Touring around

A couple of friends and I went to explore one of the islands in the area called Whidbey Island, which is about 25 miles north of Seattle and then a 10 minute ferry ride west. My knowledge of it before I moved to Seattle is that it has a Navy base. But when I heard that movies have been filmed there, well, then you know I had to go.

This is a pic of Coupeville, which is where Practical Magic was filmed as well as War of the Roses. It's a cute little historic-looking town, but I couldn't get a great shot of the town's main street as it was filled with festival vendors. But, see that shanty-looking building on the far left? It's a little restaurant called the Knead N Feed that serves the best bread...EVER (sandwich slices were about an inch thick and were soft). Other movies filmed on Whidbey include Double Jeopardy and The Ring.
Doesn't this remind you of a WW2 bunker, as seen in Saving Private Ryan during the D-day invasion? Yeah, me too. As we walked along a trail, we also ran into an old battery. Apparently, these were built in 1942 to guard the Northwest from a potential Japanese invasion.








So, along this trail at Fort Ebey, this is the scene where you film the "Really officer, we were just standing here talking and he just slipped."

This is a lawsuit waiting to happen without having any guard rails here. Just for perspective on the height, that black dot down there is a dude.






Taken from the same bluff as above, we turned to our left and saw this model gliders (or, at least that's what the sign we eventually saw called them). Look at that cliffside, as it will come into play down below.

Unfortunately, I took this trip on the weekend when it was pretty overcast (the last two were clear and sunny), so the visibility on the long-range shots isn't that great. A park guide told us that on a clear day, you can see the Olympic Mountains way over there.


Yeahhhhhh, so remember that cliff? Our trail made our way over to the site for these model crazies, I mean, gliders. Wanna see how they take off? Click the video (and that would be my eloquent commentary in the background).



Want to see how they land? We weren't sure what to expect...



My friend, Erin, and I. Sara is behind the camera.
You're probably thinking, "Wait...that's it? That's a really dull caption to otherwise edge-of-your-seat post." Well, I don't want to leave you disappointed, so keep going...









As we're walking along the path to the gliders, we suddenly hear this noise in these particular bushes and see them moving around in a pattern. Lost-lovers, you'll get this, as it's kind of like monster that sometimes chased the folks in Season 1.

Sara and I just stand there staring as it gets closer, and I said something to break the tension like "Maybe it's the Hook Man," meanwhile Erin breaks out into a run down the path. Sara and I continue to stand there frozen, wondering what's coming out of those bushes.

A dog runs out.

We start laughing, and Erin screams out, "I can't believe you two just stood there. That's why the white people always get killed off first in the movies!" Maybe it's one of those "you had to be there," but I was laughing so hard that I had tears coming down my face.

My money shot. This is what I would imagine the coastlines of Ireland or Scotland looking like. I can't wait to explore them some day.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. MI:3 review coming up later this week.