There was a case of early morning crabbiness due to lack of sleep, but it felt good to be on the bikes again, if for nothing more than a couple or three miles to the downtown area to find breakfast and get our heads on straight for the ride down Vancouver Island.
Riding off the ferry at least it wasn't raining and that was good!
In the Yukon, we’d run into a couple who were in an RV about 3 times and at our last encounter they invited us to spend a night with them in Sidney on our way through to the lower 48 so that was our goal for this segment of the ride.
At a little breakfast spot in downtown Port Hardy we planned the route south for Sidney, whose location was a nice surprise since we’d had invitations to visit from friends in Anacortes, Washington and Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands. From Sidney it would be a short ferry ride to Orcas and then over to Anacortes.
Breakfast was as good as home-made by the shop proprietor, and we had a few questions from folks about our trip while waiting inside. Outside I saw a guy ogling the bikes and shortly after came in to ask if we minded him taking a picture of them. After gearing up, he again came over with his wife and another couple. Turns out they were on vacation from California but rode Adventure bikes as well. We had a good convo for a while and then headed off south.
Always a good sign... and we've seen so many rainbows on this trip. (I also saw a unicorn and a pink elephant but Kim said I probably shouldn't mention that)
As we rode, the rain came again, our constant companion for the last few days, but I can’t say I missed him...
The countryside and some of the towns were quaint and charming, a bit more refined and Martha Stewart-y than seen in our previous travels in Alaska and the Yukon, but that was OK. Coming back to culture made me feel a bit squirmy though, as I knew the land of Petco, Bed Bath & Beyond, Chili’s, Home Depot and more lay just over the horizon.
The rains finally cleared somewhat as the end of the day came. We stopped at the beach in Parksville and took a walk along the water in the sunset. Residents walked briskly past along the waterway, evening strolls and weight loss programs in full swing as the sun set. Kim and I sat and watched the sun’s rays streaming across the eastern sound and listened to the slow lap of little waves hitting the shore as darkness slowly fell.
