Whidbey 2023

For our final summer excursion, the kids went off to Camp Quest while Ryan and I spent a few days on Whidbey Island again. M had been saying all year that they didn't want to go back to camp again and I finally figured out that they feel pretty homesick while they're away - which is really all the more reason they need to go! They finally accepted that they were going whether they wanted to or not and went into the packing and trip up there with a decent attitude. Got our usual view from the beach photo while dropping them off:

We headed back home to an empty house - we'd opted for more driving for ourselves this year in order to push our time on Whidbey to the latter part of the week. Tuesday afternoon we got ourselves packed and headed to the ferry. Ferry rides here never get old, as evidenced by the view from the Mukilteo ferry ride.

We did a little exploring this year but also just spent a lot of time relaxing at the cottage - we stayed in for all our meals those first couple days and went out for dinner in Langley just on our last night. I read (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) and we spent some time enjoying our shows that we watch without the kids and which we never have time for usually. We did do a little exploring though. I'd come across an article that talked up Greenbank Farm, so we checked that out. It was not as impressive as the article made it seem - the cheese shop was mainly cheeses you'd find in any grocery store for instance - but the small art studio/gallery was interesting and we did a little wine tasting and thoroughly enjoyed the pies we got at the cafe that's on-site. Our last day we headed up to Fort Casey State Park near Coupeville where we explored the fort and learned about the disappearing guns that were in place there. That was all interesting, but the main draw for me was the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. If the lighthouse looks shorter than lighthouses you're used to seeing, it's because it is! Since the house sits on a bluff, it didn't need to be as tall to serve it's purpose.

After a few days on Whidbey we headed home and had one more kid-free evening before camp pick up. M seemed to have a better time this year and their camp counselor commented that they were a great addition to the cabin and seemed to have really grown since last year. G has really enjoyed the past couple years as a "leader in training" - it's weird to think they only have one more year as an LT/camper, though they could opt to go back as a full counselor after that.

While I'm sure we'll do a few more small weekend things over the next couple weeks, we're starting to think about school starting again. The summer has flown by and I'm not feeling ready for the kids to go back yet. Cross-country officially starts this next week and I've got to figure out where to get a trombone from for M and we'll have middle school orientation and all that sometime in the next couple weeks as well.