2010 Whidbey Island trip

The project I've been working on since 2005 requires me to travel to Whidbey Island, Washington, and Cherry Point, North Carolina, to perform on-site verifications to make sure things work correctly in the field. I seriously considered riding to Whidbey Island...but it's a 2400 mile journey one-way, and there was only a week's downtime between the two travels, so I eventually ruled it out. Plus the place has a reputation for lots of rainy weather. This report isn't so much a trip report as much as I'm just passing along interesting parts of my visit that others might enjoy. When I got off the plane the weather was beautiful. Sunny, mid-70's during the day and high-50's at night. The weather forecast for my two week stay was the same each day. Ooohhhhhh...I should have ridden the bike! Note: I didn't bring my digital camera, so all these pictures were taken with my cellphone. Here is my route around Whidbey Island if I were on my dream bike trip. I'd cross on the Port Townsend ferry (1) then ride down to the southern tip at Clinton (2), then ride up to Oak Harbor (3). That's where my trip was based out of since the work was being done at NAS Whidbey Island a few miles away. If you're on Whidbey Island you have to stop and check out the Deception Pass bridge (4). Another place to see is Mount Erie (5). The road up is long and snaky. Perfect for bikes. The view is outstanding. From there it's a nice drive into Anacortes. They have great fish & chips at the San Juan Lanes restaurant. Another scenic view is from Cap Sante Park in eastern Anacortes. Load the bikes on the ferry and head to Friday Harbor and ride the island. Then it's back to Anacortes and eastward to continue the trip to points elsewhere. Deception Pass Looking westward towards the ocean. Eastward. An EA-6B doing 'touch and goes' from NAS Whidbey Island. Mount Erie View southward from 1273 feet. (click for larger picture) View northward. (click for larger picture) Cap Sante Park View southward towards Anacordes. (click for larger picture) View northward with Mount Baker ~75 miles away. (click for larger picture) Friday Harbor ferry These guys were killing me. View of the Friday Harbor bay. (click for larger picture) Beautiful sundown view off the west coast.