I’ve always been a bit indifferent to holiday weekends. Most of the jobs I have worked don’t have holidays off, and they often feel like just another day of the week. I do love a good Thanksgiving feast, thrive watching my cat run through Christmas wrapping paper, and when I was a kid I felt like an all star staying up late watching Twilight Zone marathons on NYE, but these days I can take or leave most of the lesser known holidays.

Fourth of July is typically my least favorite holiday. I don’t enjoy fireworks unless I am hot and sweaty after a full day at Disneyland, and I don’t have a big family to aggregate with for BBQ and brews. This year, things were a bit different. This year I am dating a human who works a M-F job, where holidays are a thing. This meant the Fourth of July weekend was a prime time for a weekend getaway.

So we got away.

Duncan has more of a Type B personality, while I am more of a Type A. This means I like control of the planning process, not that we needed to plan too much for a short weekend away. I made a last minute change in plans, taking us to the town of Anacortes, and this turned out to be such a lovely little reset.

We arrived Saturday afternoon, and our first stop was to Mount Erie – the tallest mountain in Anacortes. This wasn’t saying much, as the peak tops out at 1300′, but after recovering from my second bout of Covid just a few days prior I felt the 1000’+ elevation gain. We took it slow, and savored the view from the top.

After basking in our sense of superiority at the top amongst the other humans who drove up, we made our way back down and headed to our Air B & B. I found this Air B & B two days before we were to arrive, which was literally perfect timing. Someone had just canceled their stay, and the hosts put the spot back up for a discounted price.

I happened to be the lucky soul who found it – talk about divine intervention.

This Air B & B was PERFECT. I adored everything about it. It was small, and minimal, and bright, and OPEN, and airy and beautiful. Fully equipped with everything, including a fun couples card game that Duncan and I played. I would absolutely stay at this place again, it was just so wonderful.

They even provided sleep masks because the skylights brought in so much natural light! Little touches do not go unnoticed.

After dropping off our stuff we headed to the nearby grocery to buy some fooooood. We made dinner, watched some Netflix, played the card game, and headed to bed. The next morning we had a casual breakfast before driving to Whidbey Island for a walk at Fort Ebey. I had found this hike (more like a walk) a few weeks prior, but I knew it would require a weekend trip away as it was too much to drive in one day.

The drive took about 40 minutes, and it was a rainy, blustery day, but we had a car full of snack and veins full of coffee. The trail was beautiful. Like something out of the UK. My only complaint was the amount of snails. It was like I couldn’t catch a break. If you read my last post you will know I JUST walked a trail where the slugs were endless, and I felt like my anxiety was in overdrive.

Thankfully my lovely boyfriend hugged me and let me take my time when I had a full blown meltdown.

I don’t claim to have a “normal” phobia, alas it is what it is. We made it out of snail territory and looped back on the beach for a relaxing walk back to the car. We hunted for beach glass, unique rocks, and pretty shells to take home with us. Duncan even got himself an eagle floof. We very briefly went to see one of the old military bunkers at Fort Ebey State Park before making our way back to the Air B & B.

Duncan promptly fell asleep after eating an early dinner, so I made myself a Brittany friendly meal while watching Netflix and let the gentle giant slumber.

The following day we were set to head home, but not before one more minor exploration. It was Monday the 4th, and downtown Anacortes was crowded for a parade. We headed to Washington Park for a loop around the area, which turned into more after getting a wee bit lost. Duncan spearheaded us out, and we made it back to the car and back home in record time.

I tend to enjoy a busy vacation, with lots to see and do. Duncan enjoys more of a restful vacation, but he was a trooper and indulged me in my need to walk and hike and explore. This was just what I needed to scratch the itch. A weekend away keeps the wanderlust at bay, even if just temporarily.

Q: Do you enjoy weekend getaways, or would you rather save everything for a week long trip?