Gem of All Gems- Whidbey Island

August 16th-17th, 2008

I am trying to keep up with the blog and post once a week. So far I am doing good because work hasn't totally kicked in to overdrive. This week was interesting because Robert came back from Africa. He had pretty good spirits after a 12 hour layover in Morocco, a 6 hour flight delay in NYC and then a 2 hour wait to get a super shuttle to the doorstep- 7 AM and I was just waking up. He was out the door and off to work by 10 AM. I couldn't have done it...

Overall, I am so glad he came home safely.

There were a couple of trainings we did for teachers this week and one thing we really enjoyed showing was Side by Side interactive www.longmanusa.com/sidebyside . We demoed the program on a smartboard and wow! these things are cool. Every teacher in the district is getting one...Even ELL teachers? Have they been upgraded from chiseling on stone tablets? Amazing!

I had been gazing out on the beautiful sunny days all week and then I just couldn't give up on the idea that I should have at least one trip rain free...So I packed up my stuff and headed down to the downtown ferry for Bremerton. I had never been there before and wasn't overly impressed. It was a good snap shot of living in a Navy town- if I am ever going to fit in I will need to gain 200 lbs, frost my hair and drive a Transam.

I was determined to see Whidbey Island and relive a bit of out cross country US trip in 2008, where we went from Anacortes to Boston. I recently ordered some new bike maps from http://www.omnimap.com/ and although they took some getting used to, I really enjoyed the route suggestions! Great! And just when I thought life was perfect, it seems the scenic less trafficky way is also the HILLIEST way...I had to walk many a hill on the route.

I continued from Port Townsend to Keystone. Upon embarking, I had one of those spells where life is perfect- rolling fields of golden grain, multi colored wild flowers, setting sun and dark fir trees against the blue ocean. The ride from the ferry in to Coupeville is a must see list of cycle trips.

I had to make a choice and continue on Highway 20 if I was going to make it to Deception Pass. I tend to ride faster on the highways, so I gulped a banana every 30 mins and a PowerBar every hour, and water and water and water...The miles just didn't seem to stop. Nor did the hills.

At last, the state park sign appeared and I turned to see "campground FULL." But, there was no way in hell I was doing another mile, so I went up the 20% grade hill to the campground and found the gem of all gems- the hiker biker sites!! Set back along the path, they were remote quiet and about as close to isolation I was going to find. No rain, no mosquitoes and a brilliant full moon emerged at midnight. A magnificent day!

Day Two- Sunday

I rode just a mile north and took some photos on Deception Pass. I was once again entranced by the idea of kayaking the waterways of the state...At least on a sunny day.

Then I rode south again. You know, Whidbey is a very long HILLY island. Getting to the Kingston ferry took until 3 PM with my side tours, extra hills and miles. My knees were starting to hurt and it was still 30 more miles home from Mukilteo...I called Robert. I rode hard thinking how fun it would be to have him see my ride up like Lance Armstong- but he misunderstood my location, and I ended riding almost all the way home anyway.

In total, the two day trip was almost 200 miles and not for people who dont like climbing.

He did make a lovely SPICY dinner- and there was chocolate and ice cream. I couldn't move from the couch, but it was fun and I was SUNBURNED! I know this isn't good, but well, it is summer, right?