I may have mentioned in an earlier post that at the start of the summer my friend Dave and I sat down with a calendar and put down all of the things which we wanted to do. Well, this past weekend marked the end of what had been originally planned, and I'd say we went out with a bang!
On Friday night at about 7:30, Dave, Jon, and myself took off for their uncles house, just outside of Forks, WA (no, we were not going to see the sights of Twilight). Our plan was to get there late that night, hike the next day, and take the ferry across to Victoria, Canada from Port Angeles on Sunday. We made it about 10 minutes on I-5 and had to turn around because I had forgotten my passport. This made me feel really dumb, as I had been thinking all week about how I needed to find the key to the little lock box I have with all my important stuff in it. Needless to say, I didn't have time once we got back to find the key, and the ease with which I pried open the still locked box made me see just how worthless it was anyway.
One aspect of our trip which really excited me was that we were going to be taking my car on a ferry, which I had never done before. Unfortunately, due to my passport oversight, we missed the one we were hoping to catch by four cars! It ended up not being a big deal though, as the trip out to Forks took two hours less time than we were originally told.
Saturday morning was a real treat. Dave's aunt Joyce made us a gourmet breakfast of homemade scones, scrambled eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and plenty of hot coffee! We were all sure to eat enough to last us through the day of hiking we were about to embark on, and return hungry for hamburgers that night. I must say here that the hospitality of Dave's uncle and aunt was overwhelming and most appreciated.
We left the house at about noon and headed into the Hoh Rainforst of Olympic National park. After quick stop at the visitor center and we were out on the trail. It was an 18.1 mile section which went out to a glacial moraine. Of course, in one day we didn't hike the entire length, as we also needed to come back late afternoon. We did however hike in just over five miles, stopped for a cold Olympia brew and some chips, and then headed back out. Though backtracking through what we had already seen didn't thrill any of us, the return hike was completed much quicker as the photos had already been taken and sights explored. And who could complain? We were surrounded by beauty and, for myself anyway, the largest trees I had ever seen!
Sunday morning we had another great breakfast and then bid farewell to our hosts. We were going abroad!
The ferry to Victoria takes about 90 minutes, and we had clear skies the whole way there. Since we just walked on without the car, it didn't take much time at all to get off the ferry. I really liked Victoria. We had a total of five hours to walk around before we needed to be back on the return ferry. Like most of our side trips, we didn't have any sort of agenda, just see what we could see and spend as little money as possible. Lunch was at a Thai restaurant, and several blocks up the street was an old castle which we walked to. After chatting with some international students out front, we headed back toward the main drag. More walking followed by a beer or two in the pub. Our time was finished out by chatting in front of the British Columbia Legislative Building with a gentleman from Des Moines, IA. I am really finding you can't throw a stone out here without running into someone with Midwest roots.
I slept a bit on the ferry on the way back, which was documented in photos courtesy of Dave. It must have been a more exhausting day than I realized, as he said he even kicked me and I didn't wake up. Well, we got back, ate at Wendy's, and headed for home. After another ferry ride and about 80 miles, we were again in the Kranich's driveway, all ready for a good nights sleep.
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