There are a few different ways to drive to Whidbey Island, depending on the direction you are coming from. If you are approaching from the south, you would take a short ferry from Mukilteo. I, on the other hand, live about 60 miles north of this island, so I was able to just drive over DECEPTION PASS. This was great because I didn’t have to wait for a ferry crossing, and it’s a beautiful State Park as well. There are places to stop along the way and park for free by the roadside, or you can pay $10/day for the small lot. I have a WA state park pass, so I parked there for free. The views from the cliffs are stunning, even on an overcast day. After parking, you can walk across the bridge and see for miles in many directions, and if you have more time, you can take the stairs that lead under the bridge and access many walking trails – I did both.

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From Deception Pass, I continued south on the island towards the town of COUPEVILLE which was my destination for the next 2 nights. Coupeville is a historic small town located in the middle of Whidbey Island. I passed by a couple of adorable Bed & Breakfast options available in town, but I was staying with a friend nearby, at her home. I arrived a bit early, so I took advantage of the time and stopped at the local visitors’ center and was given a plethora of information on the area and went off to explore a bit.

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There are quite a few places to have lunch and dinner in Coupeville, but one name kept coming up in conversations – THE OYSTERCATCHER – so we had lunch there. It’s a small restaurant and a local favorite, so plan ahead if you want to eat there. They are known for making as much as they can, in-house from the bread and butter to the ice cream, as well as sourcing from local farmers for the freshest ingredients and their menu changes to reflect what is currently in season. We started with some savory spreads, served with their house-made bread, then soup of the day and sandwiches. The cocktails that we had were both made with local liqueurs from Whidbey Island Distillery – which is where we went next.

The Oystercatcher – www.oystercatcherwhidbey.com

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WHIDBEY ISLAND DISTILLERY is another small, local business that is located in Langley, WA – about 20 minutes south of Coupeville. They offer complimentary tours and tastings and are open daily from 11 am to 5 pm. In the tasting, you will try their rye whiskey and then 4 different berry liqueurs. My favorite was the Loganberry Liqueur which is “hand-made in small batches by distilling locally produced wines into brandy, followed by aging with the juice and skins of locally grown loganberries”. At the restaurant with lunch, I had the Kir Royal which is 1/4 of an ounce of any berry liqueur, topped with sparkling wine. When I got home, I drizzled some on my vanilla ice cream. If you can’t come up with enough recipes on your own, they have quite a few to choose from on their website.

Whidbey Island Distillery – www.whidbeydistillery.com

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Just down the street from the distillery, about a mile away is a local winery. The name caught my eye immediately “SPOILED DOG WINERY” because I have 2 spoiled dogs who were actually with me on this weekend trip 🙂 This is a family-owned and operated winery and farm. They are open on Fridays from 2-5 pm and on weekends from 12-5 pm during the offseason and more frequently in the summer. They had 6 wines to taste when we were there, but they offer many more for purchase. There is a $10 tasting fee, which is refunded with the purchase of at least 2 bottles of wine. After our wine tasting, we were told that we could visit some local artists, upstairs, and/or wander the around the farm, which is very picturesque. I don’t know if there are artists there every weekend, but it was a nice addition.

Spoiled Dog Winery and Vineyard – www.spoileddogwinery.com

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FORT CASEY STATE PARK is a short drive from downtown Coupeville. This park was originally constructed in the late 1800s and is a 999-acre marine camping park with over 10,000 feet of shoreline to walk along. As with Deception Pass state park, there is a $10/day parking fee, which is included in a state park pass. This area has historic bunkers to explore, a lighthouse that was built in 1903, and lots of space to run the dogs and/or kids, fly kites or picnic. The views from the bunkers are expansive and we were fortunate to witness 5 large seals playing just offshore, with deer wandering behind us.

Fort Casey state park – www.parks.state.wa.us

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GREENBANK FARM is an area of 151 acres with walking paths for people, horses and dogs – fenced in – with breathtaking views in every direction. There is no fee to enter the farm as it is owned by the county. There is plenty of parking available at the entrance, next to shops, art galleries, and a restaurant. After walking our dogs and admiring the views, we wandered through the shops and galleries loaded with local artist items, then enjoyed lunch at WHIDBEY PIES & CAFE. This Cafe is small and local – my kind of place. As you can imagine from the name of the restaurant, they have pies, which we did have at the end of our lunch. We started out with a half salad each (quinoa, cucumber, cabbage, and cilantro) followed by sandwiches. This restaurant features local ingredients when possible, along with craft beers and local wine. They offer a daily quiche and savory pie and then a list of baked pies – either by the slice or whole pie to go. We managed to squeeze in a slice of salted caramel apple pie for dessert, topped with ice cream, before leaving the farm. They are open from 11 am to 4 pm Thursday – Monday and in the summer months, you can sit outside by the pond and garden. Next door to the restaurant is another shop and wine tasting.

www.portoc.org/greenbank-farm

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There are so many ways to enjoy Whidbey Island, but sometimes just a peaceful walk on the beach with friends – either the 2 legged or 4 legged kind, is the best…

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