Things to See from Whidbey Island

LIke every other place we've been in western Washington, there are blackberries growing wild. I really have never seen so many as there are here.

As we travelled northward on Whidbey, we came to Coupeville at low tide. Interesting how folks knew just where to build the house on the end of the pier to always be in the water.

It is easy to get confused here. The island is long and narrow and there are mountains to the east (Cascades), to the west (Olympic), and smaller hills that are closer (and hence, seem similar in size) on some of the many islands nearby. I'm pretty sure that these are the Cascade mountains in the distance.

On the western shore, however, there is no confusion. These are the Olympic mountains in the distance. It is these mountains that catch the lion's share of the rain that comes in from the Pacific ocean. As is often the case, on a day like this one, the mountains are cloudy and the island where we are is much less so. Yes, we have some clouds, but nothing like what you see in the distance. In some of the shots, you may even spy some rain falling on the distant hills.

This next image is interesting because there are low lying cloud "lumps" that look as if they might be icebergs floating along. Yes, the water is cold, but not that cold.

The lone sailboat makes a good subject for this sort of minimalist seascape image. However, it reminds me of the question I have had in every shore location I've ever visited. I go to a marina and see hundreds of sailboats moored. I drive around the area and see dozens of marinas. Clearly lots of people own sailboats. So where are they? It is August. If you were to get your sailboat out and go for a jaunt, now'd be the time, right?

I've looked high and low. In the sound and on Lake Washington, Lake Union, everywhere. In June, July and August. There are simply no days where you see tons of sailboats out and about. A busy day will have maybe (just maybe) a dozen within sight. Do people really spend the money to buy a boat, pay the charges to park it at a marina, and then never use it?

Sure looks like it.