I am super late with this post, but here it is anyway. As we all know, the new year gets really loud in the city. I have lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for the past 3 years and I am spoilt with silence. So as I was dreading the approach of 2018, we decided to ring in the new year 2018 with Bailey (our golden puppy), away from the city noise. Whidbey Island was the perfect getaway choice for this. A little research on pet-friendly places to stay and off we were. Read on and I will give you all the good stuff about traveling to Whidbey Island and staying for a couple of days.
TRAVEL TO WHIDBEY ISLAND
There are two ways to get to Whidbey Island from Redmond.
1.) Take the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry (makes sense if you are traveling to the southern part of the island)
2.) Take the I-405 N, I-5 N, WA-20 W, WA-525 S to get to Island county (makes sense if you are traveling to the northern part of the island or if you want to avoid taking the Ferry)
We were staying in Langley which is on the southern part, so we took the Mukilteo-Clinton Ferry. You can find the Ferry schedule here. If you are taking your car, all you have to do is notice where the line starts and follow the line until you reach the ticket counter. Once you purchase your ticket, you are guided into one of the lines to drive onto the ferry. You can park your car and either go upstairs to hang out in the visitor area or just enjoy the view from the parking area. Dogs are usually not allowed in the visitor area upstairs, but you can ask an official and sometimes they let you go on upstairs. The ferry ride lasted about 15-20 minutes.
We stayed at the Saratoga Guest Cottage in Langley which was about 25 minutes from Clinton. We found this place on VRBO and got in touch with the host, Ashlyn. She was quick to respond and approved our stay with our puppy. The cottage was as pretty as the pictures on the listing. The only misleading picture on the listing is that of the waterfront. They do have a private beach with that view, but it is a one-mile walk to the waterfront from the cottage. We were only there for one full day effectively, so we didn’t get a chance to check it out.
EAT AT WHIDBEY ISLAND
We were doing a short road trip, so we took homemade Biriyani with us, which lasted us more than a couple of meals. But we did try a couple of places around the cottage in Langley. If you are looking for a quick bite during the day, try Rocket Taco. We had their Chorizo Potato Taco and loved it. If you are looking for a good brunch place, try Braeburn. They are in a great location so you could enjoy a refreshing walk by the water before or after breakfast. There was a little bit of wait time when we arrived so we walked around the block and were seated promptly when we were back. They brought us their amazing breakfast bread to start with. It was lemon blueberry that day. I don’t usually like blueberries, but that bread was divine. It set the mood for the entire experience.
PS: This place seems to be closed for remodeling until late spring 2018 so please check their website for latest information.
SIGHTS AT WHIDBEY ISLAND
We were traveling with a puppy so we only did dog-friendly stuff during our stay. We took Bailey to Marguerite Brons Memorial Park so he could enjoy some playtime. The park has two fenced off-leash areas for dogs to play in. One for puppies and one for adult dogs. It is a muddy park so Bailey got pretty dirty, but he had a lot of fun running around. It was a great way to expend his energy. Later we went to the Greenbank farm on a recommendation by our host. The farmland has amazing walking trails which are dog-friendly and very easy to navigate. The view from the top is breathtaking. 360 degrees of water views with the Olympic Mountains on one side and the Cascade Mountains on the other. Dogs are allowed to be off leash on these trails. After the walking trail, we visited the Whidbey Pies cafe at the farm. We tried their blueberry pie and it was good, but a little too sweet for my taste.
We returned to the cottage after all the exciting outings of December 31st and snuggled up with a DVD and a glass of wine to ring in the new year. There were very few fireworks and they lasted only a couple of minutes. It did not bother Bailey too much. A cozy family new year with our precious pup was all we wanted and that is exactly what we got.
Have you been to Whidbey Island yet? Tell me all about it in the comments below or shoot me an email. I would love to hear from you. 🙂
