Back in the lower 48

August 17, 2009
Chimacum, WA

As always, click on any picture to enlarge...

Wow, what a strange feeling to be back in the "lower 48" after being gone for so many weeks. Here's the catch up on what's been going on.

We left Telkwa as planned on August 12th. We checked the road conditions based on the known forest fires and made the decision to bypass Whistler and Vancouver on this trip. BC-99 was still experiencing some impact from the forest fires, even though there had been some rain over the last few days, and we were feeling like it was more important to get somewhere where we could chill for a couple of weeks. The combination led us to make a beeline for the border. Well, there's no such thing as a "beeline" in that area, but we made pretty good time. We passed through the little town of Hope (why are all the places called "Hope" little towns?), with its many decorated poles and hydrants, the larger burg of Prince George (Oooo, Costco!), and eventually Chilliwack. As we got closer to the border, rest areas became less frequent, smaller, and restrictive ("Please limit your stay to 8 hours").

We stopped at the WalMart in Chilliwack only to find a 2-hour parking limit, so we headed for the border crossing at the little town of Sumas, purported to be much easier than the one at Blaine on I-5. Ha, I say! We had a heck of a time negotiating the narrow and curved entry way to the checkpoint, and were rewarded with an inquisition and search for our trouble. It didn't bother me too much if they wanted to look through the coach and car; I was just happy that I hadn't ripped the sides off on the concrete barriers. "Take your time".

From the border crossing, we headed west to pick up I-5 north of Bellingham, stopped at the first rest area to grab a bite and then headed to the next WalMart down the road to boondock for the night in a quiet place (rest areas on I-5 are generally not quiet). There were a few RVs there, but many more homeless people sleeping in their cars. Welcome back to the "real world".

From Bellingham, we made the big circle south and then northwest, through Seattle and Tacoma and up the western side of the Puget Sound. We did the math (OK, I did the math) and knew that the ferry from Keystone to Port Townsend would be a better deal, compared with the fuel to drive all the way around. "Sorry; no ferry for you" when I called for a reservation. Oh, well, it was worth a shot. Our destination was a park run by the Escapees, an RVing organization we've belonged to for several years, just south of Port Townsend. We'll stay here for probably two weeks before heading south through Oregon to northern California.

So, we've been chilling, just as we planned. Saturday, we headed up to Sequim for shopping, passing through several small towns and by a couple of interesting "locals". Sunday, as it turned out, there was a family event in the area. We planned to get in touch with Geri's niece's son, Michael, while we were here, since they now live in Puyallup, right near Tacoma. Well, it turns out that this weekend was their son Brandon's birthday, and Geri's niece, Cindy, was in town with her husband, Mike, and daughter, Jennifer. We quickly made plans to drive down yesterday afternoon, and had a good time visiting for a few hours. The weather has turned beautiful, so it was a great day.

Below, left to right, Mike and Mike (Cindy's husband and son); Leslie manages the crowd; birthday boy Brandon; Geri and Cindy



Today, we made a quick trip into Port Townsend, a quaint little village, if a little on the touristy side. I picked up a small clip at the local Napa to fix the linkage on one of the bay doors (nothing like going to dump the tanks and finding out that the door to the "wet bay" won't open), we had lunch at a brew pub (no oysters!), and found a bunch of interesting wines at the local independent wine shop (who can resist that?). From there, it was back "home" and out with the grill for a nice pork tenderloin, butter-sautéed red potatoes (aka "Grandma Reds"), and grilled zucchini. Paired with a 2000 Touriga-Nacional from the Dão in Portugal (going back tomorrow and buying the rest), and a splash of a Pedro Ximénez Solera Sherry - woo-hoo! A great meal completes a good day.

Below: A-ville well represented again in Port Townsend; interesting bumper at the Safeway