Part III - All The Way To Neah Bay

We were up and about much earlier today. I was awake at 6:00, in the bathroom by 6:05 and back in bed by 6:07! After an hour and a half I did rise to greet the day, foggy and a tad on the cool side but being intrepid travellers we were not deterred and were out the door soon after.

Today was another one of those lazy riding days, seeing the sights, taking our time and not rushing for there was nothing to rush for or to.

Taking Hwy 20 south we left Port Townsend behind and were soon at the junction of Hwy 101 West. This was the final stage of Hwy 20 I had left to ride. This is a wonderful road that starts out in Central Washington by the town of Omak and works it's way westward through Winthrope, Sedro Wooley, Whidby Island and continues across the water in Port Townsend until it meets 101. Now I have ridden the entire highway and I'd do it again in a heartbeat for it is truly one of the lesser talked about routes. Try it yourself and you'll see what I mean. Port Angeles is the next stopping point, this time for lunch. Downtown at the ferry terminal we found Smugglers Landing a quick and easy lunch oasis. They offer up good pub-grub with  friendly flair. Mushroom-Swiss burger for her Ladyship and a soft Seafood Taco for me. Good, fast and cheap. By the way the ferry terminal next door services Port Angeles and Victoria B.C. This is an excellent way of getting from Vancouver Island to the Olympic Peninsula and vice versa. Lori and I took this route a few years back and it is really handy, docking in downtown Victoria, across the street from the Parliament Buildings. It is not expensive and is a great way to skip the Seattle area with it`s famous traffic snarls. Once again, try it, you`ll like it!

I gassed up and we were off and running west.along 101. The weather had cleared up somewhat, the sun was shining and traffic was light. Next turn is the junction of Hwy. 101 and Hwy 112 which peels off to the right and follows the shore line all the way to Neah Bay, our destination for the night. The weather flip-flopped all afternoon from sunny to fog to sun and back to fog again. As the afternoon drew on the road started to get a little slippery and the chill had me flipping the electric vest on. Lori was leading the way setting down her usual steady path with a good pace suited to the road conditions. You know I never tire of watching her ride, confident, skilled, the complete rider.

Feeling tired we pulled into Neah Bay and started looking for suitable lodgings for the night. So far all we saw were some pretty seedy looking motels none too inviting. Backtracking a little we came across a small resort with individual cabins. Now I had seen this place on the web the other day and pegged it as a possibility but the advertised price was too high in my opinion. Nonetheless we pulled in, rolled up to the office counter and ask the gentleman what he`d charge for a cabin. $88.00 was his reply and we took it, the last one he had available too. The price on line was over twice that but it appears the website is focused around the fishing season when the demand is much higher. Anyway we were soon squared away in a cosy little cabin with the furnace heating the place up.

The Cape Resort Cabins

A peek inside.

This is really a comfy, clean place, across from the harbour and I`m looking forward to staying here. We have the rest of the day open so we go for a leisurely walk along the shore over to the Makah Cultural Center which we will visit in the morning. We continue walking around the harbour and head onto the wharf for a tour of the fishing fleet.

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...T

The harbour was your typical fishing fleet, gnarly looking vessels that raise question to their seaworthiness, the mixed smells of diesel, oil, salt and rotting fish; in short a wonderful place to roam around and nose.

Feeling a bit peckish we found our way back to the Warmhouse Restaurant right next to the harbour. Laid-back home style cooking is the name of the game and we had chowder, again, and I had a chicken fried steak. This took me back to the last time I had Chicken Fried Steak which was at my friends Kathy and Trey`s house in Knoxville, Tennessee. This was good but not as good as your`s Trey.

Spent and tired, it`s surprising what a day of wind and fog will do to you, we head back across the road to the little cabin and hunker down for the evening.....some blogging for me and some scary TV movie for Lori. Tomorrow we`re hitting the Cultural Center then off to Cape Flattery, the furthest North-West point in the continental United States. There is an interesting walk out there so I`ll be sure and grab some photos for a future instalment.

Well friends and neighbors the day is coming to a close so I wish you all good-night.

Steve
Neah Bay, WA