A Stay with a View!
After spending some time in Anacortes, we decided we wanted to explore more of Whidbey Island. We decided Oak Harbor would be a good one to begin with, since it is really close to Deception Pass State Park. We ended up getting an Airbnb this time, and we were not disappointed at all! It was right on the coastline of the island and had an incredible view! Honestly, we could have just stayed there and took in the views the entire time.
We again took the ferry to get to Whidbey Island. This has become our preferred way to get there since the interstate can sometimes be crazy busy. We don’t mind though because the views from the ferry are always so nice. As it was getting later in the day, we did end up stopping in Coupeville for dinner before heading to our Airbnb. We ate at the Front Street Grill which was right off the water. Unfortunately, they do not have outdoor seating, but we were able to have a window seat! We started off with Deep-Fried Mac and Cheese which was also served with a small caesar salad (sadly I couldn’t try the salad since the server wasn’t sure if they put anchovies in their caesar dressing. I didn’t want to risk it). For our main course, I had the Lamb Burger which seemed like it had a Greek twist on it given the olives and tzatziki. I will admit that it was just fine. I had to take the feta cheese off, since I don’t like the texture of it, but I enjoyed the cucumbers and lamb. My husband had the Fish & Chips which he said were pretty good. We ended the meal with a slice of key lime pie. It was nice and refreshing.
Once we were done eating, we chose to walk around Coupeville for a little bit to do some exploring. Sadly, all the stores were closed, but there were still some cute things to see, not to mention a lot of deer within city limits.
We finally made it to our Airbnb and were instantly blown away. We were able to get a good night’s sleep before waking up and continuing on our 52 hike challenge. When we woke up the next morning, we ventured into Oak Harbor to get some breakfast. We ended up eating at the Riverside Cafe. I enjoyed the Crepes, and my husband got the Sante Fe Scramble. Both of these dishes were very good and filled us up for our hike.
Before heading to the park, we decided to walk around Oak Harbor a little bit, as I had heard about some murals they had. The murals were gorgeous! It really made the downtown area really attractive. If you find yourself in Oak Harbor, make sure you take the time to check them out!
One of the reasons we chose this weekend to come to Oak Harbor was because the Deception Pass State Park was celebrating their 100th birthday! They had live music and vendors at one of their locations. We were pretty excited to see Cal Sal Pies there so that way we could have our yummy pie-on-a-stick!
We ended up hiking around Cranberry Lake, which has become one of our favorite areas. We also decided to try out kayaking for the first time. The park has places that rent out kayaks which is nice when you don’t necessarily know whether or not you are going to like it. We decided to do a double one so that way we could go out together. The weather was perfect for this, and we made sure to actually wear sunscreen this time!
We decided to go back to our Airbnb to catch the sunset, and we were not disappointed. This was honestly one of our favorite things about this stay.
After cleaning up from the day, we headed back into Oak Harbor for dinner. We ate at Rustica, an Italian restaurant. For an appetizer, we tried the Grilled Octopus. I will admit that I was a bad girl and decided to try a little bit. I can honestly say that I don’t think I am missing out on octopus. To me, it was very chewy. My husband didn’t mind it too much. For our main dishes, we tried the Rigatoni Bolognese and the Bucatini Carbonara. They make their pasta in house which made it even better. I really enjoyed the bolognese, but I will admit that the carbonara did not have a lot of flavor. I think it could have used a little more sauce or something. It was still good, though. We ended the night with budino chocolate, which is like a salted caramel mousse. This was honestly amazing! Definitely one of our favorite desserts so far.
We really enjoyed our trip to Oak Harbor! Our Airbnb was amazing, and we would definitely stay there again! We enjoyed the restaurants we got to try and as always, loved visiting Deception Pass State Park! Happy 100th birthday!
