Day 88, Friday, Nov 4, Dash Point State Park on Pugrt Sound, Seattle/Tacoma Washington
That absolutely horrible ferry ride finally ended, more than five hours behind schedule. We arrived at Bellingham at 1 pm, when we were supposed ro arrive at 8am. I already explained the reasons for the delay. The captain of the Kennicott made a bad call in delaying the ferry for those five hours at Bella Bella BC when he had perfectly good options that would have ensured his crew member's safety and the safety of his 150 some passengers. As it turns out, he endangered my and Donner's safety significantly, although we managed to avoid harm and are now safe in a camp 45 miles south of Seattle.
There was only one thing that was positive about the ride and that was a friendship i struck up on the last two days with a fisherman named Dustin Jones from Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. I was absolutely fascinated by this 32-year old sea captain's stories of life on the sea. But i was equally fascinated by how tough and dangerous his job is, yet he talked about his job with a joy and a love that i have heard from no one in my life. My appreciation for the work these fishermen do for all of us so we may live moved to a new realm.
Although i told Gordin at LaMorna Garage in Seattle i would be there at 10 am todsy so he would have the whole day to go over the Defender to make sure it is safe for my journey home, i arrived at 3pm, not enough time for him to do the job. So, because of that ferry delay, i will have to stay here until Tuesdsy instead of moving on south tonight. Some of the things i hopef he would do he will not be able to do, but they are not essential. But in addition to the several others things i needed him to work on, he came up with his own list of a few essential things i had no idea were going bad, eg, struts, shocks, etc., even though i had inquired about them before i left. The most critical item is new headlights to replace the new LED headlights i had installed before i left. Apparently, they are so complex, they blew four fuses, which i expected was the case. Among other things, i have no left turn signal which complicated the drive to the camp down interstate 5 right through Seattle during rush hour in the dark. During this trip, i hsve hsd many challenges, sometimes problems, but the drive here to this camp tonight qualified as the first nightmare, and only because my adversary was the first heavy traffic i have encountered on this trip ever. It was as horrible as the ferry ride, but we managed.
As we neared out camp tonight i stopped to buy some supplies but discovered thst USAA had cut off all my credit cards. I have no cell phone service where i am so i have not contacted them yet. I am sure it is because i entered the lower 48 and their computer finds it hard to believe that someone could use the credit cards in Alaska in the morning (the ferry) and then in Washington State minutes later, despite my having given them my itinerary before I left.
I will stay put in the camp this weekend resting up from that grueling ferry ride for me and especially Donner, who is really stressed out from it. On Monday morning i will return to Lamorna Garage for the repair work and then, if all goes well, resume my trip home, although it has not gotten off to a good start.
As for the camp, it is quite a relief, maybe joy, to be back camping on the road. Donner welcomed it too and settled right back into it. However,i have already tasted how difficult it will be to find campsites that are still open and are pet friendly. I tried two RV camps up the line, but no big dogs, they said. That's fine with me, though, since RV camps are at the bottom of my list anyway.
More tomorrow, or when i get internet again.
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