To start, let’s straighten out the name: Joseph Whidbey was an Englishman and Master of the HMS Discovery who explored this area with Captain George Vancouver and Lt. Peter Puget. He returned to England, and retired from seafaring. But left his name here. Langley is a small town on the southeastern coast of the island.

Escaping the fog, July 2018

We took the ferry back from SJI, which arrived about 35 minutes late to pick us up. No explanation was offered, of course. But then we ran into a dense fog a few miles off of Anacortes, our destination, which slowed the ferry to a crawl. That cleared things up, so to speak. From the ferry terminal we drove over an hour (plus a lunch stop) to Langley. So we wound up arriving later than we planned, but we’re on vacation, so who cares?

The Inn at Langley, July 2018

Out hotel here is a 26 room boutique on the water. The driftwood from yesterday sits on the tiny beach directly below our 2nd floor balcony, which looks across Possession Sound to Camino Island, and the city of Everett on the mainland 10 or 15 miles away. The room is quite nice: simple rather than ornate, large enough without being huge. What is overdone, however, is the “special dinner” in the hotel restaurant. $160 pp, plus wine, tax and tip. Judging by the not-very-impressive continental breakfast this morning, it’s overpriced.

Early morning in Langley, July 2018

I was up early this morning, so I took a daybreak walk around a town that wasn’t really up yet. By the time I came back at 7:30, none of the restaurants in town were open yet.

Langley scenes, July 2018

After breakfast Sally and I went for a shop tour of 1st Street, which is where the Inn is. The shops were nice enough, and she bought something nice. We had lunch, then retired back to read.

To cap off the afternoon, we did something I don’t think we’ve ever done while traveling – we went to see a movie. I rather enjoyed Incredibles 2.