Day Seven – Putt’n ‘round the Peninsula

We lined up bright and early at the ferry terminal with all the rest of the bikers, or as Tom likes to call them, “the OGs” (old guys). People who ride motorcycles have a camaraderie and easily strike up conversations. We met a couple who live on the island and enjoyed sharing stories of our rides and also a man who lives just a few miles away from us!

Once on board, we tethered the bike down. We waved goodbye to Victoria and set off for Port Angeles, Washington.

We had a “rocky” start, in that the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles was rocking back and forth. Tom, who is easily affected by motion, sat in the middle of the ferry and stared at a garbage can to try to stay grounded. It seemed to work because he made it to the US without incident.

We started off heading west on Highway 112 along the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Yesterday, we traveled east along the north side of the Strait on Vancouver Island.

We soon came to an intersection and could head south to Ocean Shores, our final destination of the day, or we could continue west and reach the furthest northwestern spot in the continental US. Of course we opted on the short detour to see the point at Neah Bay.

We stopped for lunch in Sekiu, a little fishing village on the Strait.

As we were removing our helmets we heard all kinds of noise above us. We looked up and saw three Bald Eagles. They sounded like a group of pre-teen girls at a sleepover. Not the epic calls you hear in western movies.

We got to Neah Bay and took a short rest before turning back.

We eventually found our way to Highway 101 and headed south. The fog was settling in and it was starting to get chilly. When we got back to the coast, we stopped and put our jacket and warm gloves on. Nice to be cold for a change.

The roads were serene and lent themselves to a nice casual pace. The area reminded Cathy of places in Alaska that she has visited. We rode through the Makkah and Quinault Indian reservations, Forks – the town where Twilight was filmed, and past the Hoh Rainforest. Beautiful day.

We arrived in Ocean Shores around 7pm. Our room is so nice, we’d love to stay a few more days (thank you, Nick and Lin).