Distance: 410km
Driving time: 1.5 hour ferry ride + 4 hours driving
Dear D!
I’ve decided to write my blog entries about our trip down the coastal highway to LA as if I was writing a letter to you. Partially because I particularly enjoy writing letters for you and partially because I suspect you may be the only person who reads my damn blog anyway.
So, to start at the beginning (I’m so sorry about that opening, but it’s what popped into my head and we’re going to go with it), which is right now, Baasje and I are waiting at the Coho ferry dock to catch the 4pm ferry to Port Angeles and Baasje is so bored he is cleaning his nails with a Swiss Army knife. ‘Does that bother you?’ he asks politely as I glance his way out of the corner of my eye. Then, ‘I wonder if they are going to show the hockey game on the ferry - they would if it were a Canadian Ferry.’ You get the picture. Why the seasoned Coho ferry folks would need us all to show up 90 minutes early to go through customs is beyond me. All it’s amounted to is a whole lotta waiting around and nail cleaning if you ask me.
…I decided to spare you an hour of me rambling on about the wait at the ferry dock and put my computer away. I won’t say much about the ferry experience, other than, the atmosphere on board reminded me of Sunday afternoons spent at the bowling alley with my father in the seventies and, if you ever happen to find yourself on this ferry, whatever you do, do not eat the food.
Oh, this is something you should find amusing - the ferry ride turned pretty rough towards the end of the crossing and we overheard the couple at the table next to ours in the cafeteria asking a passing ship’s officer if the borderline violent shifting was ‘normal’ to which he replied ‘I’m not nervous. Do I look nervous to you? When the staff starts looking nervous that’s when you have to worry.’ An answer which I expect would have put the couple at ease had it not been immediately followed by two cafeteria wait staff bursting out of the kitchen yelling ‘John! Stuff is breakin’ in there!’. Needless to say, I took a quick glance around for the nearest exit and took note of the axe mounted to the wall, should the need arise to break through a window in the event the ship capsized - thankfully, it did not.
The drive from Port Angeles to Portland ended up taking about 5 hours including a stop for a chicken fried steak supper in Tenino and 15 minutes of wrong turns after we got lost in Portland trying to locate our hotel. We took a pleasant route along ‘The Canal’ suggested to us by the cafeteria staff on the ferry - a winding two lane highway passing through a string of forest reserves and pretty lakes.
All in all it was pretty much what you'd expect on a first day of a road trip - the anticipation that comes with knowing the best of the trip is still ahead of us balanced by the relief of finally getting on the road. You know how it is.
View my West Coast Road Trip Flickr set.
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