Victoria, B.C. to Astoria, Oregon

Finally we are on the road. About three or four days before a road trip I usually start having doubts about the whole business. Trying to remember everything that needs to be taken care of at home and all the things you don’t want to forget to bring along.
So I finally started to relax as the Coho Ferry backed out into Victoria Harbour, turned around and headed for Port Angeles. The ferry was about half full on the vehicle deck and not too many people braved the outdoor decks even though it wasn’t particularly cold or rainy.

The voyage was uneventful. I sat outside as I had Eliot with me. B.C. Ferries makes you leave your pets in the car whereas Black Ball Ferries who run the Coho insist that you take them up top as you’re not allowed to return to your car once the Coho has set sail.
Eliot has always been nervous about ferries and the Coho in particular gets him shivering. I think it’s all the low frequency vibrations. It used to be the ferry’s very loud horn but now that old Eliot is getting deaf that seems to bother him less and less. In any event, someone working on the Coho ties some rather nice knots.

We arrived in Port Angeles shortly before noon. I have been through Port Angeles several times over the past few years and it has always been chilly and rarely sunny. But now in early March the sun actually came out and it seems almost warm. We stopped for some gas and then headed east and then south and then west. The sun shone and then it rained; this cycle repeated itself many times. There was much windshield wiper action.

We crossed the Columbia River into Astoria, Oregon around five and headed to Fort Steven State Park where we set up camp for the night. It had been a long day and we both slept well although Eliot did wake me in the middle of the night to request space under the down sleeping bag as it was rather chilly.