Whidbey Island / Drive to Kirkland

Thursday, September 8

The next morning, we got up and broke camp, with the goal of a nice morning hike in Deception Pass State Park. And we were not disappointed. We first hiked to Little North Beach, where you can see Vancouver Island on the far-away horizon and the bridge to Whidbey Island in the other direction. 

Then we went up the mountain toward Goose Rock, where we were treated to beautiful views of the Puget Sound waterways surrounding Whibey Island. The forests in the morning sunshine were also lovely.

After that, we drove the length of Whidbey Island until we got to the southern tip. We poked around Langley for a bit to stretch our legs and window shop. And we also found the cute little town of Freeland, where we did a little wine tasting. Auggie was allowed in this shop, which was great. I could let him snooze on the floor while I talked to the cool woman behind the counter and the other folks tasting with me. Turns out the owner is a lawyer, who practiced international law in Kazahkstan for 12 years! When she came back to the States about six years ago, she knew she didn’t want to practice law again here in the U.S. She and her husband decided to start growing grapes, and voila, there you have it – their label, Spoiled Dog, was born. 

Not only did I like the Spoiled Dog moniker (there was one of those snoozing lazily at my feet), but I also liked the spirit of complete turn-arounds that this woman represented. Career change mid-life? That’s a spirit that I can appreciate on this journey, and I thanked her for her inspiration.

They also had nice wines – I liked the Syrah the best (welcome to red country!), so bought a bottle of that in memory of a good afternoon’s conversation.  

Then it was off the few miles to the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry, which would take me back to the mainland and off to Laura and Jeff’s house. I was targeting to be there about 6.30 that evening.

I arrived in Kirkland close to my target time. (Kirkland is on the other side of Lake Washington from Seattle.) Laura, Jeff and their kids, Owen and Fiona, were there to greet me. It had been a year since I’d seen them all, and it was great to see them again.

We had some light dinner, I gave them all a tour of the Champagne Chevy, and then it was off to bed for the kids, which gave Laura, Jeff and me a little time to catch up. But the travel had caught up with me, so the adults went to sleep shortly afterwards, too. Was very nice to sleep in a warm cozy bed again and have a real shower. Little things certainly mean a lot these days … J