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| Day 1 - Santa Clara, CA Day 2 - Lee Vining, CA Day 3 - Baker, CA Day 4 - Las Vegas, NV Day 5 - Las Vegas, NV Day 6 - Grand Canyon, AZ Day 7 - Durango, CO Day 8 - Glenwood, CO Day 9 - Highlands, CO Day 10 - Highlands, CO Day 11 - Estes Park, CO Day 12 - Craig, CO Day 13 - Jackson, WY Day 14 - Cody, WY Day 15 - Mammoth, WY Day 16 - Choteau, MT Day 17 - Kelispell, MT Day 18 - Sandpoint, ID Day 19 - Omak, WA Day 20 - Anacortes, WA Day 21 - Anacortes, WA Day 22 - Poulsbo, WA Day 23 - Poulsbo, WA Day 24 - Poulsbo, WA Day 25 - Astoria, OR Day 26 - Lincoln City, OR Day 27 - Bandon, OR Day 28 - Eureka, CA Day 29 - Anchor Bay, CA Day 30 - Martinez, CA FINAL THOUGHTS |
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Up and at ‘um. We’ve got to catch the 10:15 a.m.
ferry, this morning, from Keystone to Pt. Townsend and this is summer.
Summer in Washington usually means long lines of tourist wanting to
take a boat ride. We set the alarm for 7:30 to be out by 8:15 and
almost make it. The morning sky is filled with that gray overcast
that Washington is known for and the temperature is a cool 51 degrees.
We put on long shirts and jackets and head south for Whidbey Island
and the ferry. It’s 34 miles from Anacortes to the Keystone Ferry
so I anticipate about a 45-minute ride with traffic. It actually
takes us a little longer and we get in line at about 9:40.
Waiting in a long stop-and-go line on a large motorcycle is a pain in the butt. As the toll taker collects the money, everybody moves up one car length. Balance the bike, move up, stop the big mother, and so on. When we finally get up to the tollbooth, we find out that the 10:15 ferry is full and they are taking tolls for the 11:15. Oh well, we’re on vacation. Then the toll taker tells us that, since we’re on a motorcycle, we didn’t have to wait in line. In Washington, motorcycles go to the head of the line. Great deal, but we won’t be taking anymore ferry’s on this trip. Then she gives us some more good news. Since we’re a motorcycle, she’s pretty sure we’ll get on the 10:15 ferry. She sends us to a special lane to wait for the next ferry (photo 1). All right!
We get off the bike and wait. The fog is starting to lift a little and starts to recede offshore hanging just off the ferry landing. Linda takes her book and finds a place to sit and read, I go over and talk with the other motorcyclist. There’s a career Navy man who commutes from his home in Bremerton, near the navy yard, to the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island. He has put close to 51,000 miles on his 800cc Suzuki Intruder. The other fellow is my age and also rides a Suzuki, but it is a café racer, and I don’t know enough about this type of bike to recognize the model. He is wearing full “Joe Rocket” leathers and during the discussion reveals he has been riding for about 30 years. A fellow on a Harley 1200 Sportster rides up later and I don’t get to talk to him until we are on the ferry. He tells me he has had the Sportster for years and years and had thought about getting something more comfortable. He says that little seat is tough on his rear end but he hasn’t saved up enough money to make the change.
You can now hear the ferry sounding its horn in the fog offshore. Slowly the sound gets closer and then the ferry pokes its bow out of the fog bank (photo 2 & 3) and we all go to our vehicles to get ready. Sure enough, the loading crew takes on about four cars then tells the motorcycles to load. We all squeeze into a small space in the front end of the ferry. I end up with the Suzuki Café Racer on one side and the Harley on the other, and then they squeeze in a Kawasaki Concourse next to our trailer (photo 4).
At one time, not that long ago, motorcycles used to go right to the front of the line and were placed in the very bow of the ferry. That is also where the “walk on” passengers congregate to disembark from the ferry when the ferry lands. From what the two fellows from Washington tell me, some of the bike riders were rapping out their pipes in the middle of all the “walk ons” and scaring the kids, etc. Who knows if it’s true, but motorcycles are no longer in the bow but safely behind cars, who now occupy that front space. The “walk ons” now mingle in front of and between the cars that are usually quiet and well behaved. As we left the ferry dock at Keystone behind, we took the time on board to relax, have a little breakfast (photo 5), and enjoy the ride. I took a few pictures of the fog over the surrounding islands (photos 6,7, & 8), and the ferry (photos 9 & 10), and then its’ time to mount up and disembark from the ferry. This is a day to see our children so we didn’t stay in Pt. Townsend. We’ve been here many times and it will have to wait for the next time. We head south on Hwy 20, and take Hwy 19 towards Pt. Ludlow and the Hood Canal Floating Bridge (photo 11). This is just a nice ride with shades of emerald green surrounding us as we make our way to Poulsbo. Washington is a really beautiful state. Within a short period of time, we were pulling into the garage (photo 12) of Brian, Tammy and Chris’s house. We’re here for the next couple of days and it will be nice to be off the road for a while, wash the bike, read a book and visit the people we care about (photos 13, 14, 15). Oh yeah, this is the view from the living room of their house (photo 16). |
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