Deception Pass camping

We did our last camping trip of the season at Deception Pass last weekend and it did not disappoint! It's one of our favorite camping spots for a few reasons - the campsites are pretty private and shaded, the beach is just a few minutes walk away, lots of (kid-friendly) hiking trails nearby, and since it's at the top of Whidbey Island, you're pretty close to civilization if you need to get something.

We went with our pals Alisa and Alina and their parents Mei and Joe. We've known them since the kids were little, when Nora and Alisa became best buds in pre-school. The girls now all go to the same school (albeit they are all in different grades!) so it was fun to all celebrate the last weekend before school started together.

We did lots of beach time and a couple of hikes. We were surprised to see how many fisherman were fishing from the beach and saw three big Salmon get caught! The beaches had lots of really big driftwood that other folks had rearranged into forts and the kids loved playing in them. We also went to the tidepools nearby but since it was high tide, didn't see much.

We ended the trip with a stop at Shrimp Shack, a little seafood takeout place nearby that everyone raves about. I bought a pound of fresh boiled spotted shrimp ($16) for lunch while the others got things like a corndog (Nora), fried oysters (Evie) and an oyster sandwich (Scott). Everything was good, but the fresh shrimp were REALLY good - sweet and plump! I'd definitely go back for more.

One of the MANY forts on the beach.

Sunset on the beach, just a 5 minute walk from our campsite.

There was a fire ban but the Jr Ranger program had a propane pit for smores!

Smores is quintessential camping food!

Hike to the Deception pass bride. Look how clear the water is!

So many Anglers!

We also hiked the highest point on Whidbey, but truthfully, it's not that high or hard of a hike at all.

Good ranger programs! They had a concert one night that we went to in the outdoor ampitheater.

These two cuties used to be the best of friends when they were little.

Dock at Rosario Beach

The line at shrimp shack

oooooh, Shrimp! Get in my belly!

Yum Yum Give me Some!

Comments

Happy new year!!

Goodness, it's already 2025! It's been a really long time since we posted! We had a very lazy new year. We flew back from LA on the evening of the 31st so spent the last remaining hours of 2024 cozying up on the couch and then fell asleep before it even hit midnight! On New Years day, we slept in, cleaned up the house and then did a quick hike the next day. All in all, a good start to the year! Nora's new blanket hoodie. Cold and muddy trails. We're not in LA anymore! We hiked the Primrose trail that follows Coal Creek.

Ski weekend in Leavenworth

We had made plans many moons ago to take the MLK weekend for a short getaway to the Leavenworth area. We've been a few times in years past and it's always a fun place to visit especially in the wintertime. But this year, with COVID and all, we weren't sure whether we wanted to go but I'm super happy that we went. We had a blast and was able to keep safe by keeping to ourselves! First up, we left bright and early so that we can pack in a snowshoe/winter hike on the drive over. The last time we went , we had stopped for some snowshoeing on the way back and it was epic! Unfortunately, this time the snow was old and not nearly as soft and fluffy so while it was a nice diversion with some pretty views, it wasn't as great as we had hoped. The fun part though, was that we brought our camping stove with us so we did some tailgating in the parking lot and had a fancy ramen meal for lunch. It was super nice to warm the belly with the yummy noodles and broth! That evening, we ...

Alaska Cruise

We got back from our week long cruise to Alaska and ready to go again! We all had a great time but really the best part of our trip was all the family time we spent with my parents, Way and her family and Kin and his family. I think the last time we all vacationed together was back in 2015 when we all went to Kauai . It was so long ago that not all the littles had even been born yet! So yes, a big family vacay was long overdue. The kiddos loooooved spending time with their cousins, whether it was playing bingo or ping pong, or biking and hiking or just hanging out at meal time or playing mahjong. It helped that since we were all on vacation mode, we didn't push (too hard) on eating healthy or limiting screentime. It also really helped that the service on the ship was so accommodating to the kids and (pretty good) pizza, ice cream and drinks were available at all hours. I was happy with the ship we picked too. The Quantum of the Seas is nearly 20 years old (first sailed in 2014) bu...

Simpsons in Seattle

Search This Blog