Labor Day Weekend on Whidbey Island

I finally got to go camping this year over the Labor Day weekend. My friend, Bret, was going to meet me at Deception Pass State Park, where I had a site reserved.

Due to Friday evening traffic, she got there a bit before me. When I arrived, we decided on where to set up our tents and get everything else situated. I made myself some smoked sausage and mac & cheese for my dinner.

After some time around the campfire, eating s’mores and talking about the route I planned for the next day, we turned in around 9:30pm. I had one of the best sleeps while camping in a very long time!

I felt very rested when I got up to make breakfast before we started our ride. I had some leftover sausage from the night before along with biscuits (which I made at home and brought along), and gravy for my breakfast. It was one of the heartier breakfasts I’ve eaten before a ride!

We started our ride from the state park and followed the route in a clockwise direction on the north end of Whidbey Island. I hadn’t ridden the north end before and my route included some really killer hills, which I didn’t notice when I was planning things.

When we got to Oak Harbor in the center of the island, we noticed they were having a music festival. The main street was closed to car traffic and there were stages with bands playing at each end. We found a café with outside seating close to one end so we could listen to music while we had lunch. There was a juggler across the street from us for some more entertainment. In spite of the big breakfast, I was hungry, but didn’t really see anything on the menu that appealed to me until I spotted chili! That was exactly what I wanted! It wasn’t the best chili I’ve eaten, but I ate every last bite and could have eaten more!

After lunch, we rode the rest of the loop back to camp, stopping for ice cream at The Farm Stand. After a quite nature break, we got back on the bikes and explored the beach area of the park, riding some sandy trails I hadn’t been on before, even as a walker.

I didn’t feel like cooking dinner that evening, so while Bret stayed at the camp, I drove a few miles north to the Shrimp Shack and got a pound of boiled shrimp that was harvested from local waters. They were small, but so tasty!

I slept well again that night after another evening around the campfire. Bret is a good camping companion!

That Sunday after breakfast, we packed up, loaded the car and headed to Coupeville where we would start our southern loop of Whidbey Island.

I was more familiar with this route since most of it was the same as the Tour de Whidbey event I rode in the previous year. It was a gorgeous day to ride!

After the ride, I drove further south and caught the ferry out of Clinton back to the mainland.