Friends, Ferries and Fort Casey

Back in February we met some friends from MN for some hiking. They were here for a visit to check the area out and decide if this was a place they wanted to move. Sam and I shared our experience with such a big move and how it has changed our lives! Of course we also talked up how amazing WA is! Both of us feel like WA has something to offer for everyone. We were really excited when they told us they were moving to WA (just a few hours away) in June! I have been friends with Kelsey since kindergarten and we have really enjoyed getting to spend time with her husband Eric too! It has been so fun to have old friends close by. One of the hardest parts about relocating is having to make new friends! Something about spending time with people who know you well is just refreshing. Sometimes it feels really good to be around people/things that are familiar. We were stoked they could join us for some camping at Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey Island! It was a good half way point for both of us. We had a short hour drive and a 30 minute ferry crossing to get there!

The entire trip to the campground felt so relaxed. Driving to Port Townsend is beautiful. You hop on the ferry there and enjoy the short crossing. The campground is literally a two minute drive from the ferry terminal! We lucked out and got a last minute spot here and I am so happy we did! This state park has been on our list since our first trip across Whidbey Island. We have stopped at Fort Casey a few times before but this was the first time we actually got to do a lot of exploring! Our campsite had a great view of the ferry. I think we all really enjoyed being able to watch the ferry! Such a fun experience.

This shows the beach and bluffs we explored. On top of the bluff is the gun batteries we explored. You will see more pictures down below.

Our campsite! That was the ferry we came over on! They were still loading it for the return trip to Port Townsend and we had already made it to our site. That is how close the ferry dock is to the campground.

As I mentioned in the last camping post, we have outgrown our small tent! We decided to try out our other tent and see if that will work. Upgrading to a camper isn’t something we are ready for yet so we have to find another solution! This tent definitely had enough room for us and probably 4 more people! Haha. It really is nice to have a tent you can stand up in and not feel so cramped. The problem with this tent is that it is huge! So far we have lucked out and had enough room for it at our camping sites. We have definitely seen some spots that this tent would not work for! Not something we really want to risk. How terrible would that be to get to the campsite and not have a spot for our tent!? Camping sites here seem to have a lot smaller spaces for tents than we are used to in MN and that was why we had bought such a large tent to begin with. Thankfully it fit in this site with room for Kelsey and Eric’s tent too! This trip was awesome because not only did we have tons of room in the tent but we also slept so well with our new sleeping mats! Which, if you have been following along, finding a sleeping solution has been our main struggle with camping this summer! So now that the sleeping issue is solved we have our eyes on a new tent that may appear in some future posts!

Really enjoyed the tent sites here. It wasn’t as windy being on the water as we thought it would be so that was a huge plus! The birds sure were noisy in the morning though!

Freya is absolutely loving the camping life!

Fort Casey was built in the 1800’s and served as a defense training location during World War 1 & 2. It was in operation until the 1940’s. Fort Casey, Fort Worden and Fort Flagler make up the “Triangle of Fire”. These forts were strategically placed to help defend the entrance to the Puget Sound. We took a short hike up the bluff to explore the gun batteries. It is such a huge area and the view is really incredible from up top! You have clear views in every direction! If you are any kind of history buff, this is a place you need to explore! We have been to both Fort Flagler and Fort Worden but hope to go back and have more time to explore.

Odin’s favorite part was climbing up and down all the ladders.

Such a beautiful beach right on the bluff. Smooth rocks mixed with sand and lots of driftwood. We enjoyed a nice walk and the kids were even able to fly their kites!

One evening we got to see a submarine escorted by the Coast Guard! Sam literally watched it sail off into the sunset!

Not a great picture (we left our nice camera at the campsite!) but it was a beautiful sky!

Langley is a town about 30 minutes from the campground where the Langley Whale Center is located. The whale center is a project of the Orca Network and helps educate the public about the marine animals of the Salish Sea. Gray whales, Orcas, and other marine life are often spotted in the waters near Langley. We decided to go check it out in hopes of seeing some whales! No luck this trip! The whale center was not what we expected. Definitely a lot smaller than we were expecting! The kids did really enjoy the children’s area. If you are already in the area this is an okay stop to make but we do not feel like you should travel out of the way for it. We did really enjoy the town of Langley itself. We would go back to spend some time there.