Above: Deception Pass, Whidbey island’s most iconic bridge, offers breathtaking views. Inset: Coupeville Ferry that brings visitors to the island from Port Townsend offers calming scenery. 54
a weekend stay at Rosario Resort on Orcas Island in the San Juans. Our private suite aside a trickling waterfall was a short walk to the Moran Mansion for total pampering. The home of shipbuilder and former Seattle mayor Robert Moran, Rosario was built in early 20th century Craftsman Style. Dining at the Mansion Restaurant was a step back in time, where world-class cuisine with exquisite service catered to our individual tastes. Our last night there, relaxing aside a massive fireplace with warm toddies of spiced rum, we heard loud music bellowing from down the hall. Intrigued, we followed the sound into the media room, where an immense screen showed images of silent film actor Lon Chaney, accompanied by the original Phantom of the Opera score played on the Mansion’s colossal Aeolian organ. In every season, the arts are alive on Whidbey. Most weekends, island towns are abuzz with casual
Inside New Orleans
concerts of jazz, blues, marimba and zydeco, especially in Langley during the week of DjangoFest, when hundreds of musicians converge there from across the globe to pay tribute to Gypsy Jazz legend Django Reinhardt. Celebrations of music, theatre, dance, visual arts and crafts fill a year-round calendar of events with festivals fostering inspiration and featuring lively entertainment. Lingering on Whidbey puts you in sync with the locals who live by “Island Time.” It’s an exercise in de-stress where your most pressing engagements are whale watching or starfish gazing, strolling along beaches, skipping stones over surf, watching eagles soar overhead or just listening to the soothing sounds of lapping waves coming in against the shore. For a last taste of Pacific Northwest before heading home, allow enough airport time at Sea-Tac for a stop at Anthony’s, where breakfast begins with a basket of warm homemade scones served with honey butter. My choice to order is Chinook’s Famous Salmon Cake, Poached Eggs and Hollandaise, with a side of Chinook’s red-eye potatoes—Seattle’s comfort food for lulling you into a contented in-flight snooze during the first leg of your journey before bustling to your connecting flight back to Louisiana!