There' s no place like /home

Day Nine

We missed our ferry to Vancouver Island and then got lost driving through Vancouver.  The plan was to ferry to the island and connect to a US-bound ferry in Victoria.  So much for Plan A.  We hastily constructed a Plan B to drive from Vancouver to Edmonds (just North of Seattle) and cross by ferry to the Olympic Pennisula.  The ferry ride was short and sweet.  The crew permitted us to bring the doggers on the sundeck.  Penny thought is was great to have the fresh sea air flowing through her floppy ears: she gave our fellow passengers her best Flying Nun imitation.  Nicky, on the other hand, cowered under the bench seats and didn't come out until we docked.

Another hour of driving and we were at our destination of Port Angeles. Our hosts were Lyndee and Allan.  They have created a Northwest version of the Winchester Mystery House out of their beach house and rent out any combinations of rooms.  We stayed in the converted barn.  The accomodations were quite comfortable once we got past the explosion of bunnies, angels and gossamer that donned every available inch of wall space.   You kind of get used it and I'm thinking of using bunnies as an interior design medium when I get back home.

Day 2 on the peninsula we drove back into the forest to go hiking.  The weather was perfect and the hike was best one so far. Day 3 didn't go as well.  We tried to find a hiking trail closer to the coast, but were thwarted by the dog-unfriendly national park rules and greedy private beach owners.  Malibu aside, I much prefer the California coastal system of beach access and ownership.

On our final day on the Olympic Peninsula, we drove to the Hoh Rain Forest and into the national park and took the coast route to Astoria. We saw two deer, a herd of elk and a river otter (my first).

Posted at 08:51PM Jul 10, 2007 by Cynthia McGuire in Road Trip  |  Comments[0]