I got up at 6am and packed everything in 30 minutes. I rolled off at 7am. I felt ready to move onto my next
adventure. As I drove the sky was grey
and I knew yesterday’s sunshine was a gift.
I stopped at Walmart in Port Angels and spent $33 on pasta, sauce,
bread, salad, potato and chips. I took
one last look at Mt. Olympus and the Hurricane Ridge, ah….beautiful. Honestly, I find it a scenic obstruction with
all these concrete buildings, street lights, etc…..
I followed an RV to Port Townsend, I figured it was going
to the port where I wanted to go and this was a good feeling I followed. I didn’t know where the ferry port was and
this RV led me to it. The ferry was
$11.70 for 33 minutes to Courville. I
loaded my car onto the ferry for the first time, I was very excited. Reservations had first boarding and the rest
of us are on standby. I parked in the
reservations lane, I didn’t have reservations.
On the ferry, it was a rough and bumpy ride. People got out of their car and went up to
the deck. I sat in my car, ate fresh hot
rustic bread from Walmart bakery, crispy on the outside and fluffy hot on the
inside. When I stepped out of the car to
put food back in the trunk I felt dizzy, ocean sickness and I knew why I had to
stay in the car and not move around the ferry like everyone else.
I drove to Anacar Port, it took me an hour after passing
through lots of farms. I stopped at a
cherry stand and bought two bags for $11, delicious cherries. It was the right size and sweet in flavor, I
waited all summer for this. Living in
the Bay Area I am spoiled with access to best produce and fruits. In traveling, that is what I miss the
most.
I crossed the
street to a café to use the restroom and to pay for a cup of hot water to make
tea. The restroom was clean and the
staff gave me a cup of hot water for free.
I was feeling sick like an onset of a cold and the hot Darjeerling tea
really hit the spot.
The San Juan Island is $53 per car, a flat rate. In terms of time and directions it really
didn’t make sense to travel up this way.
I even thought of turning around at the toll booth. I followed what I saw and I got in line for
the ferry, ate cherries, and drank the tea.
I loaded onto the second deck of the ferry. I saw chromates on the nest by the window
harbor. I slept the entire one hour ride
to the island. I was so tired, I had been
driving nonstop for six hours, and I was feeling ill.
I walked to the
edge and looked out at the other islands and Canada. The campsites were all full here. Filled with extended families who reserved
and brought their giant BBQ double grill set, actual couches facing the ocean
to whale watch. I hear this is the
spot. 
I met a high school councilor from Santa Barbara who
takes this trip every year and stays at this campground. She said she was at the school for seven years
and was laid off this year due to budget cut and then rehired or
reinstated. I helped her set up her tent
in the wind at the walk in site. She
needed a hammer too. This was a great
place to camp on the island in terms of the whale watching. 
I decided to not camp at this part of the island. I decided to leave the island. The feeling of the entire island is nice,
“You can rest your weary soul and body here, you will be safe and it’s
alright.” “Thank You for the offer.” I responded.
Towards the end of my journey on this island, I had to
pull over to the side of the road and contemplate the subject of sensitive,
turbulent relationships that arose with affliction. I thought about ideals and projections people place on each other and
expectations from things neither party agreed to or sign up for or is even
aware of. It’s all based on assumptions
that somehow our own internal world of workings is the only one and that the
rest of the world is to follow our own rhythm and command, like the flow of
gravity. With such demands of, “Well,
why wouldn’t they? Why shouldn’t
they? How dare they don’t?”
I thought about what a monastery is for, it’s a place to
plant blessings and connect positive affinities. I thought about what to
follow, it’s the sound of wisdom and compassion, and not any one person. With such conclusions, my island tour came to
a completion.
I parked my car in line for the 6:30pm ferry at Friday
Harbor. I went for a quick stroll around
the port and did window peeking.
Everything is overpriced. I ended
up at a café and had their vegetarian cauliflower fennel soup for $5. It was hearty yummy. I tasted cauliflower, fennel, sweet potato, a
touch of tumeric, cumin, carrots, celery, peas.
I set the leeks aside and the chef said leeks are suppose to clear
fungus and so is garlic. I told her it
give me bad gas and she was less offended by my lack of willingness of eating
it.
The ferry loaded up at 6:16pm and rolled off at 6:25pm
five minutes ahead of schedule and docked at 7:32pm. I was parked next to the roars of rumbling
hot generator. A nap for an hour on the
ferry was just what I needed.
I drove to i5 and listened to the radio. It rained and I made it back to Seattle at 9:30pm. The buildings were all in slate grey and dim,
set against the tungsten blue sky with layers of various rain clouds in
different density accenting the sky that reflected the ocean and city
lights. Wow, what an amazing beautiful
scene. I could just park and watch the
city change colors. The image was so
vivid. All hands on wheel on this wet
road conditions and I didn’t try to photograph this while I drove trough
Seattle complex curved highways of many changes.
Trying to connect to i410 was complex, I got lost over
and over in Kent, Auburn, and Enumclaw.
I stopped at Auburn to get gas and to find a clean restroom. The Albertson’s toilets lock at 10pm. I had to keep driving and then stop at
Enumclaw to use the Safeway to get produce at 11:30pm and use the restroom. I contemplated sleeping in the parking
lot. I was somehow not tired so I kept
on driving for the next three and half hours until 3:15am. Although I was tired at 1:45am I kept on
driving. Yes that was dangerous
considering how tired I was and the road condition was foggy.
In the White River area, I saw lots of women, ghosts
wondering about for the past century.
They looked desolate. Some of
them were mix native. They looked
confused. They lived in confusing times
back then.
Even in the dark, I can feel the beauty of Mt. Rainier
National Park. No visible moon
tonight. I saw three deer at three
different times. I had to drive in dense
fog for 2 hours in the park. I had only
twenty feet visibility. The good thing
is there was no other traffic, I was the only car on the road. It was a very dangerous driving condition. I drove super slow. I was pretty determined to get to Cougar Campground
but I didn’t find it with three different attempts. I finally pulled over at the Paradise Inn and
rested sitting up in the car to wait out for day light.
Super cold here, all snow, the grounds are all wet from
snow melt. I am amazed how I am alive
and that my car is okay and that no animals were hurt. I was hoping to see cougars and bobcats at
night. They might have seen me and
dashed away. In this fog, I can’t make
out what is what and where is what. I
felt dizzy and my body felt like it just got off a ship, swinging, spinning,
and still moving.
Miles Driven: 456 Miles
Hours on the Road: 16 Hours
