Travel Diary: A Long Weekend in Whidbey Island

This past weekend we decided to escape the city (and lingering wildfire smoke) and explore a part of the PNW that has always been on our bucket list – Whidbey Island.  I’ve always heard great things about it, especially for summer trips, but have always opted for international travel over local travel if given the option.  After a busy September, and more house projects than I would like, we were desperate for some R&R in nature which is exactly what we got.

There are a few lodging options on the island as well as many AirBnB’s.  We thought about staying at the Inn at Langley or Captain Whidbey, but when we found this AirBnB on the southwest side of the island we knew that that’s where we wanted to be.  It had everything that we needed, was close to the beach and was ~15 minute drive to the ferry and Langley. 

Even though we spent a lot of time lounging by the fire and listening to the rain, here’s a quick little recap of the weekend and the places we checked out.   If you ever get the chance visit Whidbey Island, I highly recommend it! 

Day 1 – Thursday

After grabbing a quick bite to eat at my favorite cafe in Portland, we hit the road.  It took us about 3 hours to get to Seattle where we stopped at PCC Market to stock up on groceries before driving another hour to catch a short 15 ferry from (location) to Clinton (on Whidbey Island).  Once we were on the island, it was another short 15 drive to our AirBnB in Maxwelton where we quickly unpacked, popped a bottle of Soter Pinot and enjoyed a late dinner by the fire. 

Day 2 – Friday 

The whole point of this trip was to do as little as possible so on Friday we set out to do just that.  It rained the majority of the day which made the perfect backdrop to a cozy day at home.  Our AirBnB was fully stocked with all the kitchen essentials (including a blender, coffee grinder and espresso machine!) so other than strolling along the beach we really had no reason to leave. We both had a bit of work to catch up on and a small stack of books we wanted to crack into so we spent the day in our cozies listening to the rain and watching the tides change.    

For dinner we made a new recipe from my Sakara cookbook – Lentil Soup with Coconut Yogurt, that was both easy to make and very tasty! We paired it with more Pinot (shocking) and a movie.  Like I said, lots of R&R! 

Day 3 – Saturday 

We woke up to a few showers that eventually gave way to patches of blue sky and a little sun.  After lounging in bed for a while we bundled up and strolled down to the public beach to explore the coast line while the tide was out.  By the time we got back, it was time for a late breakfast of buckwheat toast with almond butter and bananas and almond-cashew milk latte.  Even though our AirBnB had a blender we made two big batches of nut milk so that we could make lattes all weekend. 

In the afternoon we decided to pop up to Langley, one of the two major towns on the island (the other being Oak Harbor at the north end of the island), to see what it was all about and grab a bite to eat.  Even though it definitely felt like the off-season, Langley was still very charming.  It’s right on the water (I would imagine sunrise is pretty epic because it faces east) and has lots of fun shops to pop in and out of.  There’s also a great little path down by the water that’s away from the hustle and bustle of the town.

After strolling around the town (it’s pretty small so it didn’t take too much time) and checking out the waterfront, we stopped in to Saltwater Fish House and Oyster Bar for a bite to eat and a cocktail.  Everything on their menu looked delicious, but I was particularly interested in their oysters (they had a board of probably 7 different kinds) and Chris had his eyes set on fish and chips (they had several options for fish – he went with Halibut and gave it a solid 9/10).  We washed both down with a house-made Bloody Mary that was *chefs kiss*. 

For dinner we opted for leftovers from the day before and instead focused our culinary efforts on making a gluten-free, vegan Pear-Apple Crisp based on a recipe from My New Roots.  It turned out pretty good!  I want to try it again with a few tweaks after which I’ll share it! 

Day 4 – Sunday

Sunday turned out to be gorgeous weather wise – blue skies, a few clouds, sunny and warm-ish.  We started the day off with a 40 minute Melissa Wood Health yoga and pilates flow followed by brunch and coffee.  We pride ourselves on our lazy Sundays so the rest of the morning was spent lounging.    

In the afternoon we met up with my Dad who came over from Bainbridge Island to poke around the island and get an early dinner with us.  We met up in Langley for coffee at Ulysses Coffee and popped into a few decor shops on the main drag.  I particularly liked Marcel’s which carried a mix of vintage decor, art, bath and body products and a robust assortment of scented candles.  

For dinner we drove up to Captain Whidbey which is a quaint little inn on the water about 15 minutes south of Oak Harbor.  Originally when we were planning this trip we were thinking of staying at Captain Whidbey, but opted for an AirBnB so that we didn’t have to rely on the hotel for all our food. 

Turns out the food is absolutely delicious.  They make a lot of their ingredients in house and source most of their meat, fish, produce and wine locally. For dinner I went with their Salmon with Lentils and Roasted Vegetables and both my Dad and Chris went with their Shellfish Medley.  The salmon was cooked perfectly and I practically licked the plate clean so as not to waste any of the delicious house-made broth that the lentils were cooked in.   

Day 5 – Monday 

On Monday we packed up in the morning to catch an 11:30am ferry back to the mainland.  On our way back to Portland, we made a quick pitstop in downtown Seattle to grab lunch at London Plane, one of my favorite cafes in Seattle. 

All in all, it was a great weekend, it was just what I/we needed before heading into the holidays.  I would love to go back in the summer or checkout other parts of the island, maybe do a bit of hiking, if you have any recommendations leave them below!

xx

-S