After a good night’s sleep in our little makeshift home, aka Michelle & Randy’s trailer in Mukilteo, Loren & I drove to the Whidbey Island Ferry. I didn’t realize that we were supposed to be in the far right lane and accidentally tried to cut in line.

“YOO HOO! You need to turn around and get in back of the line,” the toll taker yelled at me.

Never having done this before, I was a bit embarrassed and a bit angry. It was unintentional. However, I’ve been taught to take accountability for my actions.

“Sorry about that,“ I said sheepishly when I pulled up to the same booth after 10 minutes of waiting. “I’ve never taken the ferry before and didn’t know how it was done.”

“Well, there are signs everywhere!” the woman said, with a phony smile on her face.

My own smile dropped. I hate it when you not only apologize to deaf ears, but are tried to be made to look even more stupid than you already felt.

She got the death stare from me and no response.

The toll taker looked at the magnets on my truck and Loren in the passenger seat.

“I see you do a lot for the animals,” she said, handing me my change.

“Yeah,” I responded flatly, after a pause, averting my gaze and holding my head up high. Loren has taught me this trick. Like, you have hurt my feelings and I won’t acknowledge you anymore. For her, it lasts about 10 seconds. For me, it can last up to 10 years.

There was a half hour wait, where we watched a drug-sniffing German Shepherd do his job and people get out of their cars for ice cream. We stayed put, not wanting to do anything else wrong or miss our turn.

It was strange to pull onto the ferry, which is basically a big, floating parking lot. When we pulled away from the dock, the sensation was one of not knowing if you were the one moving or watching something being moved away from you.


Scene from the Whidbey Island Ferry


"When does this thing stop moving?"

The ride lasted about 15 minutes, then we were on Whidbey Island.

My boss, Michele Buttelman of The Signal, has a part-time vacation home here, a charming farmhouse just blocks from the beach. I think I need to hit her up for a key next time I’m in the area!

Michele had recommended we stop at Seabolt’s for crab cakes, as they tout having the best around. It was about 38 miles from our ferry landing, which took us through woodsy landscape, small restaurants and business, and some gorgeous shoreline.

Seabolt’s was only 10 miles from Deception Pass, our ultimate destination. Inside, it was part restaurant/part seafood counter, with local fish on display and lots of happy customers eating fish and chips.


Seabolt's

I ordered the clam chowder and crab cake. The former was really delicious - rich, thick, stocked with a good amount of tender clams and potatoes. The latter was OK - a fat, puffy fried disc with shredded crabmeat and good flavor. After the Baltimore crab cake experience, however, it was something of a let down.


Crabcake & chowder

Tall redwoods began to appear as we neared Deception Pass, which also boasted a majestic lake on the way to the campgrounds.


Deception Pass Lake

My parents, Jim and Rosie, were already there with their two dogs, Annie and Sammy. I had warned them in advance that Loren wasn’t too fond of other dogs, as she had not responded well to Michelle’s English Setter, Cheyenne, when we tried to introduce them.

This was my first time meeting Annie, whom my parents rescued from an Idaho Falls shelter in February. She’s a cute little terrier, or terror, mix - feisty, funny, altogether adorable. Sammy, meanwhile, is an 85-pound golden shepherd or dingo mix my parents adopted from a litter of farm puppies in Colorado.


"Who's the new girl?"

He’s something of a gentle giant, though he can lapse into herding instinct on occasion and want to chase down small kids on bicycles and joggers. My mom has to be on guard when walking him, which is a challenge since she doesn’t weight much more than he does.

Sammy and Annie, experienced campers, were staked close to my parent’s trailer, so I placed Loren at least 20 feet from them. Sammy was giving her the eye for a while, partial curiosity, partial warning, partial lust perhaps? Overall, the canine campers respected each other’s space and barely bothered one another during our three days together.

"Hey Loren, this is how you camp!"



"What?"


"OK, I get it...zzzzzzzzzz..."

Michelle & Randy arrived later in the afternoon. Since they both are fisherman, my dad and Randy headed out for a quick trip to the lake while Michelle finished setting up camp. Randy must be a good luck charm, because my dad, who is notorious for rarely catching anything, brought back a trout, which he fried up as a snack.


Proud pops & his trout


As fresh as it gets...

For dinner, Mom had prepared spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, garlic bread and salad, while Michelle had made chicken marsala. I’ve decided that camping is awesome when you have someone a) feeding you great meals, b) letting you sleep in their well-equipped trailer and c) giving you tools and ingredients to roast marshmallows over the fire at night.

Loren & I slept on the pullout couch, getting our usual eight hours, snuggling extra tight. It was chilly out and a little damp.

"See, the trick is to get in bed first..."

The next morning, Michelle’s friend Kim arrived and we all went to the North Beach with Randy and Loren.


Beach girls Kim & Michelle

It was getting a little warmer, so Michelle and I got some sun at the beach while Kim and Randy went hiking. Loren, after sniffing and observing everything in her radius, finally took a nap under a shaded log.




Scenes from North Beach

When Loren arose, we went for a brief walk around the beach. A heavy, tattooed guy, probably a metal head or Aryan Nation member or both, who was with his family and a handsome bulldog looked over at us. I knew what was coming. The acknowledgement nod, something I experienced in high school when I saw another rocker type in the hallway. That almost imperceptible tilt of the chin, followed by slight knowing smile.

“Nice dog,” he said after the nod.

“Yours, too,” I replied.

I get more attention with Loren than I ever did with Jake, my black lab (RIP), who traveled many states with me. It’s something of a status symbol, good or bad, to walk with a pit bull. A slight edge. Especially if you’re a kind of secretary-ish white girl. Loren makes me feel secure and cool at the same time. Like, if I can handle this strong a dog, that somehow makes me tougher - perhaps a bit akin to the gangbangers that show off their burly pits to one another. Hmm.

Our evening was spent grilling, cooking, and enjoying each other’s offerings - mom’s broccoli and chicken casserole with fresh baked rolls (can you see where I get this eating thing from?), Michelle, Randy & Kim’s steaks and squash.

For dessert, Kim had brought along a double-sided flat iron to make what she called “pudgy” pies. 

“Rarely is food named after the effect it has on you,” someone observed.

“For good reason,” someone else replied.

Recipe: Take two pieces of buttered bread and in between the slices layer apple, cherry, or a combination of both pie fillings, then squash together in the iron.

Chubby gets the filling...

Then the press...

Kim and Michelle held the iron over open flame until the buttered toast was crisp and the filling nice and hot.


Then the flame...

Once relinquished from their iron prison, the pudgy was sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Delish.


Voila! The finishing touch!

Almost as good as the camaraderie and conversation around the campfire. After all our time alone on the road, it was comforting to be with family and friends that felt that way again.


Happy campers Michelle, Kim & Randy



The silly Sathes - Jim, Michelle & Rosie


"So, these two dogs walk in a bar..."


"No one can resist my charms!"

We worked a bit of the evening’s feast off on Sunday morning, when Michelle, Kim, Loren and I hiked a few miles near the bridge over Deception Pass, while my dad and Randy went fishing and mom watched the camp. Later on I read, my second favorite pastime on vacation (can you guess the first?).


"Put down the book and pet me!"

Deception Pass is amazing - the sound water blue and green, the woods lush, the sky expansive, the smell fresh. I was told this was one of the prettiest places on the planet and I believe it.

 
View from the bridge