As you cruise north with the windows down, leaving the city of Seattle behind you and enjoying the wind as it swirls into your hair. You will notice the highway lined with gorgeous, vibrant, green trees. If you continue going you are going to hit one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen, Anacortes. As you enter the city and continue driving around, you’ll notice that the trees remain, but the region become a little more rocky. Then you’ll begin to see large bodies of water start to appear to your right. And a little further along, you’ll drive along steep cliffs that over look Deception Pass.
Deception Pass is a State Park. As you drive across the bridge you’ll see the deep rich blue waters glistening below you. There are places along the side of the road where you can park your car and walk along the bridge or head down towards the water. I’ve done this plenty of times. I love coming to this park because I can’t get over how lovely it is. When I stop by, I always bring a hat and some sun screen so I can stay as long as I want, unbothered. Just remember, it’s by the water so it’ll be a little chilly, bring a jacket and a windbreaker. This go around my sister and I brought our friend with us.
She’s never been to this park before. We ended up parking the car and then carefully walked down steep trails towards the rocky shore. Slowly, we made our way. I kept taking multiple photographs trying to savor every moment. I’m not usually one for outdoor adventures, but I am when it comes to being here. The ground was slightly soft as we walked from some recent rain, but the rocks helped us along our path. As we walked, we could hear the water lapping along the shore and finally the land flattened out. Around this time there were areas where people could park their RV’s and there was a cabin for restrooms. After we passed all that and stumbled out of the vegetation, the entire area opened up revealing the ocean mere feet away from us. Our feet crunched along the rocks as we ran to the waters edge. The water swirled along the shore and then relapsed back into the depths. Ari and I stood by the water for a bit just to enjoy it, while our friend parked herself on a weathered log.
Over a few feet away from us a dog was playing in the water, retrieving a stick his owner threw, when a small black head popped out of nowhere. I had to do a double take because for a second it almost blended into the water. But sure enough a seal had stopped by to see what was going on. Not sure if we’d see anything else, Ari and I walked along the length of the beach listening to the waves as people fished or sat back and enjoyed the view. After a while we walked back the way we came and ended up going for a hike just under the bridge and ventured off in the opposite direction, one that we’d never travelled before. The scenery was just as beautiful, but way more bumpy and our friend was tripping a lot due to the uneven landscape. It was nice, but after 20 minutes of walking with no end in sight we called it quits and headed back to the car with only one thing on our mind. Lunch!
Tired we drove back to Anacortes and headed to one of my favorite spots – Calico Cupboard. There we were able to warm up with the best mocha and latte. You forget how cold it can get by the water, but that made the coffee that much more delicious. The food was fantastic as usual. The only disappointment was that they didn’t have any of their cream puffs that day. Apparently they make them from one particular shop and then send them to the others. But that was the perfect way to end our outing before we headed back to the AirBnB for some much needed rest.
If you are in the area, check out Deception Pass and also Calico Cupboard (they have 3 locations in the area).
Have you been to Anacortes before? If so where did you go to have some fun or eat?
Fun Joy Peace 