Patti and I were certainly uncertain of what to expect, how to plan, whether to plan or even how long to spend on our little sojourn in Washington State last week.
Obviously, a certain amount of planning was necessary, such as making sure we knew where our passports were, digging out the remains of our US dollars, checking ways of crossing from Van-Isle to the mainland, & of course, perusing maps both paper and online.
We decided on taking the Black Ball ferry, MV Coho, from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA. It was a bit tedious having to arrive 90 minutes early, so we all could be processed by the Americans, and even more so to find a typically officious fellow barking questions at disembarking passengers at the other end, accompanied by a sniffer dog as well, but eventually we on the road again. Where to, we wondered? Left towards the ocean and the Olympic mountains, or right towards the islands? We decided not to be impressed with rather scruffy Port Angeles (an opinion shared with others, btw) & ambled east toward Sequim. Then it was off to Port Townsend where we spent the night in a pleasant little hotel with a room overlooking the channel. We had the company of a bald eagle for a few hours as it perched on a nearby tower, & quite a lot of boats passed by regularly.
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LEAVING VICTORIA
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HOUSEBOATS NEAR OGDEN POINT
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We quite liked Pt. Townsend, with its attractive architecture & nice little harbour, & spent 2 or 3 hours wandering along Water St, looking for coffee shops, peering in craft shop windows & generally admiring the way the interesting parts of the town had been not only preserved, but emphasised.
PORT TOWNSEND ARCHITECTURE
After that, it was a Washington State ferry this time, from Pt. Townsend across to Whidbey Island, by car again across awe-inspiring Deception Pass - so-called because of the fierce currents that look like river rapids - & then northbound along the very pretty I5 to cross back into Canada at Blaine. An hour or so later we caught the BC Ferry from Tsawwassen to Namaimo's Departure Bay, & 25 minutes later, we were home. Lovely trip, but overall, we concluded the Island is just as beautiful as anywhere else!
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RO-RO FERRY LEAVING WHIDBEY ISLE.
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FROM THE BRIDGE OVER DECEPTION PASS
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