Everyone at the CLNW meeting agreed that there was really only one interesting way to get to Anacortes, and that was to drive up the Oregon / Washingon west coast, around the Olympic Mountains (with a couple of peaks of almost 8000 ft), to Port Townsend, and then catch a ferry across from there to Coupeville before the short drive to Anacortes. This would not only give me a spectacular drive around the coast, but also avoid much of the tedium of freeway and Seattle traffic if I went up the (much quicker) freeway I 5. Unfortunately this meant that I missed the opportunity to see Rod Powell at the Ridge Motorsports Park near Shelton, but I think that poor Elsie needs a rest from tracks for a while - She has a long way to go yet, and is a 13 year old lady with a lot of hard racing miles under her belt, so needs all the TLC she can get !!! Next time.
Leaving Jim and Carol McVein's at 9.30 am (thanks so much for the hospitality - really enjoyed our chats about all your amazing equipment and hobbies), the skies were blue, even if the temperatures were very low (like about 6 deg C), so the roof was off, and I immediately cut NW to the coast on Hwy 26. Almost straight away I was into some incredible climbing roads with sweeping corners, and the only car that could stick with me was a big V8 mud plugger truck with a very loud exhaust and not much rear body work. When following him, every bump in the road shook loose more mud and debris from his chassis which cplatered all over me, so in the end I passed him, and he remained glued to my rear bumper for the next 20 or 30 miles as we had a wonderful drive through the hills.
At one stage there had obviously been snow the night before as the pine trees were white, and the road was wet, and there was heavy steam / mist rising off the road as the sun warmed up. This mist created a really eary yet truly magical effect for several miles. Even the fresh snow on the branches over hanging the road was melting and occasionally dripping water onto me, and one branch decided to drop a small load of snow neatly onto my head and into my car, which woke me up VERY quickly, I can assure you !!!
And then a town called Elsie !!!! Aw shucks, they didn't have to erect a sign just to welcome us !!!! Well, I had to take a photo didn't I ? !! Rofl.
The magical ride across to the Pacific coast continued, and then we wound our way north to Astoria where we crossed the most amazing bridge and Causeway that reminded me a bit of a cross between the Forth Bridge in Scotland and (is it?) the Hayward Bridge on the lower SF Bay which has a really long causeway. After that, the road just continually varied between running beside the sea or inlets, over small passes and beside lakes, and then around the Olympic Mountains (with peaks of 8000 feet) through the Olympic National Forest, and eventually turning east towards Port Townsend, with Vancouver Island just aross the water to the north, and the Cascade mountains always ahead in the distance on the mainland. What a stunning drive YET AGAIN !!!
My sister had called me earlier in the day and she and Ted had been camping at Port Townsend for the Easter break, and suggested I meet them there and camp over night there before catching the ferry the next morning and driving back to Anacortes together. This turned out to be a brlliant idea as the evening ferries were all cancelled due to exceptionally low tides, and I didn't reach Port Townsend until about 7 pm anyway, after a long 10 hours in the saddle covering over 400 miles of winding roads. So it was with some relief that I pitched my tent in Port Townsend, while Ted cooked a steak and poured me a delicious glass of red, and Janet cooked the spuds and beans in their camper van ! How nice to have someone to look after me a little at last !!!
The camp site was in Fort Warden, an old military post where guns once defended Puget Sound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worden More recently, in 1982, the Richard Gere movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" was filmed on locaton there - No wonder it looked so familiar to me when I first drove in !!! It was a cold night, but at 6.30 I was up and walking along the beach as the sun came up behind the Cascade Mountains, and I picked my way amongst all the Driftwood on the shore, which reminded me so much of one of my favourite Moody Blues songs "Driftwood". A lovely way to start the day.
Soon Ted and Janet were up, and we packed up camp, and headed into town for a delicious breakfast at one of their favourite haunts. Afterwards we headed straight down to the ferry terminal hoping we could get on the first ferry across to Coupeville, and were soon in the line. Time passed quickly with lots of people coming over to chat about the car and the trip - among them Peggy and Wayne from Grass Valley out near Tahoe, and Gary and Kim from Alaska. Thanks for all the tips guys !!
On the ferry, a lady called Julie heard Janet and I talking and asked us about our adventures, and wanted to know how we did it all ! We were so deeply involved in chatting I nearly missed my turn in getting off the ferry !! Hope you find the blog and enjoy it Julie !!
Once off the ferry, it was just a half hour drive or so to Anacortes, across the scenic Whidbey Island, and crossing the bridge over the amazing Deception Pass, before rolling into familiar territory in Anacortes. Janet and Ted's house was a welcome sight after just over a month and some 5500 miles on the road. I am looking forward to a few days relaxing, walking, and catching up on email and my blog which have all fallen some 3 or 4 days behind due to the lack of wifi connections for the last 3 nights !! Also will be able to do my laundry, sort out all the things I haven't used so far on the trip which I can therefore safely leave behind thus giving me some extra room in the car, and of course getting with the local Seattle and Anacortes Lotus clubs as well as giving Elsie an oil and pad change before we head north in a couple of weeks time.
Needless to say, my blog will be a little sparse for the next couple of weeks, so we can all take a rest before we start again !
Photos from the last couple of days here :-
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/PortlandORToPortTownsendToAncortesWA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLbxr8mNwPvj9AE#
