Island Notes Island Notes

Hiking and Walking Oak Harbor

Oak Harbor offers visitors many opportunities to explore their travel interests, from fine dining and shopping to military history and whale watching. What Oak Harbor may not be known for —but should be— is hiking and walking. There are several options for every activity level, from avid hikers to family strolls, and dogs are welcome on treks.

KIRO Radio – About Penn Cove Mussels

KIRO Radio’s weekend cooking show with Tom Douglas takes us to Penn Cove for, what else? Penn Cove Mussels.
KIRO’s Tina Noel talks with Penn Cove Mussels co-owner Raul Jefferds and heads out on a boat to get an up-close look at the operation.

Abandoned smokehouse at Possession Point

A Perfectly Imperfect Day’s Walk

It was an impulse. It was winter and the day was far from perfect for playing outside, but that’s the thing about impulses, they often involve a willful disregard for facts.

Chasing Penn Cove “Mussel Madness”

What makes Whidbey Island so special? Is it the feeling of being away from it all? The journey to get there (you may drive to the ferry and ride on)? The many water views and beaches? The feeling of a slower pace and small town values? Or the plethora of fresh food ? I think it is a magical combination of these attributes that makes this place so unique.

Coffee beans pour from a roaster into a cooling pan.

Camano Island Coffee Roasters: In the Business of Changing Lives

Tucked inside the Camano Island Marketplace is a seemingly humble business, a coffee roaster. But this business, appropriately named Camano Island Coffee Roasters, has a worldwide impact, one that is changing lives through one small coffee bean farm at a time.

Zucchini and tomatoes at a farmers market

Garlic and Farmers Market Shopping

Shopping at a farmers market is a way to gain control of what you eat because there’s an attention to craft and a better understanding of the product. Even shopping for a simple and universal thing like garlic can turn into a learning experience at a farmers market.