With our new car ready to take a few trips this summer, we decided that Father’s Day weekend would be a good test drive to see how well the kiddo could handle life in the new car – and how much we could fit in the trunk. We were lucky enough to have a second little guest along for this ride, so we kept it a bit on the shorter side – Anacortes, Oak Harbor and back home. A two day, one night adventure to Whidbey Island.
Our first stop in Anacortes was Guemes Island. It’s a smaller island about a 5 minute “ferry” ride from the town. We managed to time things about as perfect as possible, which meant we were on the first boat over and had almost no wait to get on. After we arrived, on the island, we stopped at the General Store, which was really nothing more than a 7-11 with a restaurant attached to it.
After settling in, we checked out the menu. It was pricey, but the food was good and the place was warm and dry. That was about all we needed before setting out on our little island adventure.
A quick drive around the island (it’s only about 10 miles to do the entire loop) revealed some serious elevation changes and some gorgeous scenery.
Even the wildlife was well represented on our little voyage, although I still don’t know how they got to the island to start with? The mystery’s never end at Guemes Island.
After the drive around the island, we stopped at the beach near the ferry dock to see the sights there. The kids took the time to write their names in the sand, run wild and get the boogie on before we jumped back in the car again.
Another great thing about the beach, especially on a day where the tide was at record lows, was seeing things like the purple starfish on the beach. The kids were able to get up close and personal with them and see quite a few things that normally would have been underwater.
From there, we caught the ferry back across and headed down Highway 20 to Deception Pass. Deception Pass has an amazing park and bridge setup. I totally recommend the Highway 20 drive for anyone coming to the northwest, and Deception Pass is one of the amazing photo opportunities on the route.
After a quick run through the woods, we were ready to head to our final destination – Oak Harbor. A word to the wise as far as the woods go, the trails in the park are pretty steep, so if you aren’t a hiker, take it slow.
We arrived in Oak Harbor about 30 minutes later and checked right in to our hotel. We decided on the Best Western Harbor Plaza due to the fact that it had a pool and a free hot breakfast. About the only bummer deal on the accommodations was that the pool was not heated and since it was so cool the day of our trip, it really wasn’t usable. Other than that, the staff was amazing, the rooms were nice and they had kid friendly services like a DVD lending library and cookies in the evening.
As the evening settled in, we decided we were hungry enough to head out for some food. Using our combined searching powers, we discovered that the Chinese restaurant in the parking lot was one of the three highest rated places in town, so we went to check it out. We were not disappointed. China City delivered an amazing dinner that even the kids devoured. After dinner was when the real treat happened though…
We found a DRIVE IN! Now for those of you that don’t know me, the Drive In is where I used to spend many a night catching a double feature in Everett. Even dating back to elementary school, the Valley 6 was a regular hangout for us. I absolutely love the Drive In and still can’t believe they are all gone. Fortunately, the Blue Fox in Oak Harbor ponied up the cash to switch to a digital projection system instead of shutting their doors and I couldn’t have been happier.
The Blue Fox takes the Drive In experience to an all new level from the Drive In’s in my past. They are equipped with a full video arcade – though many of the games were broken or had some kind of issues – and a GoKart track. They also have very reasonably priced concessions and good deals for locals to get refills on soda and party packages.
It was just our luck that How To Train Your Dragon 2 was playing for the kiddos. It was about the most perfect ending to a great day that I could have hoped for. The night ended with two very tired girls and two very happy adults making the 10 minute drive back to the hotel and passing out. It was a good day.
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