Coupeville is an adorable little waterfront town on the shores of Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. The architecture reminds me of a quaint little New England town and is very well preserved. Originally Lower Skagit Indian land, the area was settled in the 1850s by Thomas Coupe, for whom the town is named. Coupeville is a small town with a population of right around 2000 people. It’s also home to Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve, the first site of its kind in the country which preserves the old buildings and countryside of the 19th century settlers. I had a great visit to Coupeville, enjoying coffee on the pier and wonderful views out over the water. There are some lovely little Victorian buildings around including the immaculate Anchorage Inn and Kineth House. I loved all of the seasonal and Halloween decorations that were up when I visited as well. The highlight of my visit was probably the fish and chips at Toby’s, though. You can get fish and chips everywhere in Washington, but these were the best I’ve had in a very long time. You should definitely check it out if you visit. I hope you enjoy these photos of tiny Coupeville, Whidbey Island’s waterfront gem.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for me out here. I spent all of last week in Charleston, West Virginia saying goodbye to my dad and trying my best to sort out his affairs. While he had many health problems over the last few years, his death still came as a surprise. It wasn’t something I was ready for at all. While my dad and I were not super close, I will still miss talking with him and visiting with him. I hope he is in a better place and I’m glad he is no longer suffering from any pain or discomfort. My brother flew in for a few days and we were able to spend time with Judy, my dad’s partner of 33 years, and their two Japanese chins Jake and Charlie. I was also really thankful to have a friend passing through Charleston while I was there who took me out to dinner and helped me talk through a lot of my pain. I had another friend drive out from D.C. for my dad’s memorial service which was really something. I’m very blessed to have so many good friends in this life. Since I last wrote, I also turned 50, a milestone birthday which snuck up on me with everything that was going on. I’m glad I didn’t have any exciting plans for it as they probably would have fallen through. Anyways, I am back in Washington State and I am writing to you today from Bellingham in the far north of the state. I’m still sorting out a lot of things in my head, but I wanted to write about my time leading up to my flight to WV because it will be good for me to write.
