Whidbey Island Magic
When Jamie and I discovered that Coupeville is the town they filmed “Practical Magic,” we immediately made future goals to visit and stay in the small town for a weekend in October. This was years ago, as Coupeville is on Whidbey Island just off of Washingon and required a car rental and ferry ride. Meaning, a little harder to squeeze into a weekend, but accessible enough for a long weekend.
As Jamie’s 36 year birthday approached, we decided to make it happen. And it proved to be more magical than expected. As it was my first visit to Washington, I feel in love with the enormity of the pine trees and the landscape. Whidbey Island itself has a lot of farm land, which means wide open fields speckled with trees and worn out barn houses. Fort Casey is a large and well maintained fort with fields to frolic in that overlook the Pacific waters. Olympic National Park was viewed from a distance, and the waters were filled with fishery boats and scuba divers. And the small towns that inhabit this quaint island created strolls filled with artist shops, coffee houses, and treats for doggies.
Lemon got ice cream and doggy treats galore. One of the small towns on the island was Coupeville, were we stayed three nights. And it was just like the movie set! Our room was above Vail Wine shop, which was the post office in one beginning scene of the movie, where Sally got a letter from Jillian. We ate at all the restaurants that inhabit the main street, starting with Toby’s Tavern - also filmed in the movie. Our favorite spot was the walk way between Toby’s Tavern and the Botanical shop that Sally had in the movie - I loved how the wood creaked with every step, and for Jamie is was a photo spot for the changing tree colors and a great view of the water.
Coupeville is an old port town, and is so sweet and festive to visit. Most business owners live above there shops, that they open each day. There is a scarecrow trail designed by the businesses of the town, and a small silly cemetery created for this month behind the ice cream shop. You can buy witchy souvenirs, but nothing is overly done here. In all honesty, they take just as much pride being the location that “War of the Roses” was filmed, and that Toby’s Tavern Tee-shirt was filmed in “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
We spent most days walking to pumpkin patches, shops, new towns, Fort Casey, and Double Bluff Beach. Lemon loved walking along Coupeville’s main street at midnight when all the lights were on and not a soul in sight. The Pier is also filmed a lot, and was always in view with our walks with Lemon. We met a ton of friendly deer and a cat that could have eaten Lemon if it would get up from laying on its back. All in all, as a birthday weekend getaway, we loved our time in Coupeville, and I cannot wait to return to its inherent magic.
