WHIDBEY ISLAND AND THE TOWN OF LANGLEY

"Islomania is a rare affliction of spirit. There are people who find islands somehow irresistible. The mere knowledge that they are in a little world surrounded by sea fills them with an indescribable intoxication.”
Lawrence Durrell

Every visitor to Whidbey Island suffers at some point before, during or after their sojourn here, from islomania. Some with better immunity get only a slight case lasting a few hours, or perhaps as long as a weekend, and recover upon return to the mainland. A few lucky (or poor) souls recover from the inebriation, often after quite a long residence, and suddenly leave Whidbey, running pell-mell for ferries or bridges wanting never again to see “the rock.” Others discover they have the larger, chronic form of the disease, love all islands equally, wantonly and forever, and adjust their lives so as to visit as many as possible, either in person, or through the pages of magazines. Then there are the terminal cases, those who set foot on Whidbey once and find they cannot leave. Unable to stop themselves they build houses, cementing lifelong, and in many cases generations long, ties to this forty mile strip of glacial till.

Langley is the oldest town on South Whidbey, with a long history as home to seafaring, farming, fishing, logging and communal families. More recently Langley has become a center for the arts, with galleries filled with local works, an annual festival, a performance center, a children's theater. Spanning the gap between the old days and the new is The Clyde Theater, a perenially popular community hub.

Restaurants and shops abound in Langley, from homestyle cooking and antiques, to Northwest fusion and cutting edge fashion and there are also lots of stylish places to stay. South Whidbey schools and many community organizations are located here, so there's always something exciting going on.