One of the reasons for a road trip across America was to catch up with family in the Pacific Northwest. So we took a few days out to spend time with Bradley, Susan and Linnea as well as a side trip over the border to see our good friends David & Rachel.
Bradley had arranged a whale watching boat trip from Anacortes which we enjoyed on Saturday but the rest of the time was simply spent relaxing.
This morning saw the start of the second leg of the trip as we changed from a westerly heading to a southerly heading down the Pacific Coast bound for Los Angeles. Bradley suggested that we should leave the I-5 at Hwy 20 and take the Deception Pass bridge to Whidbey Island then the Coupeville to Port Townsend ferry back to the Olympic Peninsula, thus completely avoiding all the traffic snarl around Seattle. It also meant that most of the trip was along various coasts, bays or inlets and thus much more scenic than a motorway.
Curiously, the ferry captain announced that they had to perform a Coast Guard mandated safety drill and, so mid-channel, the ferry came to a dead stop, they lowered a rigid inflatable lifeboat, put two crew aboard and they set off for shore while we got under way again. Apart from proving that they could deploy this boat and that it was operational in the water, I have no idea what the exercise actually proved. Nevertheless it was an interesting diversion.
We spent a little while browsing the shops in the historic part of Port Townsend, all of which were full of wares designed to part tourists from their dollars; we resisted. After that there was a long run alongside the Hood Canal which does not actually seem to be a canal, more a sizable inlet; and then over to the Pacific Coast and our stop for the night at Willapa Bay
231 miles today, total trip 5972. States: Washington (and British Columbia, briefly)
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1 comment:
I'm glad to hear you made it OK and enjoyed driving the alternate route. Looks like you had the same good weather we did in the afternoon!
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