Ways to treat fathers on their special day are as varied as the myriad of outdoor activities available to folks here on Whidbey Island.

Almost amazingly, the weekend skies cleared and the rain stayed away, making this year’s Father’s Day all that much better.

Of course there were the traditional barbecues and family picnics that filled Windjammer Park, Rosario Beach and Deception Pass State Park with the smell of hamburgers being grilled and the sounds of happy families getting together to honor “good old dad,” but some people found other ways to celebrate the day.

Lina Verona from Kent and her husband, Mariano, were having a successful morning just relaxing while reeling in fish off the boat dock at Cornet Bay.

“We come up here just to fish for the little herring,” said Mario, a Korean War veteran. “Some of them I smoke and others I broil.”

The couple were going to have a busy afternoon ahead of them when they returned home, as they both had buckets brimming with the shiny silver fish.

Others opted to take their fathers on a cruise around the San Juan Islands and the Island Whaler had a number of people on board as the tour boat left Cornet Bay just after 11 a.m.

Visiting dad is yet another way of making the day brighter and that’s what Jaydyn Viloria and her cousin, Adam Stacey, were doing at Dugualla Bay.

Viloria, from California, said she will be staying on Whidbey Island visiting her father until the end of July, while Stacey said he would be heading back to his home in Las Vegas on June 23.

At Bowman Bay, Peter Schmidt from Anacortes was giving instructions to a number of families who had selected a trip on the water in a sea kayak would be a good way to celebrate Fathers Day.

“I work for Anacortes Kayak Tours and the company takes thousands of people out every year,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt had six or seven boats full of kayakers ready to hit the water Sunday afternoon with people ranging in age from infants to senior citizens buckled into their life jackets and wet suits.

Whether it was fishing, boating, enjoying a family picnic or just sitting back on the sofa and watching the Seattle Mariners get beat again, Sunday was a special day for Whidbey Island fathers.