Whidbey Island, Washington : Pacific Northwest's Gem in Camouflage

"So you guys came to Whidbey Island for a day trip?" The owner of an ice cream shop located in the middle of nowhere on Washington State Route 20 asked.
  

Early evening at the Whidbey Island

My friend Will told her "yes, just a day trip". I told her "yes, we are just Day Trippers". Apparently I was making a vague reference to the Beatles' song "Day Tripper", which Will and I were listening right before we got off the car and went into the ice cream shop. Oh well, looked like the owner didn't get it.

Shot of the ocean from a cliff

The real reason why she asked the question, was that she tried to sell us whale watching and island expedition tours she also happened to run next time we make a day trip to Whidbey Island again.

So it was a tour company in the disguise of an ice cream shop?

The beautiful scenery is in sharp contrast to how dangerous these reefs are to early explorers

Speaking of disguise, Whidbey Island is no stranger to it. When Captain George Vancouver and his sailor Joseph Whidbey first explored the Puget Sound region, they thought Skagit Bay, which is in the immediate east of Whidbey Island was a dead end.  The second time Whidbey explored the region a couple of months later, he realized that the shallow, narrow channel on the northernmost part of the island which was named after Whidbey himself actually connects the Skagit Bay to the Pacific Ocean. When Whidbey told George Vancouver about his discovery, Vancouver said: "What a deceptive passage!"

Giant Rocks

Today that deceptive passage Vancouver was referring to has become the site of the most visited state park in the State of Washington. Deception Pass State Park is also home to one of the most photographed landmarks in the Pacific Northwest: The Deception Pass Bridge. 

The Deception Pass Bridge, which spans over the passage that deceived Vancouver and his men

Once crossing the bridge from Fidalgo Island, we reached Whidbey Island. The main reason why Will and I were brought to Whidbey Island was a part of our plan to do a "town hopping" day trip in an area neither of us had been to or heard of during the Easter long weekend. It turned out that Washingtonians were no strangers to Whidbey Island as many decided to spend their long weekend on the Island just like we did.

A carving of a Coastal Salish woman at the Deception Pass State Park

Whidbey Island is a unique place to present the kind of Pacific Coast beauty you don't find anywhere else. It has very rugged coastline and treacherous cliffs that reminded me of Ireland rather than everywhere else I had been to along the West Coast. It was rich in history and packed with all sorts attractions, considering the island is only 60 miles long and 30 miles wide. 

A cliff that reminded me of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

The first town we went was Oak Harbor. It was the largest town on the island. Oak Harbor was the home to a Naval Air Station, and a tiny yet interesting downtown. As someone whose grandfather used to work for an military airplane designing firm, I grew up seeing all sorts of military aircrafts. When I heard all those fighter jets wuthering above my head, it instantly brought me back to the days when my grandfather took me on his bicycle to see the fighter jets at that time. 

An Islander statue in Downtown Oak Harbor

Downtown Oak Harbor occupied only two main streets, yet it was packed with full of history. The town was found back in 1851 and is one of the earliest settlements on the Pacific Coast. The nearby Seattle, which is much more well- known and attracts way more tourists, was found more than a decade later after Oak Harbor was incorporated. Along the side walks in downtown, marine themed statues were decorated by the locals with items such as straw hats and flowers, which was really pleasant to see.

A Mermaid Statue in Downtown Oak Harbor

While New York has the Lady Liberty, Oak Harbor has the Lady Ducks

At the waterfront, there was a windmill built as a monument to celebrate the town's Dutch community and heritage. In the surrounding area, there were trails where local residents jogging with their dogs; playgrounds where little children enjoying their playtime with others; and baseball diamonds where fathers were yelling at their sons, not because their sons were bad, but because they were very proud to see their sons becoming better players each and every single day.

The Windmill at the Windjammer Park

The people and the lifestyle overall on Whidbey Island were more similar to what one would imagine seeing in Western films or the Cowboy country : Harley Davidson riders roaring in the middle of the countryside highways where cows and horses were eating quietly and totally unaware of the noisy visitors. Commercial buildings were built in the Saloon style just like those in a Western movie. Will and I decided to stop by a local pizzeria that specialized in making hand tossed pizza, even the pizza I ordered was called "John Wayne": mushrooms, olives, some sausages, and lots of cheese.

Business Buildings at waterfront Coupeville

The next town  was even smaller and more interesting. Coupeville was home to a number of historic buildings. The businesses there  were mostly owned by the locals. The setting of the town made me feel like I was in rural Europe or somewhere East Coast rather than in the Pacific Northwest. Seriously, the city hall was one of the most humble and definitely the smallest I have ever seen. I think most Coupeville residents had  larger garages than that tiny little city hall. 

Public Green Space in Coupeville

Residential houses in Coupeville

A Historic Home in Coupeville

Driving down south on the Main Street, the beauty of Ebey's landing shined through every single window of the car. Eventually we hit the Fort Casey State Park. Will and I were stunned by what we saw: the high peaks on the Olympic Peninsula hiding behind the evening cloud. Across the channel, the town of Port Townsend was already covered by shimmering lights and waiting for dusk to draw the curtain and call it a day. A few steps just in front of us, was a sea of yellow flowers decorating the green floor gifted by the mother nature through the abundant rain in the area. The spot we were standing, and the structure below our feet which our bare eyes couldn't see at the time was the mighty Fort Casey. 

Ebey's Landing

Most of Fort Casey was built under the green grass carpet, which serves as a camouflage

Me climbing a ladder from a dark bit to the surface

Will and I never expected to see a military fort on our Easter weekend town hopping trip. People of all ages were exploring through the dark tunnels not with lights, but with curiosity and fun.Along the edges of the fort, giant artilleries that once defended the coast were now occupied by children and their parents. It made me realize that long weekends are quality time meant to be spent with families and friends. 
 

The View of Fort Casey from a nearby pillbox

Whidbey Island is a place full of surprises that are carefully hidden under different patterns of camouflage: It "deceived" early marine navigators and made them believe that the Skagit Bay was not connected to the Pacific Ocean. It made visitors feel like they were in Ireland or on the East Coast rather than on the West Coast. Despite being a small island located at the most Northwestern corner of the contiguous United States, it had longer history than most of other places on the Pacific Coast. Underneath the green carpet, It had old military forts and tunnels running through the coastal hills. Above the clouds high in the sky, birds were afraid of the roaring fighter jets, not knowing that the jets were not manufactured by the humans for the purpose of harming them, but for the purpose of harming other human beings. Even an ice cream shop on the island was in fact a tour company in disguise. Whidbey Island is just like one Easter Egg hidden  in an area that's full of them: I was excited to find one at a spot I least expected. Yet I also realized that there are other eggs waiting for me to dig out in the same area, and there are other areas that have hidden Easter Eggs everywhere. The old round world is big and wide, and finding hidden gems like the Whidbey Island gives me another reason to go out and explore.
 

Yellow flowers dancing with the sea breeze