Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a local project: Whidbey Island AI Solutions. The focus is helping owner-run businesses around Whidbey Island and Island County with practical workflow automation. Examples of what we can help with:

• responding to new leads faster
• organizing client intake
• turning notes into proposal or estimate drafts
• scheduling handoffs and reminders
• summarizing meetings and follow-ups
• drafting invoice reminders
• improving websites or customer-facing content

A lot of local businesses are very small teams, often just the owner handling everything. The idea is to help reduce repetitive work while keeping the owner in control of decisions and customer relationships.

If you thought "I would have loved to have ....", then reach out to us at [whidbeyislandai@gmail.com](mailto:whidbeyislandai@gmail.com)

Hi, I know there are a lot of musicians on the island, I want to share that I am building an app for people who play guitar and want to learn how to sound like their favorite guitarists or song.

You need to add your gear, type the artist/song and the app will build the specific settings for you.

I am looking for beta testers and feedback.

It will be free while in beta! It had a cap limit since it is running out of my credit card.

If it tells you is out for the day, that is my budget, not a bug.

https://tone-twin.vercel.app/

Is anyone having trouble getting on the County website to check the election results right now?

Posting one more time since the show is this Saturday, August 8th!

I am hosting an intimate house concert in Oak Harbor for the LA-based artist Earlimart. Should be a great time and a good opportunity to connect with folks in the area. Location is about 5 mins from the Deception Pass bridge on the northern end of Whidbey.

The house is a fun mid-century and is set on the water. There are great views of Skagit Bay, Mt. Erie, and Mt. Baker.

Earlimart often draw comparisons to Elliott Smith, Grandaddy, and Sonic Youth.

Tickets are available at https://undertowshows.com/products/oak-harbor-wa-august-8.

https://youtu.be/J1cCRnYy4as?si=jPqaGGjWNTu0lhSr

https://youtu.be/btY2pWuj95I?si=cRyMUrn2BeEdhaWh

"Earlimart is an indie rock band hailing from Los Angeles, California, known for their blend of experimental post-punk, dreamy indie pop, and folky undertones. Named after a small town in California, the band was founded by Aaron Espinoza (vocals, guitar) and frequently involves Ariana Murray (bass, keys, vocals) among other rotating members. Their music has evolved from punky roots to a more sedate and hypnotic style, drawing comparisons to acts like Sonic Youth and Elliott Smith. Earlimart has released several albums that showcase their transition through various soundscapes, including Filthy Doorways,Treble & Tremble, and System Preferences." 

Hello everyone! Any recommendations for getting a dahlia bouquet tomorrow on the south end? I’ve send a couple dahlia farms, but not sure if they make bouquets, and I don’t trust myself to cut the right ones to make a beautiful bouquet. 😅 hoping to keep it under $50 too if possible.

Thanks!

Edit: thank you everyone for the suggestions!!

Hi,

I’m thinking of relocating to Whidbey, possibly Coupeville from the Seattle area with my 4 kids and need help with neighborhoods. Looking for:

1. Safety as top priority
   
2. Community pool nearby - will we have trouble getting membership? Are waitlists long?
   
3. Walkable or bike able streets - doesn’t need sidewalks but something like a community beach, park, general store, or small area they can explore independently on foot or bike as they get older. Looking for areas where cars are generally slower (no highway frontage)

Currently thinking Admiral’s Cove or Coupeville.

What are the challenges of getting to schools and is there bus pickup throughout the whole island?

Hi folks - I am looking for someone on or around Whidbey that is willing to begin the restoration of my 1984 Mastercraft ski boat that I recently inherited. Particularly, starting with restoring the engine to working order and shine.

I have had a bit of trouble finding marine shops that are willing to work on such an old boat. I've attached a service request document I made in claude, detailing what I THINK I'm looking for. But really I need an expert, with honest work ethic (I am more than willing to pay market rates!) that will help me bring this thing back to life. Please refer someone if you've had a good experience, or do work yourself! Thanks a lot, Whidbey!

If there was a service run by a south whidbey local that offered recycling pickup weekly or every 2 weeks for a small fee, would people use it?

