Ebey's Landing

Today eighteen Senior Trailblazers took a fairly long car trip down to Ebey's Landing, which is located on Whidbey Island near the town of Coupeville. (Click any pictures to enlarge.) We went over the Deception Pass bridge and headed south to Ebey's Landing, a beautiful national historic reserve on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Some information:

Ebey’s Landing is the nation’s first historical reserve, created in 1978 to protect a rural working landscape and community on Central Whidbey Island. The reserve contains 17,500 acres, 18 working farms, 400 historical structures, native prairies, two state parks, miles of shoreline, a network of trails and the second oldest town in Washington.

After we parked, we headed up a bluff to a wonderful overlook of the area: on a clear day, one can look west to the Olympic Peninsula and the Strait of Juan de Fuca; south to Mt. Rainier: and east over historic farmland and prairie to the Cascades. We hiked a few miles along the bluff and then we headed down to the beach.

The day started in Bellingham without a cloud in the sky, but as we headed south, the clouds built and we even had some sprinkles while in our cars. Not sure what the conditions would be for the day, we took everything with us when we started the hike. But the day got more and more clear, and by the time we stopped for lunch, we had more sun than clouds.

We had lunch on the beach, and some of us headed back up to the top of the sand dunes (since the sun had come out and pictures were beckoning), and others walked along the paradise to beachcomb and peruse all those wonderful rocks!

After we got back to the cars, we had an impromptu birthday party for Karen (with a birthday cake and candles, compliments of Amy) before we headed back home. It was a wonderful unforgettable day. I myself was assailed with memories of other times I have walked along the beach and smelled those smells, other times I've listened to the gentle crashing of the surf,and warmed myself in the rays of the sea-level sun. It was a great day, and now I'm ready to relax as soon as I post this!
:-)