In the island chain serviced by ferry. Lopez it is. No internet coverage other than library. Yesterday I left Friday Harbor on the smaller inter island ferries. Life is less consumer here, there is no hardware store or saw rental shop. Or, favorable beer drinking spot. Roads are less crowded as I experienced on my road ride yesterday. Seems that almost all drivers acknowledge an approaching driver w/ a finger wave from the steering wheel. Great grocery store. I checked in w/ the local bike shop for island info. Only customer. She told me of shower @ a boat shop as the health club Silver Sneakers uses lacks one that I hoped it would have. And of the Galley, a local watering hole. I watched Mon football there, Ravens won the game on last second 61 yard field goal. I checked out the airport and found outside the fence parking that worked for the night.
Of my 3 island visit I choose Orcas and Eastsound as my return to place. I would need to nail down a suitable sleep spot. Abe, the weather never cooperated for me to get to the top of Constitution, either bright, clear, cold, and windy, or warm and fog shroud covered.
Les, I am in the San Juans.
I am leaving Lopez tomorrow for Bellingham and van service on Thurs. May the issue be fixed Thurs then I will start heading south following the sea water. Widbey Island and Deception Pass, a ferry ride to Port Townsend, then around the Olympic Peninsula hugging the shore line all the way to Coos Bay, OR when i will jump inland heading to Death Valley. Sedona is my next stay spot that I will make sometime in January.
Keeping an involved life w/o my main purpose of mountain biking is challenging. I lack the time bite it fulfills. I don’t understand tourism as it is. Why go visit a place and watch and be served by people who are making a go of it and depending upon your contributions? The people you visit w/ during their work, get off work then go about their outside of work life, the one that really defines them. Short duration visits never get to the under belly of the life of the place you are visiting. You meet people and then interact w/ them for such a short while, shallow involvement. So topical. I fell in w/ folks on Orcas, I was asked if I am moving on as I seemed to be from here already.
Yesterday I stopped here @ the library. I saw a guy doing computer work and noticed his right arm in a sling. Ah hah, another shoulder repaired person. We chatted about recovering life and a guy around the corner joined in, both of us failed to see his arm in a sling. The gathering of the repaired.
Yesterday was a nice day for my road ride. So far today low clouds dropping their tidings keeps me indoors. The islands are in the rain shadow of the Olympics which scrape the rain as a result the islands have drought
Sat I rode the ferry over to Friday Harbor which is the bustling commercial center of the islands. Lots of stores. Too busy for my tastes. I found a sports bar for the Gonzaga game for Sat. and Sunday for the Seahawks game. I stayed @ a county XG on the west side of the island, only person there, $25 a night. When the fog lifted I could see lights of Victoria, CA. Several large ocean freighters passed. I could sense the pounding of their powerful engines. Sun I visited the Lime Kiln Lighthouse open house where I performed my usual inquisitiveness asking and learning about killer whales, orcas. A 98% pure limestone deposit was discovered back in early 1900s that was developed, hence its name. The airport was too developed.
Tomas said that the new issue of Freehub is out which includes an article about me. Pick it up. Don’t know what it says. Hi Joe Hazel.
My shoulder is starting to bark about all this typing.
Over.