Getting Away

As I mentioned in my New Years post one of my fears this year during training is spending less time with Mr. Pi and my friends/family.  So, Mr. Pi and I decided to take a mini vacation, just us, we even left Zoey with a doggy sitter, during the long MLK weekend.  We ventured north, which we never do since we spend most of our vacation visiting family in California.  We went all the way past Seattle, took a FERRY RIDE...

Tourists!  We were the ONLY people outside on the boat, it was COLD.

 to Whidbey Island and stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in the town of Langley.  My goals for the weekend were to: spend quality time with Mr. Pi, including supporting him however he needed during his 24 mile run; stay away from the internet, at least social media stuff (confession: I did use the internet to find restaurants and directions); and, eat SEAFOOD!  I succeeded in doing all three!

Map!

Sunrise view from the bed and breakfast

Mr. Pi had picked a point-to-point running route that would have him covering a LOT of the island.  My plan was to do a short run myself, find some coffee and hole up with magazines.  Right away we found a trail, turns out it was SUPER DUPER short but one of the offshoots went down to the water.  I took it and thought I could run along the beach for a little bit…turns out the “beach” was also very short and it was so foggy I couldn’t see anything anyway. 

 I turned around and headed to the road where I found a paved trail system called “Kettles Trail.”  I ran along that for my prescribed run duration from Coach Laura and then started walking.  I knew I’d have a lot of time to kill so I just strolled along letting my mind wander—it was great.  However, it was also COLD, I forgot that there is a difference between dressing for RUNNING in 30-32 degrees and WALKING in 30-32 degrees.  

By the time I got back to the car my hands were frozen and all I wanted was coffee!  I quickly changed in the back of the car—yup, I’m classy like that—and went in search of coffee.  NONE of the coffee shops were open.  I couldn’t believe it.  I knew Whidbey Island is more of a summer destination but really, NOTHING?!?!  After a quick google search I decided to drive to the next town and go to Starbucks.  I wanted to go to a cute little local place but couldn’t find anything so I went with Starbucks.  I actually love Starbucks so this was not a problem.  Venti drip coffee with my heavy cream and I was a HAPPY HAPPY customer.  I found a comfy chair and read magazines for awhile until Mr. Pi texted with our meetup spot.  Not knowing if I’d get lost or have trouble finding somewhere to park at a random intersection on the island, I got my free refill and headed out to meet my awesome running hubby.  I ended up passing him on the drive to the meeting spot in the fog.

The weather was really weird, some spots were super super sunny and others completely socked in with fog.  Luckily for Mr. Pi the end of his run was nice and sunny.  Still cold, 35, but sunny at least.  By the time he had gotten in the car I had already picked a lunch spot, which was the only brewery on the island, all the way to the tippy most northern spot on the island.  Off we went and the weather kept getting sunnier and sunnier.  It was amazing!

We passed over Deception Bridge at the northern part of Whidbey Island and ended up on Fidalgo Island and going as far north as possible there too.  We had a nice brewery lunch and enjoyed walking through a little bit of the “downtown” of Anacortes.  From here we could see the Olympic Mountains and Mt. Baker.  For all you tri peeps, we were basically due west of Lake Stevens Washington.  It was amazingly sunny and you could see for miles.  With satisfied tummies we headed back to Deception State Park and Deception Pass Bridge, one of things Whidbey Island is famous for.  We took a bunch of photos as the views really were amazing. 

The bridge from below

The bridge from the side

A pic frame for good measure

Heading back south to our bed and breakfast, we got ready for dinner.  Both nights we had incredible food.  The first night I had a seafood platter, it was mussels, clams, salmon, a white fish all in a tomato sauce---it was AMAZING! Blogger Kristen had told me to try the mussels if I like mussels b/c they are world famous (Penn Cove Mussels).  Holy crap they were good.  I love seafood I just don’t love to cook it.  Night number two both Mr. Pi and I decided on the Prie Fix menu which included salad, entrée and dessert.  I definitely “put life into living” that night and went for all three courses, granted I couldn’t finish the entrée or dessert but I gave it my best effort and was not disappointed in my choice of mixed greens and goat cheese crumbles with vinegarette,  steak w/fries (of which I did eat some!) and kale and, the smore ice cream sandwich (which was kinda like a pazooki from BJs).  OMG amazing amazing dinners both nights.  Sadly I did not take any photos of my food but trust me it was all delicious.  If you're on the island, night #1 was Cafe Langley and night #2 was Prima Bistro.

Monday we headed home.  All in all, a great trip.  I would definitely go back to the islands but I’d go farther north into the true San Juan Islands maybe in the summer for a kayaking trip.  I love sandy warm beaches like San Diego and Hawaii but there is something really cozy about the northern coastline with the rocky cliffs and blue/aqua very cold looking ocean.