We
slept in this morning since the ferry to Anacortes didn't
leave until Noon. Jerry and Mary met us in the hotel parking
lot at about 10:30 and we went to the Washington State Ferry
berth in Sidney. Day 24 |
Date | Weather | Total Plan Miles | Actual Miles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Aug 19, 1997 | Clear 61 to 80 degrees |
5279 | 5140 | ||
| From (Plan) | From (Actual) |
To (Plan) |
To (Actual) |
Today's Miles (Plan) |
Today's Miles (Act.) |
| Victoria,BC | Saanichton,BC | Seattle,WA | Seattle,WA | 330 | 110 |
We
slept in this morning since the ferry to Anacortes didn't
leave until Noon. Jerry and Mary met us in the hotel parking
lot at about 10:30 and we went to the Washington State Ferry
berth in Sidney.
The ferry we took today was much smaller than the one that brought us to Vancouver Island, and is run by a different outfit. On this line, motorcycles must wait until all other vehicles have boarded, then they get to find areas where cars won't fit. On this trip, though, there was lots of room.
This ferry also made some stops in the San Juan
Islands. This was the first time I'd been in this area, and
I was most pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the area.
Friday Harbor on San Juan Island looks like an idyllic host
for any vacation. In fact, the Morris's and we decided this
would be a great place to return for a more intimate
investigation of what the islands offer. Some other Harley
riders we met on board departed at Friday Harbor with plans
to catch another ferry to stay in a town called Orcas. I
overheard them talking about a fine resort in that area. I'm
convinced I need to do more homework on these islands and
plan another visit focused on its watery wonderland.
Friday Harbor looks to be especially inviting.
From the ferry, we could see a very attractive area
immediately around the ferry dock, and just up the hill a
bit we could see what looked to be an older (but still
quaint) downtown area. I picked up a newspaper on the ferry
that is published on San Juan Island. It listed several
vacation homes in Friday Harbor that rent for about $800 a
week, and sleep up to six people. That's no more expensive
than most ski rentals I've looked at in Lake Tahoe. Like I
said, this area deserves a closer look for a future
roadtrip.
The trip from Sidney to Anacortes took about
three hours with stops at Friday Harbor and Lopez Island.
This gave me some time to catch up on my writing. I know
I've been delinquent, and I wanted to take some sailing time
to catch up. Betsy decided this would be a good time to
exercise the video camera, and so here is a sample of the
fruits of her labors. As you can see, I'm not shy about
spreading my equipment out all over the table on the
passenger deck. "Hi, Betsy. You got what you came for, now
let me get back to work."
After arriving at Anacortes, we took a very
uplifting ride along the length of Whidbey Island, the host
island of Anacortes. We were lucky to see sights like
Deception Pass without any obstructions like fog or rain. In
fact, the weather has been unnaturally warm and clear for
us. There are reports of possible thundershowers tomorrow,
but you can't see any signs of that today.
At the end of Whidbey Island, another ferry ride awaited us. This time, the ferry took us from Clinton (on Whidbey Island) to Mukilteo on the mainland about twenty miles north of Seattle. The ride was only twenty minutes, and we got to ride at the front of the line again. You can see us here, parked in the hold of the ferry, getting ready to unload on the mainland side. You can't see Jerry Morris because he kindly volunteered to take the photo. (I'll see if I can work his picture in later.) After unloading, we just hopped on I-5 for a quick ride to our hotel room on Mercer Island, east of Seattle. We did pass a Boeing site where we could see them building Boeing 777 airplanes for KLM and United. Quite a sight!
Tomorrow, we go into town to see the Space Needle.
Updated 8/20/97 by Robert Farrell |
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