Island Tour 2023, June 10th 2023 (175 miles) Schedule
Please bring an FRS radio (and one to share), we will use CH5 Drivers' Meeting at the March Point Park & Ride (8147 March Point Rd, Anacortes WA 98221) at 8:45a, departing at 9:00a sharp. The Moka Joe coffee shop is directly across the street from the start point, for those who need a morning jolt, and there is a tribal gas station just across the highway. The coffee shop also offers sandwiches with chips and pickle, if you want to pack a lunch (We will meet for lunch at Village Pizza in Langley). This drive attempts to make only right hand turns, wherever possible. We’ll begin by heading into Anacortes and around the north and west side of Fidalgo Island before crossing Deception Pass Bridge onto Whidbey Island. First stop is in Deception Pass State Park at the beach, where there are restrooms (17 miles). June 10th is a free day at the state park, so no need for a Discover Pass. If there is a huge line to get into the park, we will probably skip this stop. From there we continue south on Whidbey Island passing through Ebey's Landing and stopping for pictures at the large field at Fort Casey (45 miles). We will travel south along the west side of Whidbey all the way down to Maxwelton before heading east to Glendale, then work our way back up the east side of the island through Clinton and up to Langley, where we will stop for lunch (92 miles). Lunch in Langley at Village Pizzeria, a 3 block walk from the parking lot. There are other restaurant options in Langley, if you don’t want pizza, or you can bring your own lunch. There is a small park next to the parking spot where you can sit to eat. After lunch, we continue north up the east side of Whidbey, stopping again in downtown Coupeville for a rest break with restrooms (128 miles). Keeping Penn Cove on our shoulder as we continue up the Inside Passage to downtown Oak Harbor, where we'll stop for a final picture break in Windjammer Park (140 miles). After that, we complete our tour of Whidbey, cross back over Deception Pass Bridge, and head back to the Park n' Ride on Fidalgo (175 miles). I expect this drive to take 7+ hours with stops and lunch. The Swinomish Casino & Lodge is 3 miles east of the Park n' Ride start point for anyone who wants to spend the night before the event, and there are a number of hotels in Anacortes as well.