It’s always pleasant to spend a sunny day walking around Langley on Whidbey Island.
It’s even more so if you don’t have to fork over $13.70 for round-trip car and driver ferry fare from Mukilteo to Clinton. Save a chunk of that fare, and some gas money, with a simple bus-ferry-bus connection to Langley and back.
You can start at Everett Transit Center (50 cents on Everett Transit Route 23) or Lynnwood Transit Center ($1.50 on Community Transit Route 113). Both stop at the Mukilteo ferry terminal. There may be more convenient stops for you along the routes, so call the transit companies or check the Web sites listed here.
Here’s how my wife and I made the trip on a recent weekday.
We caught No. 23 at 9:10 a.m. at 41st Street and Rucker Avenue, close enough for us to walk from home. By 9:25 a.m., we were at the terminal just as the ferry was loading.
We put our feet up for the short ride to Clinton, where we found the Island Transit No. 7 waiting at the passenger terminal. This bus makes a loop from Clinton to Langley to Freeland and back again on weekdays.
We walked aboard the bus and took our seats, and here’s the great thing about Island Transit — it’s free. Shortly before 10:30 a.m. we were in downtown Langley, just as the sun was starting to take off the morning chill.
There’s not much reason to get to Langley before 10 a.m., unless you want breakfast. Most places don’t seem to open before 10 or 11 a.m., and some of the shop signs are somewhat vague about their hours. But that’s part of the charm, I guess.
Our leisurely late morning and early afternoon started with coffee at the Useless Bay Coffee Co. on Second Street. There are a number of fine locally owned places to sit down for coffee. Don’t waste time looking for Starbucks — Langley is a great Starbucks-free zone. In fact, except for Oak Harbor, the whole island is pretty much Starbucks free.
We strolled up and down Second and First streets, checking out shops, discovering several places had gone out of business since our last visit, and others that had opened. For the shopping- minded, First and Second streets and the plaza between them are full of options for art, crafts, furniture, clothing, jewelry, books, chocolate, wine — well, you get the picture.
Down the ramp by the Dog House Backdoor restaurant and tavern (“Closed until summer,” the sign says), visitors have access to a pleasant waterfront park below the town. You can walk along the beach or stay on the grassy area above the seawall, where there are benches and picnic tables. A stairway also leads to the park from a viewpoint on the street above, right by the bronze sculpture of a man leaning on the railing.
After lunch at Braeburn’s on Second Street, we walked up the hill and strolled through neighborhoods to the west, looking back down on the town, Saratoga Passage and the Cascades beyond.
Back in town, we had time to visit the 2nd Street Wine Shop and Tasting Room, where one of the owners, Laurel Davis, was offering samples of Northwest wines, the shop’s specialty.
By midafternoon we were walked out and ready to head back. The bus to Clinton comes by hourly, a little past the half-hour mark, and again, we arrived as the ferry was starting to load. In Mukilteo, we waited about 10 minutes for the ET 23 and were soon at 41st and Rucker to walk home.
Total transportation cost for the two of us to Langley and back was $7.90 for the ferry and $2 for Everett Transit. As I said, Island Transit is free.
As are all the best things in life.
Ron Ramey: 425-339-3443; ramey@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
