Captain Whidbey

It’s been a wild ride these last 2 weeks. With the fear of not knowing how much time I had, the beginning days were frenetic-- packing-in as much as possible and constantly re-evaluating priorities. However, pretty soon I started getting decent platelet bumps and it seemed I didn’t have to rush quite as fast. Last Wednesday, after 2 bags of platelets on Mon and Wed, the platelet post-count was 49. I decided at 49, it’s time to get out of Seattle for a night. If not now, then when? I have a platelet buffer in case of a nosebleed and energy is good. Briana had her eye on a rustic hotel on Whidbey Island called the Captain Whidbey. Bree booked a room for Friday night, we left Alpen with grandparents, and were off for a marvelous trip to Whidbey!

I can’t believe I didn’t explore Whidbey more -- it’s relatively close (1 hr), gives an island life vibe, and is full of Pacific madrone. What else could you ask for? Friday was a little drizzly in the PNW, but the island is partially in the Olympic rain shadow, so by the time we were half-way up the island, the weather turned to scattered clouds and sun breaks. We were rewarded with stunning views over Puget Sound as we hiked along a bluff in the Robert Y Pratt reserve, near Ebey’s Landing State Park.  The wind blew, but it was a pleasant 60° wind. It felt so good to be walking outside again in a beautiful spot. After a 2-mile hike, we drove to the Captain Whidbey, an old hotel on Penn Cove, just north of Coupeville. Our 2nd story room in the hotel was just the right amount of rustic-chic. The floor sloped towards the view windows and we used drift wood sticks to prop the windows at night.  It was nautically themed, but not nauseating. There was a brown leather couch and an oil painting of a sloop on the wall. Encased in wood-panel, the room felt cozy. We dined in Coupeville, snagging an outdoor table at the Oyestercatcher that was a repurposed wagon wheel. We started with a marvelous dish of lightly-fried green tomatoes, oysters, and okra in a yummy tomatillo green sauce.  We shared a wild-caught alaskan Halibut as a main. The food was delicious and the setting was ideal.

Next I met Bree for breakfast. We brought our yogurt, coffee, teacake and a scone to the hotel’s dock, where tables had been set up to eat on the water. ‘Twas a crisp, sunny August morning and the day’s possibilities were positive and intriguing. We heard the town of Coupeville calling our name: we needed picnic supplies for the beach later. However, before we made it to the bakery and the cheese shop, we were quickly charmed by many other small shops and came out with presents for Alpen and Veyla (our niece whom shares 8.25 as her bday with my mom) at the toy store. Across the street was the small-town bookstore, and we were happy to take a few books off their hands and support this small business. We then hit the local bakery for bread and ended at the cheese shop. We made decisions easily and splurged some. It felt good. After finally making it to the bread and cheese shops, we headed towards another beautiful section  of the coast,  the Crockett Lake Preserve owned by the Whidbey-Camano Land Trust.

While Bree went for a run, I birded Crockett Lake, an estuary on the pacific flyway and one of the top birding spots in the state. I was delighted to pick apart Least and Western sandpipers as they scampered across the mudflats. It was excellent to see purple martins and hear their melodic song. But the highlight was the 150 white pelicans using the lake as a stop-over on their migration down the coast. A majestic bird, white pelican nest on freshwater lakes, but usually winter on protected coastal bays. They don’t dive, but scoop fish near the surface. I hadn’t seen white pelican since a trip to Moro Bay in 2010. I had forgotten how cool they are! A white 9-foot wingspan with an edgy black wing-tip. When 30 flew 100 m overhead, it was so beautiful, it calmed me and brought much-needed peace. Plus, I had never seen a white pelican in WA before, so it counted as a new state bird! My WA list grew to 193 species. We enjoyed our picnic lunch on driftwood looking south across Puget Sound. Then we got back in the car and returned to Seattle. The trip was a big winner and a great time for Bree and I to escape the stress of our current Seattle life and just enjoy being together.

Healthwise, all in all, things are going pretty steady, it seems like the steroids are keeping the abnormal blasts at bay for now. And the energy and appetite they give me has been fantastic. I’m happy that I currently seem to be able to harness the positive aspects of Dex while avoiding some of the bad ones, exception being sleep troubles. Sleeping is hard, but being functional on 3-4 hours of sleep has its advantages too.  I can use the night to write emails, write blog posts, organize photos, read books. WIth lots of tasks I want to accomplish, the dex has allowed me to check-off a lot of them.

Going forward is still a mystery. Will the dex become ineffective against the blasts soon? Will I stop receiving good platelet bumps? I do not know, so for now, it’s a day at a time, and hoping I can stay on my goal: eating and moving well for as long as possible. Maybe Bree and I can fit in one more overnight escape here, we’ll see.

I have been receiving an outpouring of love through texts, emails, and letters. Thank you for sending these. As you know, I don’t have time to get back to them all but I am working my way through them and appreciating the memories and sentiments. And of course, I still feel like I’m sitting on cloud 9 after receiving the honorary news from Point Blue.

Hiking in Ebey's Landing. Whidbey Island

Bree starting breakfast on the dock

Entrance to the Captain Whidbey at first light

Hiking along the bluff on the Robert Y Pratt reserve owned by the Nature Conservancy

White Pelicans flying overhead

Morning in our room

Dinner at Bar del Corso on 8/25

Mom's 70th! Dinner at Bar del Corso 8/25