yes, I know, we really need to make it out to the coast… maybe this summer will be the chance for us to get out there!). But for a semi-local, day trip location, this beach is pretty spectacular. Especially since it’s not only dog friendly but most of the beach is off-leash space.

The kids had an absolute blast, got thoroughly sandy, found treasure in the form of worn sea-smooth sticks, and were all too ready for our next stop…

Next stop… Ice-cream!!

Coupeville

You. Guys! Oh man. I’m still dreaming about this ice-cream. I’m not sure if it was the perfect culmination of day, exhaustion, and imbibing in a sweet-tooth craving. But I swear this is the best ice-cream I have ever tasted. And I’ve tasted a lot of ice-cream. So, if you’re making the trip to Coupeville, I highly recommend getting a scoop (or three!) from Kapaws Iskreme and then taking a little stroll down to the wharf.

Wolf Tracks is the best flavor. I’m just gonna go ahead and claim it. okay?

Kids enjoying ice cream bites in between searching for whales!

The original plan for the day was to head from Coupeville up to Deception State Park and then either loop around to Seattle or drive back to Fort Casey. But the day was edging into the later afternoon and we had a fairly tired crew. So we decided to see if we could get one of the (very limited) drive on spots on the Port Townsend/Coupeville ferry. Because, like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, this is a ferry where it’s highly encouraged to buy sailing tickets beforehand. Means you have a guaranteed spot for your designated sailing time. This is recommended for both ways on these ferry boats. But if you do miss a sailing there are a very limited (maybe 10-15 spaces) available for those who don’t have pre-purchased tickets to drive on.

We missed the first boat that was loading but were in a definite spot to make the next sailing so we decided to stretch our legs one last time and explore

Fort Casey.

Maybe it was hitting the Fort right for the beginning and peak of Golden Hour for springtime. Or maybe it was just the relaxed pace of the park. But this walk took my breath away and left me in awe. I mean I had to FaceTime my parents from the park, y’all, just to share it with them! Because I couldn’t see how sending a picture would do it justice.

Every few minutes it the magical element just grew. And I walked it wishing with each step the thirty minutes we had could stretch magically into an hour. Someone could just bring our dinner to us here. And I’d be okay with that.

Kids were flying kites. Families were scattered about. And yet I felt in my own little bubble with my children, dog, and husband. Walking some little slice of discovery all uniquely our own.

If you’re like me and lighthouse exploration is a must on your list, be sure to check the times of when this lovely space is open for public over on their website: Fort Casey - this also has lovely little historical facts about this fort and time here. I highly recommend taking a few minutes just to get acquainted with its history.

We wound our way back through the battlements and structural pieces of the Fort, rushed to the bathroom, and made it inside the car right as our ferry docked at the terminal.

And, then, we were off, sailing right into Golden Hour to Port Townsend for Dinner.

What joy!

What a day!

I’ll try to be posting more adventures at a more frequent space over here, so sign up for notifications! And I’ll try to get some more PNW trips for families with littles into your inbox a bit more than once every few months! ;-)

Sunset over Point Hudson Marina in Port Townsend