Apples and Ferries

9/11/19

Rosario Beach State Park is such a tranquil and peaceful place… that is until you are awakened by F-18 Hornet fighter jets roaring overhead at 6:30am after just having taken off from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. I suppose I needed to get up soon(ish) anyway, but sheesh, that’s not my idea of a wake-up call! My new best friends Benoit, Stephanie and Makena got up around 7am which prompted me to crawl out of the wet tent. My gracious hosts made me breakfast with hot coffee and charged up my two external batteries fully! What a treat and honor to have spent these rich hours with my new Canadian friends!

Interlude:

Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time in Canada (mostly on business) and have always come to appreciate the cool culture, kindness and fierce independence of the people there. I can’t say that I’ve ever met a Canadian I didn’t like – they have all been so good-natured, fun and with great since of humor…. and really skilled partiers to boot! I often feel Canadians are way more closely aligned to Europeans in terms of their culture, values, politics, and just plain overall outlook on life. And in addition to all of that, I love the way they treat and protect cyclists as is evident in their extensive bicycle path systems and signage everywhere.

I ended up hanging out in Rosario beach most of the morning including going for a bit of a hike on a beautiful path that climbs up to great vantage point overlooking the coastline and secluded bay. The process of packing up all the camping gear and all the other things, while making sure everything goes back in its exact same place, takes a little more time than I expected… averaging between an 1 and 1.5 hours. I finally said all my goodbyes and rolled out of beautiful Rosario Bay State Park Campground around 11:30 AM. I only road about 2 miles before stopping for some more food at a local country store. I was really in the mood for a breakfast burrito or breakfast sandwich of some sort, but since it was close to noon and they were long sold out, I settled for a 1 pound apple fritter with which probably had 100 grams of sugar! With the last bite still in my mouth, I continued riding and went across some really cool bridges climbing and descending in the never ending cycle. At some point just before reaching the quaint little seaside town of Coupeville, I noticed some people picking apples in a small orchard consisting of three apple trees off the side of the road. The ever opportunist in me decided to I stop and so I pulled around to where they were and asked if they had any apples to spare which, with great enthusiasm, said I can take as many as I would like. It seemed as if it were a family and they said they were picking apples on their own property to make a big batch of cider for themselves and their friends. This young man got down off this rickety ladder and said he would move to over to get some better and bigger apples for me which he did, dropping them down to me one by one. I really only had enough room for three, so I thanked them for their kindness and went on my way, but not before taking a picture with my apple picking friend.😊

When I reached Coupeville, I stopped at a local grocery store and while looking for a sandwich started talking to a older Swedish lady who moved to the states in 1959 and we talked all about my son Didrik and his connection to Sweden and how the world has change so much in the time that she had left Sweden. It was a fun but brief exchange and she jokingly invited me to have some lunch or as they say in Swedish a little “Fica”, but alas I couldn’t as her home was some miles away in the wrong direction! After my lunch stop, I got back on the road and 10 miles later I reached Fort Casey where I had to take a ferry across to Port Townsend. This was very exciting since this is my first ferry ride on this trip and my first ferry ride on a bicycle! It was also the first mode of transport other than pedaling the bike. The cost of the ferry was $3.60 and I was directed to be the first person to board before the pedestrians who then border before all the vehicles. The ferry ride lasted about 20 minutes which I spent on the upper deck looking around at the beautiful views in every direction. The coastline very much reminds me of the coastline on the west coast of Sweden… rugged, cool and rocky. Once in Port Townsend I stopped at the local grocery store and picked up some provisions and then went to a hardware store where I bought a few more freeze dried meals since I wanted to make sure I had enough food on my counterclockwise circumnavigation of the peninsula. At this point I had another 25 miles to go (about 2 more hours) to get to the next state park which allowed camping – Squim Bay State Park. It was late in the day and my legs were tired, but I kept on pedaling in Hwy 20 despite a couple very large and long hills and passes that I had to ascend – however each time being rewarded with big downhill coasting runs. I finally reached Squim Bay State Park campground around 7 PM and rolled into an empty and perfect campsite overlooking the water and started setting up camp. What I didn’t realize was this particular “perfect” site was already reserved and just about the time I finished setting my tent up and putting out all my cooking supplies, the owner of the site came rolling in with her RV camper. I immediately jumped up and talked to her and said I was willing to move right away as they were a number of other campsites open. We exchanged pleasantries and then she said I should just stay where I am as she wouldn’t be using the campsite except to park her RV. Ann and her little Shih Tzu dog Rudy were super friendly and cordial and gracious in sharing their campsite with me! As it was getting dark, I quickly set to work making my dinner which was a freeze dried “Cuban black beans and rice” with pulled fried chicken that I bought in Coupeville along with local IPA beer I had purchased the day before. After dinner, I headed for my tent and fell fast asleep after I finished writing, editing and adding photos to my last blog post. Barely able to keep my eyes open, I quickly fell deep into deep state of sleep to sounds of nature all around me!