Post Treatment Tour D5 Shaw to San Juan

(Flower boxes in the ferry ramp at Shaw)



Day 5 started with me waking up before Rowan. I shouldn't have worried about making noise because the ferries had been blowing their foghorns for hours. Still, I gathered breakfast supplies and my chair as quietly as I could then headed to the beach. Along the way I availed myself of the decorated pit toilets. So thoughtful! 

(Nautical themed pit toilet)

The weather was, as you may have guessed from the foghorn talk, foggy. The fog gave my breakfast on the beach a mystery than instant oatmeal normally doesn't provide. I had time for a leisurely meal and some staring at the water. I broke camp unhurriedly. Rowan was up but not super chatty. He was taking a later ferry so we said our goodbyes at camp. 

(Breakfast on the foggy beach)

I zoomed over to the ferry dock only to find it was delayed due to the fog. The delay suited me well. The landing was sunny by now and cheerful. I found a tea towel made on Orcas for Hisako and read my book. (Hearing the ferry now as I type on Lopez. It's a friendly sound. It's the sound of connection). Rowan eventually appeared booty eggshell thermarest in hand. He was pretty excited and went off looking for something to clean the sand off. 

I finished by book by the time the ferry arrived. A group of Christian cabin vacationers decided to bail on waiting for the ferry. They were doing to try again the next day. The women were talking about skipping lunch in Friday Harbor so they could do more shopping. That's serious shopping. 

The ferry ride itself was a nice sunny run through the tiny island. I forgot Friday Harbor is a lot bigger than Eastsound. The main street looks like a movie set for a film steeped in nostalgic Americana. I wanted to get on the move since it was after 1:00. I grabbed a sandwich at King's Market and ate on a bench. Soon I was off my way to San Juan County Park via the northern Roche Harbor road. Traffic was moderate but the road had a shoulder. The town quickly gave way to small farms and stands of trees. 

(San Juan scenery)

Along the way I found a couple of funky homemade art projects including one made of bike wheels. The creator wants us to know it's not done yet. There was also a big metal pineapple with wood planks for sale. Near Roche Harbor I saw a big group of cyclist followed by a van. Later I learned these organized tours cost $5000! 

(Bike wheel art in progress)

A little further down the road I spotted a lone cyclist. Slowly, slowly I gained. It was Ken. I'd seen him in the grocery store. He was also headed to the park. He been sailing in Fiji for five months and had just returned. I had him fixed for a rich tech guy but later learned he was a recently retired physical therapist for the VA. Don't judge. Ken is just crazy about adventure travel and is working through his bucket list. 

I knew the park had hiker/biker sites. I planned to quietly just occupy one, letting my reserved car site slide. The hiker/biker sites were better too. They occupied an open area on a bluff with open views of the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island. Ken was setting up closest to the b water. I wanted that view too and started to set up near him. Halfway through I realized I was probably crowding him and moved back. As I was looking for a new place my unstaked tent kept blowing over. Ken asked if I had stakes. What must he think of me! Once we were settled, we went to pay for our spots. The ranger outed me as a reservation holder. Once again I was outed as a uptight person who wouldn't risk being turned away and to add to it, I was paying for a second spot! What must Ken think of me! 

(My chillin' spot)

I thought about riding to the South end of the island and back, but the place was so pretty, I just hung out. I was supposed to be learning how to better chill. This was the perfect chance. I found the perfect place on a quiet part of the bluff and looked at the water. 

(The view from camp)

When I got back to camp I found we had two more folks joining us. Payam and Linda from Greenwood! They are a young couple up for a couple of days. Leslie is an archaeologist. Cool! I am not sure what Payam does. He mostly talked about outdoors stuff. He must be a work to live person. Fires were allowed. I bought a bundle of wood and we all chatted until 10:00. I only biked 16 miles, but I felt like I'd done a lot. 

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