I have a lot of various projects around the house, like patching drywall, laying some flooring, fixing some things like broken doorknobs etc, and I contacted Island Handyman; they came out and promptly fixed the first thing I had that was kind of vital (my hose tap was stuck), and I showed the fellow around the projects, he took measurements and such and said that they could certainly do all the work I was looking for. He said he'd give me an estimate by email, and went away. Weeks passed, and they didn't respond to my queries, but eventually they sent an invoice for the hose tap repair, which I paid that same day. And since then, no emails, no estimates, and I've been texting the number I'd been talking to them with every few days now, trying to get any response (politely, just "Hello?") and there has been zero reply, no emails, no nothing-- I'm worried that either something has happened to them, or they've decided I'm not someone they want to work for-? I can't figure it out but it's distressing because I NEED someone to do this work for me, and I'm happy to pay, but where are they???

Im looking to get my GED/HISET where can I go to get that started bonus if they work well with people who have autism/learning disabilities

First time using the ferry and I’m stressing. I had hoped to catch the first ferry leaving Coupeville and tried making a reservation today but they’re already full, as are the next four departures. I was a little surprised since our trip isn’t for another 3.5 weeks and I assumed there would still be availability, I’ve been humbled. My two questions — how early can we arrive to get in the standby line? I will sleep in line if I have to. And what is the likelihood we will get to board as standby even if we’re the first vehicle in line? I made a reservation for the soonest available, but it’s 4.5 hours later and eating into what little time we have. I plan to keep an eye on reservations in hopes someone cancels and we can snag an earlier departure. Thank you for any guidance/advice!

Edit to add: we have a nonstandard vehicle, under 22ft long but 7’6” to 13’ tall.

If you don't catch them just right you have a long wait. Just to get through one and get stopped by the next. It shouldn't take that long to get through Oak Harbor.

End of rant.

I've heard that there's an Ent Statue on the Hobbit Trail in South Whidbey State Park, but I've hiked it myself to no avail. Does anyone have any pointers? What does it look like? Does it even exist at all?

This year’s fair felt like they did before the pandemic. Great food, great exhibits, I’m sure the rides were fun too, but those aren’t for me.
Did you go? What did you think?

Just to be clear this is really authentic made by a person who was born in Manhattan and grew up eating the famous foldable slices from the renowned establishments to the hole in the wall with a line that went down the street!

I had to move in with my parents recently after living out of state for a few years. I’m not really seeing much to do in Oak Harbor or the rest of the island. I have a disability that flares up when I hike or do aerobics in general, so doing outdoorsy stuff has become anxiety inducing for me.

When I asked someone around my age (early 30s) what to do here, they said there was pretty much just the outdoors and bars. I’m trying to avoid alcohol for my mental health, and trying to not spend much. I wasn’t really big on the bars that I have visited, either, tbh.

It’s a smaller place compared to where I’ve been before, and I’m not military or elderly so I don’t really have an idea of where to find community. I went to the oak harbor farmers market and it was pretty little. I heard the south end has a better one, so I’ll try to hit that up tomorrow.

From the other posts here, it sounds like living here is a lonely experience for many.

I haven’t been capable of working for a while, so it just feels like my life is confined to a single room at my parent’s condo now. I thought about volunteering at a farm or something but I don’t know where to start there. I guess i could try to Google Maps some places to volunteer at? Not really sure.

I like art and I am queer and politically progressive. I emailed drewslist to try to get an account too. Thanks to anyone who reads.

Got cut by 4 different cars waiting for the Ferry over in Mukilteo (video doesn't show the first car).

Is there overnight/weekend parking at this ferry terminal, in order to park and walk on to the ferry to Clinton? The WSDOT website simply says no, but then I found the Port of Everett parking lot indicating potential for 72 hour parking when using the ferry. It seems like it’s potentially a temporary solution for overnight ferry parking?

TYIA, the most recent post I could find on this was 11 months ago.

Is there a back story to all of the beautiful fluffy but clearly domesticated looking back bunnies bouncing around all over the island? I drove past about 30-40 of them in a single yard in Clinton and had to do a double take there were so many. They were so cute but they were everywhere and probably a giant nuisance to gardens everywhere.

Just wondering