Having grown up on Whidbey Island I have a passion for this magical place. After high school I left the island for college and career, met my wife, and we raised our kids together. Over the years we brought our kids to the island to play and get away, but the island kept calling me. We moved back permanently as empty-nesters and bought our dream cottage at Deer Lake.

When I was a boy, my first “job” was tying up boats on the Coupeville dock for ...