8/25/19 – Deception Pass to Kitsap Memorial State Park

64.5 Miles

2277 ft Climbing

Another late start. What is it about me and late starts? It is just plain hard to drag yourself out of the sack for another long day in the saddle, but I had something to look forward to at the end of the day, so I did it. After heating up some oatmeal, I hit the road and started riding in morning mist.

The first town of the day was Coupeville, where there was a McDonalds, so I stopped for a bite of real food: a Bic Mac, a strawberry cream pie (thank you Dale Garcia for my newest craving) and a couple of cookies. I figured I would save the cookies for a snack later, but forget about later. I snarfed all the food down and was still hungry. My appetite is crazy right now.

I passed through an estuary, past a bunch of “Government Property Keep Out” signs (must be something top secret going on there, eh?), made a couple of wrong turns, then finally made it to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Port Townsend.

One of my favorite features of Washington State Ferries has always been the Iver’s Clam Chowder they sell on board. This was a smaller ferry, so I was worried they wouldn’t have food service, but they came through for me. One of the two best parts of my day!Back on land again, the route wound down to the water’s edge and picked up another scenic non motorized path for a few miles.

Once off the path, I was riding through beautiful, hilly ranch land that continued pretty much till I reached the

A little over a mile after I crossed the Hood Canal, I was at Kitsap Memorial State Park, where I had originally planned to camp. But Catherine Shewear had offered to bed me down at her place. She met me with her van, and we loaded my bike and gear into the back. We ran around to a couple of junk food restaurants to satisfy our cravings, then stayed up past 2 AM talking.

Granted, there is probably a lot of spectacular scenery along the Pacific Coast, but seeing Catherine and Nadia again will surely be one of my favorite memories of this trip. I remember when Nadia was just 10, and the Miami Dolphin cheerleaders came to Eskan Village. Catherine had bought her red pompons, and she was there to get their autographs, because she wanted to be a cheerleader someday. Nadia is now a beautiful young lady, and she has learned how to dish out Middle Eastern hospitality, just like her mother.