After the long plane trip we got to ride on a Washington State Ferry. This is a monotonous activity to many Islanders, but the ferry ride was very exciting for my Midwestern kids. One of the great thing about parenting is experiencing things anew through the eyes of your children. I know there are a lot of you who have never seen a ferry much less been on one, so here is a photo for you: (courtesy of my sister, Gail).
We spent our first day doing the touristy sort of things, we went to Fort Casey in the morning. I do believe this was one of Cameron's favorite places because he could run all he wanted after being cooped traveling all day the day before. This is Admiralty Head Lighthouse at Fort Casey (photo by Gail Brown)
After spending our morning at Fort Casey we traveled to the north end of the island to see Deception Pass Bridge. This is a truly unique sight, frightening and beautiful at the same time. The bridge is narrow, quite high and the swirling water below is an amazing emerald green color.
(To learn more about the bridge click here : Deception Pass Bridge)
Once we had our fill of photo ops at the bridge we went off Whidbey Island and onto Fidalgo Island to visit Mt. Erie. The views that day were well worth the drive. I had forgotten the smells unique to the forest and how lovely things are as seen through the dappled light of the tree canopy. My dear friend, Maxine and I spent a lot of time her together in our 20's and it was so fun to take my kids there. I wish we would have had time to hike around together, but we were there strictly for the views:
My sister, Gail, took a trip up to Anacortes with my Dad to pick up Dungeness Crab for dinner. This delicious crab is native to the cooler western waters and is a family favorite. Not something you can get in Iowa, so we make sure we have a crab feast every time we are in Washington! Along the way Gail stopped to take this fabulous picture of Mount Baker.
My 8 year-old son was just itching to swim. Every day he asked if he could swim. We went to watch the sunset one night at Ebey's Landing (my favorite beach) and it was just too much for him to take. He started out with wet feet and ended up totally dunked. I think he underestimated how cold the water would be, but he was determined to swim even if he turned blue trying! He also had no idea the water would be salty and spent about 5 minutes after his swim spitting the salt water out of his mouth! While he was getting wet, I was snapping sunset pictures.
The very last day we were on Whidbey, we visited the cemetery and took a long hike from the cemetery out across Ebey Prairie to the bluffs. This little adventure was probably a little more than we bargained for as it was quite a hike, but we got some exercise and I was rewarded with some great pictures. This is probably the best one:
The weather on Whidbey was absolutely incredible while we were visiting. The sky was blue, the mountains could be seen quite clearly and it was just breathtaking. I had almost forgotten how lovely it could be. I took many, many pictures in an attempt to capture how amazingly beautiful the landscape is there. Although we can come close we just can't quite capture the beauty of God's creation in photographs.
When I think of all the beautiful landscapes in the world it is almost laughable that people believe that the creation of this world was some sort of cosmic accident. These photos represent just one small corner of this awe inspiring planet. Breathtakingly beautiful though it is, there are many places just as beautiful, even if they look nothing like this. God is wonderfully creative, isn't He? I am very thankful he created such a variety of beautiful places for us to enjoy - a foretaste of the beauty and majesty of heaven.
Thanks for sharing the journey with me.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. "(Isaiah 40:28)
In His Peace -
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