Morys Musing

Another good sleep! I could get used to this! It’s now Sunday June 3 2018 and I will be leaving Pat and Richard to start my tour. I’m excited. It has been awhile since I did a big cycle tour solo and I always love the anticipation and sense of adventure.

Richard makes me breakfast and I finalize packing my steed. His name is Eric by the way. My trusty mode of transportation for the next 3 weeks. He was purchased in 2015 as a gift to myself (the best kind). I have always enjoyed cycle touring and he is one of the better touring bikes on the market. Solid, fast and extremely well built (just like someone else I know…. kidding).

I get a lovely surprise. Richard is going to join me on the ride to the Washington State ferry terminal in Sidney BC. It’s only about 5 km from their house and off we go!

It’s a great day to ride. Overcast and about 14 C with no wind or rain.

We arrive at the ferry terminal early and we say our goodbyes. I will be back to visit!

The ferry route from Sidney to Anacortes takes about 3 hours with a stop in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island long the way. It starts to rain lightly and it is quite cold in the ferry ride over.

Just before we arrive at the Anacortes ferry terminal, I quickly eat lunch on the ferry. As I go out to my bike it has been raining and it is wet. I did not put the rain covers on thinking it would not be that wet. I was wrong.

I remember my first hotel in Anacortes is not too far from the ferry terminal but I am not really sure where it is. On the ferry ride over I did not bring my cell phone up on deck to plan on getting there. I get on the bike and just go. It is very wet here and I again make the decision to not put the rain covers on.

I just follow the signs towards downtown Anacortes and after one wrong turn find my hotel. I am quite soaked and a little dirty. The reception staff are great. They tell me they have a bike rack in the back of the property outside. I give them my best puppy eyes. The manager asks if my bike is expensive. I say yes and she states that she will keep it inside right beside the recreation desk. I could kiss her!

All the other guests eye me warily as I trudge up my soaked gear to my room. It’s a lovely boutique hotel and at reception they provide freshly ground coffee for the next morning’s eye opener. Decent!

I am thrilled to see an older style adjustable radiator element in the room. A perfect dryer. I place the wet gear on the radiator and wipe things down. I have a quick hot shower and then it is off to explore the downtown with a map I picked up on the ferry. It is a historic building walk tour. Perfect! It takes about 90 minutes to complete with a background story on each building provided on the map.

What a great way to explore the town. It’s lovely here and some of the homes and parks are gorgeous. They also do something unique here. They have local artists create murals of individuals (historic and present day) from the town attached to local buildings. What a great idea and there are hundreds of them! I tour about 30 properties including a paddle wheel steamboat which is their largest exhibit. It was operational up to the 1980’s and was termed a “Snagboat”. The W. T. Preston was a specialized sternwheeler that operated as a snagboat, removing log jams and natural debris that prevented river navigation on several Puget-Sound area rivers.

Back to the hotel for a lovely meal. As I finish the meal the sky clears and beautiful sunlight streams into the bistro restaurant. This bodes well for tomorrow. I then go up to bed in my room to read and work on this blog but my eyes will just not stay open! Off to sleep. I guess I have still not repaid that sleep deficit.