Whidbey Island WA

Off the ferry onto Whidbey Island

We drove all around the enchanting island of Whidbey.

We crossed over Deception Pass, an impressive bridge spanning high above the river gorge of Puget Sound. We parked and walked the bridge. Only one side of the bridge is open due to maintenance work. I shot a picture of workers to capture their harnesses used to scale down the side of the bridge. One of the workers saw me taking a picture and he and his coworkers posed for me.

Crossing back over to mainland Washington we stop at a couple of farm stands.

Through Ancestry.com I connected with a cousin in Bellevue. The daughter of my mom’s favorite aunt. With the good fortune of sunny weather, we were able to meet up in her backyard. Kathy and her daughter, Laurie, shared stories of life growing up with my mom in the greater Seattle area. She had pictures of my great grandparents, the family bible of names and dates going back several generations. It was fascinating. My mom was not a great one to talk about her family. Much of these details were unknown to me. Kathy gave me a beautiful family tree and history book on our family she has put together.

Camping, whether true forest camping, RV park or boondocking each has its unique variety of noises.  We become used to the sounds of our environment if they are part of our normal daily routine . One is unaware of, for instance, freight trains blowing their whistle as they pass through the town, the mooing of cows into the quietness of the evening, the never-ending roar of the nearby mega highway, the powerful crashing of the ocean waves, the forlorn sound of a foghorn, the howling of the wind, and there is the ultimate, complete quiet of the forest, soundless.  On this trip we have experienced all of these and more. The Harley that parked next to us while we boondocked to go to the bar late one evening, the early morning street sweeper, these sounds are amplified when sleeping in a soft sided camper!

And then there is the deafening roar of the military jets overhead. (Not the best picture). This was the unexpected sound we heard during our stay on Fidalgo Island between Whidbey Island and the mainland of Washington.

We have turned south and are heading slowly back towards Santa Cruz. We plan to visit my sister in Renton and cousins near Portland.