With the initial goal of Vancouver set aside for another time, Abby and I set off from my house at about 11:something. It was raining when we left. Since is was Thanksgiving, most everything was closed.
I think we caught the 12:30 ferry.
We stopped at a grocery store at some point on the island and ate lunch. We looked for a restaurant to eat at, but none were open. Luckily we had lots of mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and trail mix.
My glasses were covered in drops of water, making it rather difficult to see. It was also getting fairly dark by the time Abby noticed the sign for Rhododendron State Park. There was one green sign facing East,(you’d see it going North.) but the main signs indicating a park with camping, etc. were covered up by big black plastic tarps, and closed signs were hung below them. Luckily park gates don’t stop bikes. There was a kennel or someone with a lot of dogs nearby, and they barked as late into the night as we were conscious. The closed park was a fine place to camp, but the water was turned off. We had brought enough water for dinner and breakfast, so this wasn’t a problem. We made a campfire and warmed our wet feet and hands. It took some logistical maneuvering, but we got the stuffing, gravy and potatoes all warmed up using the single small pot we carried and had a Thanksgiving feast including cranberry sauce and turkey jerky.
The rain had stopped by the time we stopped riding to camp, and there was no more rain during the night.
The next day we had oatmeal and coffee (or tea) for breakfast and set out on the ride.
Abby got a flat tire on Bayview Edison Road on a hill overlooking some blueberry fields. The rain stopped while we changed the tube and didn’t begin again until we’d been moving for a while. There was quite a downpour as we headed around Chuckanut mountain.
We stayed with Nina, a friend of Abby’s just south of Bellingham in Fairhaven. We went out to dinner at Flats in Fairhaven.
In the morning everything was covered in snow. More snow was predicted for Sunday in Bellingham and Seattle. Abby didn’t want to camp in the snow or to miss snow in Seattle, so we reserved train tickets from Mount Vernon to Seattle, since they were sold out from Bellingham, and rode to Bellingham for breakfast. We had bagels and coffee at The Bagelry and did some shopping at Deals Only. Then we set off to the south.
We went to a thrift store in Mount Vernon and then ate dinner at the Skagit River Brewery. I got a flat tire while locking my bike on the patio. I must have knocked the valve against something because it was torn out of the tube. After dinner we went to the co-op grocery and then waited for the train. We talked to an old guy who had done a lot of fishing for crab and other stuff in Alaska and Washington. It was an uneventful train ride and I made it home between 10 & 11.