The island cruise | Island Senior

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 24, 2026

By Peggy Sue McRae

Journal contributor

I was delighted this morning to get a text from a friend, “Tomorrow will be another sunny day… wanna cruise?” You bet I do! Even happy hermits need to get out once in a while. A cruise around the island is just the right amount of time to cover all the topics: the state of the world, the state of the country, our various health issues, how blessed we are to live on this beautiful island, and we can reminisce and perhaps even indulge in a bit of good old-fashioned island gossip.

My favorite route around the island is something I call “the Mom drive,” based on when my mom was living at the Village and I was working at The Whale Museum. She was always up for a cruise, and I enjoyed them at least as much as she did. We went for drives often. From town, we would head to the south end. If Mount Baker is out, the best place to catch that view is from the Redoubt off Pickets Lane. Often locations will prompt memories, like of my dad’s friend, a county engineer, who brought him the outhouse seat from the old McRae place at American Camp, where my dad grew up. Neatly lettered on the artifact was, “George Pickett did not sit here.”

Cattle Point Interpretive Center is the next stop. According to our family lore, after Pearl Harbor, our mom worked as a lookout there, watching for Japanese aircraft. That’s a little hard to imagine now as we squint our eyes looking for Mount Rainer. Heading back toward town, the view of South Beach from above is stunning, but don’t go back to town yet. Take a left on False Bay Drive. That stretch of road on False Bay Drive is one of my favorite parts of the island. Everyone I know loves that big farm that looks out across the Straits to the Olympics.

False Bay is a great place to pull over and look for birds. It’s not unusual to see a great blue heron. Memories are of low tides on summer days, walking all the way out on the sand, then on your way back, trying to remember which rock you left your flip-flops on. Continuing on False Bay Drive, if it was time to get Mom back to the Village for supper, we’d take a right on Bailer Hill Road back into town. If not, we’d turn left and head out to the west side. I always like to check out that little waterfall above Deadman’s Bay.

Heading up West Side Road from Limekiln Park, those wetlands are the place to look for early signs of spring like the Skunk Cabbage that, in spite of their smelly name, have lovely, huge yellow flowers. From Mitchell Bay Road, we would head back toward town via Beaverton Valley. As lovely as the shorelines are, the island’s farmlands have a beauty of their own.

An island cruise is a great mental health break. I encourage you to take some time and take your mom or take a friend and immerse yourself in the beauty of this island we call home.