Two weekends ago after Emily finished school for the quarter, we treated ourselves with a quick getaway to Whidbey Island.It was our first weekend off since Emily's birthday in March and we started it right by swimming through some local hot spots on the way up.Oyster shooters at the Conway Pub. Generally I shy away from food with names like poppers, shooters, or extreme poppers — but I will never be mad at a local oyster, artfully prepared in a shot glass.More oysters in La Conner.The La Conner Pub sits out over the Skagit River — you can watch fishermen come in and unload their haul across the way, and harbor seals follow the boats in looking for scraps.When we got to Deception Pass we parked and walked across the bridge and down to the water.This guy had the same idea.Deception Pass is called Deception Pass because — well here, just read the sign:I like the type.I've been to Deception Pass hundreds of times but this time felt new. We've had a rough time of it this year with Emily in school and me working so much. I don't want to sit here and whine, but it's true — we haven't had a chance to do so many of the things we came back here to do. Still, I feel like things are looking up. Being up there was a breath of fresh air.After that we went up to Toby's in Coupeville for some mussels and kind of stopped taking pictures, until we came back to the house and the sun was setting over the Olympics.Some days are diamonds.