Dwagenheim

I got up and collected my things for my departure from La Conner to Port Townsend. I had an egg for breakfast and did a little emailing before packing up and heading out on the cool morning. I rode up to the Rainbow Bridge, connecting La Conner to Fidalgo Island, home of the Swinomish Indians. After a few clouds and a very light sprinkle, the sky opened up and there was nothing but sunshine. I rode through mostly rural areas going up and down on the busy State Road 20. I added another photo to my roadkill collection, a large owl on the side of the road. I passed over Deception Pass, which connects Skagit Bay to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The bridge crossing to Whidbey Island was pretty cool but I ended up on the left side of the bridge and after walking my bike across on the enclosed sidewalk, I met with stairs that went down under the bridge. I wanted to be on the road so my only option was to take off all my gear and lift it all over the railing separating the bridge sidewalk from the road. I continued cycling the ups and down on this beautiful day. I went through the small towns of Oak Harbor, where I stopped to eat some lunch, and Coupeville, before arriving at the ferry terminal just in time to catch the 4pm ferry to Port Townsend. After the 30-minute ferry ride across Admiralty Inlet, I arrived Port Townsend. I rode through downtown and easily found the Memorial Field where Janet, the daughter of my Servas host family, was going to be playing in a high school soccer game. I paid my admission, parked the bike and went to a local burrito shop for a fat seafood burrito to munch on during the rest of the Junior Varsity game. I chilled out up in the stands and watched some of the locals arrive as I waited for the Varsity game to begin. It was nice watching a high school soccer game and even though I didn’t really have a connection to either team, it was fun rooting for Port Townsend. About ¾ through the game, I was approached by Michael, the father/husband of my Servas host family. We talked for a bit until the end of the game and then I met his wide Peggy and their daughter Janet who I’d identified earlier with the help of the soccer program. We packed my extra gear into their station wagon and Peggy and Michael gave me direction for the short ride to their house. Janet stayed back and hung out with her teammates while we prepared dinner at the house. I met Reed, Peggy and Michael’s son who had just finished college at Brown University in Rhode Island. Both Reed and Janet had been involved in exchange programs in Latin America during high school and Peggy and Michael had been Servas hosts since the 80’s so this was a family that had a lot of experience in cultural exchange. They were interested in hearing about my travels, my bike trip and my job in Alaska. Reed had worked a couple summers in the Bristol Bay Salmon fisheries. We ate a great dinner cooled by chef Michael, a carpenter by day and a masterful cook at night, and had great conversation over many glasses of red wine. Finally, we called it a night and I layed down for a comfortable nights sleep on their fold out couch. (41 miles)

Peace

Dave