The other day we packed up and left Portland. It was a great stay. It was nothing like the media or scared suburbanites portray it. Yes it has its problems, but everywhere has its problems. The media doesn't talk about all of the good work Portland is doing to help improve the problematic areas and they don't talk about how awesome the food is or how great the public transportation is. Anyway, we packed up and left Portland and drove up to Gig Harbor where we were meeting a friend for dinner. We picked up Teriyaki chicken and went to Beth's house in Gig Harbor. It was a bit rainy and we couldn't find a great place to have dinner with Francis so Beth invited us over. It was a great evening of cathcing up and having delicious PNW Teriyaki.
Our post dinner selfie.
After a short dinner with Beth, we headed to Belfair State Park, about 30 minutes away. We arrived just as it was getting dark so we struggled to find our campsite. We talked to the host and they pointed us in the right direction. It was our first time setting up camp in the rain and darkness but it went pretty well and soon we were in the van and ready for bed. The next morning was nice and dry so making coffee and breaking camp was pleasant. While we broke camp, Donna realized we were in the wrong campsite. It ended up working out so no harm no foul.
The Olympic Peninsula
Today we have a 2pm ferry reservation from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC. We needed to be at the ferry no later than an hour prior to departure so we had a bit of time to kill. We decided head to Poulsbo, WA for a pastry. Poulsbo is a cute town in Northwestern Washington that is heavily Norwegian. It was "founded" by Jørgen Eliason in the 1880s. It has a strong Viking theme.
We parked and walked to Slyus Bakery. It's a great place that is very popular with locals and tourists. Happily the line was short.
Downtown Poulsbo is VERY cute.
Black Ball Ferry to Victoria
Our next destination was the ferry port in Port Angeles. We made the drive and only hit a bit of traffic near the end due to an accident. We arrived at the ferry landing just about an hour before sailing. We have driven by this ferry landing a few times and each time I wished we had the time to go to Victoria by ferry and now we do! We have been to Victoria once before but we flew on a sea plane, which was really fun as well.
The M.V. Coho is the ferry operated by Black Ball Ferry Lines. It's a very popular crossing and has been for many years. While we were on the ship they played an old song talking about the M.V. Coho so I looked it up and here it is for you to enjoy, Black Ball Ferry Line by Bing Crosby featuring The Andrew Sisters.
The Ferry crossing was great. Everything went smoothly including getting through customs. Luckily our last crossing on the way to Winnipeg prepared us for this crossing. I had all of the answers to their questions prepared like, what are you carrying? Do you have any Alcohol or tobacco? When was the last time you were in Canada? How long will you be in Canada? I nailed all of the answers confidently and we were allowed in.
Our van was dwarfed by some of the camping rigs onboard.
You can't stay in your car during the crossing but we were allowed to leave Francis. He was happier in the car than he would be in the deck. The crossing was only about an hour and a half.
It isn't a mustard station...
A beautiful day for a boat ride.
I was glad the ship was secured in these times.
Oh wait, it isn't very secure. No worries, it was just a kitchen for the galley.
You could buy Duty Free Bud Light at the Coho Duty Free Shop.
We decided to split a beer
Their selection of food wasn't very appetizing.
This isn't the way...
We got a Port Angeles Craft Beer. It was very good.
We got photo bombed or are we the bomber?
We mostly sat in solarium.
I took a screenshot as we crossed the border.
Our Tiny Condo
Our Airbnb is right in the Chinatown area of Victoria next to all kinds of food and bars and pinball. It's very small, but it was in the right place and it has secured parking. We were met by the host and given the tour and keys. We are slowly getting settled and finding a place for all of our stuff in this 400ish sq. ft. condo with a Murphy Bed.
The dining area is also the bed!
See! The bed!
A cool sign in Chinatown on our evening walk.
That's it for today, but stay tuned for our Adventures in Canada for the next 9 weeks. If you missed "Visiting a "Haunted Mansion" Themed Bar" check it out.
Donna, Francis, and me enjoying our first trip after retirement
Looking Back
Today we are somewhere on the road between Baltimore and Baton Rouge so we are looking back at our first trip after retiring on February 19th, 2021. We did the trip to Birch Bay State Park in northern Washington from February 23rd to 25th. The Covid Pandemic was still raging. Donna was able to get her vaccinations as a health care worker before quitting but I was still waiting for mine to be available to the healthy general public. We had tried to stay at Birch Bay State Park earlier but just didn't find the time to do it. It was a symbolic trip representing our new freedom and we really enjoyed it.
We drove up and stopped by Larrabee State Park on the way. We wanted to get full value out of our State Parks Pass
Beach access through a tunnel
The Beautiful Washington Coast
We were taking Covid precautions seriously
We didn't have a reservation so we were able to pick the best site and we were the only ones there besides the camp hosts
It was pretty cold that trip. It got below freezing over the night
My old boss gave us some salmon from his fishing trip so we planked it and it was great.
The pour over tradition started differently but continues to this day
An evening Quirkle game to keep our minds limber
The local bottle cap collection hammered into a post
The next morning we got up early and went on a hike. We encountered Hair Ice for the first time.
