Breaking Away
Travel+Leisure US|June 2024
Finding solitude on a peaceful island in the Pacific Northwest. 
Sara B. Franklin
Breaking Away

RIVULETS STREAMED DOWN the inside of my head-to-toe rain gear. I stood on a promontory, gleeful as a child, watching harbor seals dart about in the cold water below. Farther offshore, a lone elephant seal fished for its lunch, and, in a rocky inlet, an otter bobbed along on its back, a crab clutched between its front paws. It was the start of the rainy season, and I was seeking solitude on Whidbey Island.

Located about 35 miles north of Seattle, the island is often overshadowed by the San Juan Islands, the archipelago farther north in Puget Sound that is better known, and less developed. But it shouldn't be. Whidbey is easier to get to-just take the 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland town of Mukilteo-and has fewer crowds.

I wanted to experience the entire length of the island without doubling back, so instead of the ferry, which goes to the southern tip, I drove two hours from Seattle and crossed the Deception Pass Bridge, a historic span that connects Whidbey from the north. It was a dramatic entrance, with the fog thick and the rain coming down in sheets. Rather than going directly to my hotel, I made a detour to Deception Pass State Park and stopped at a parking lot that overlooked a shallow bay, relieved to see no other cars.

This was my first plane trip since the pandemic. I was also newly separated from my partner and had left our young twins at home in New York's Hudson Valley. Now that I'd flown across the country, I wanted to commune with the woods and the water, alone.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2024-Ausgabe von Travel+Leisure US.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2024-Ausgabe von Travel+Leisure US.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS TRAVEL+LEISURE USAlle anzeigen
Oodles of Noodles
Travel+Leisure US

Oodles of Noodles

Slurping through a lantern-lit alley in Sapporo, Japan, where miso ramen was born

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
The Sweet Spot
Travel+Leisure US

The Sweet Spot

Just an hour south of Miami, Nora Walsh finds a candyland of tropical fruits ripe for picking.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
Freshly Brewed
Travel+Leisure US

Freshly Brewed

In the Cederberg Mountains of South Africa, Kendall Hunter discovers the powerful effects of the humble rooibos plant.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
SHORE LEAVE
Travel+Leisure US

SHORE LEAVE

Raw, wild, and mind-bendingly remote, yet peppered with world-class wineries and restaurants-Australia's South West Edge is a study in contrasts.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
Of Land and Sea
Travel+Leisure US

Of Land and Sea

Savoring French flavors on a gastronomic trail between Marseille and Dijon.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
FAMILY-STYLE
Travel+Leisure US

FAMILY-STYLE

Food writer MATT GOULDING couldn't wait to get back to the hushed omakase restaurants of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. But would his young kids love the country-and its cuisine as much as he does?

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
HAPPY MEAL
Travel+Leisure US

HAPPY MEAL

Many tascas, the no-frills dining spots in Lisbon, have vanished. But others, Austin Bush discovers, are being lovingly reinvented.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
A City Abuzz
Travel+Leisure US

A City Abuzz

In underappreciated Trieste, Taras Grescoe finds some of Italy's most storied-and spectacular-coffee shops.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
FJORD FOCUS
Travel+Leisure US

FJORD FOCUS

Norway in December? Crazy-and crazy beautiful. Indulging a family wish, Akash Kapur discovers a world of icy enchantment.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)
DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand
Travel+Leisure US

DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Thailand

Full disclosure: I didn't like Bangkok at first. I didn't get it—the chaos, the traffic, the fact that everything was hard to find. But like all good love affairs, my relationship with Thailand—which deepened when I moved from Vietnam 12 years ago to work at Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia, where I'm now editor in chief—took time to blossom.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
December 2024/January 2025 (Double issue)