A beautiful isle.

Today, Veteran's Day, was rainy and overcast here in Seattle. I was inspired to check the weather elsewhere, and discovered that if we drove 1/2 hour north and took a short ferry ride over to Whidbey Island, we might find some sun (if even just a 4 hour breaking of the clouds). And so I packed some food, we donned extra layers, grabbed some maps, and headed out. We loved this isle of Whidbey, with its picturesque pastoral landscapes, quiet community coves, driftwood-scattered beaches, high sea bluffs, and small towns. Many beautiful farms which we coveted. :) There was still a distant cloud cover, blocking our view of the Olympic mountains, but the views of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca were breathtaking. We drove around to different points of interest, but only got out of the car twice, as Michael was up quite a bit last night, and so slept a lot in the car and we didn't want to disturb him.

Our first stop, Fort Ebey State Park.

We walked a 2 mile round trip to the beach head and back.

After our little hike, we drove to the northern-most tip of the island to Deception Pass State Park and were able to catch some views before the sun set (at 4:34pm!) Oh, the early-ending winter days are definitely upon us.

Michael switched rides. :)

We managed a family photo.

Where's Michael?

There he is!

We had an early dinner as the sun set.

Warm homemade soup was perfect to combat the chill.

It was lovely day. A much needed respite from being inside, and as always, being outdoors brought peace to our souls, refocused our energy on each other and what is important in life, and reminded us of the beauty and uniqueness of raw nature as made for us by the Father. We look forward to revisiting Whidbey many times in the future, especially in the spring, when I hear that wildflowers are in bloom.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” 

~Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl