Sunny in Seattle (part 2)

Tuesday dawned warm and sunny, which was perfect because my friend Patricia and I were headed to Whidbey Island via ferry for the day. You all know how much I LOVE riding on a ferry and how much I adore island life (so good to laugh at all the people stuck on the mainland). So it was set to be the perfect day.

We started the trip at Mukilteo light house. It's a small lighthouse built in 1905. It has been operational in 1906, using a revolving Fresnel lens that was manufactured in France in 1852. The docent explained that when it went from halogen bulbs to LED bulbs the signature of the light changed from on for 5 seconds/off for 5 to on for 1 second/off for 5. The difference was the time it took the halogen gas to heat up and cool down - physics, it seems, always matters!

We got on the ferry and the mountains made a beautiful backdrop for our 20 minute ride to the south end of the island, Clinton Harbor. We went immediately to the local bagel bakery - known for its NY style bagels. They were using a machine to roll and form the bagels; it was fascinating to watch - I'd never seen that before. The everything bagel was yummy and now, fully fortified, we pushed onward.

We wandered around the island enjoying the beaches and views. Spent lots of time looking at inspiring art in the local galleries. We ate lunch at a island taco stand and walked-off lunch in a cute botanical society garden with the largest display of giant-leaved dinosaur plants we'd ever seen.

The tides at Whidbey are strange - because it is in Puget Sound rather than open ocean, it gets really interesting tide flow. You could tell something was off because all the docks had 15 foot poles so they could ride up and down. We happened to be there at a low/low tide but you can see, there is a little volatility in the water levels and lots of rip. I know, forgive me, more physics!!

We made our way back to the mainland with all the people and cars. We were both dreaming of a little summer cottage (that someone else maintains!) on the island (by the ocean!) to escape to whenever the mainland life became too much (ok, every Friday afternoon!). Soon, we'll be back for more fun Island exploring on the next sunny warm day in Seattle.