Port Townsend and the Left Coast
on a Honda Pacific Coast
On the Ferry
Port Towsend
The Hotel
The Public House
This trip ended up a quick trip to L.A. I had intended to go to Port Townsend then up to Naniamo and British Columbia but the weather didn't cooperate. After 3 days of traveling in the rain to get to Port Townsend and another day of rain in Port Townsend, I headed south to LA to visit my brother instead.
DAY 1 -- BILLINGS, MT to MISSOULA, MT 346.2 miles 346.2 totalIt's possible to drive from Billings to Seattle in one day. Didn't happen this trip. I stopped in the last rest area before Missoula only to run across a young girl about my daughter's age who was having car trouble. The alternator wasn't charging and the battery was dead. We were able to jump it but I knew it wouldn't last long. I followed her toward Missoula until her car quit then loaded her on the back of the bike and set off into Missoula to the Chevy garage. When we walked into the dealership I ran into a good friend of mine and I suggested we all have lunch at the diner next door while her car was being towed and repaired. As dark approached my friend offered his couch and I spent the night there.
DAY 2 -- MISSOULA, MT to ELLENSBURG, WA 435.1 miles 781.3 totalLeft kinda late, it was pretty cool this morning and as I went west it began to sprinkle. By Spokane it was a full rainstorm and slow going. Interstate 90 is very senic all the way from Missoula to Cour D'Alene, ID. I made it to Ellensburg, WA by late afternoon and decided to get a motel because the sky over the pass to the west looked like snow.
DAY 3 - ELLENSBURG, WA to PORT TOWNSEND 170.6 miles 951.9 totalStill raining this morning. Hung around until after eating lunch at Mamacita's diner. Cool and wet all the way until just out of Seattle it began to clear up. By the time I got in line at the ferry the sun was shining at it was a beautiful day.
While waiting in line at the ferry the car behind me began to smoke and the four old folks inside looked really concerned. I motioned for them to pop the hood but they just looked at me. I realized the couldn't see much of me through the full face helmet and being dressed all in black leather didn't help my look of trustworthiness. I pulled the helmet off and smiled big and motioned for them to pop the hood once again. Turned out the air-conditioning belt had let go. I fished it out from between the pulleys and the car quit smoking.
The drivers wife offered me lunch in Bremerton and wanted to show me their part of the area. Stayed for lunch and a brief tour in Bremerton.
Back on the bike and about 50 miles later I was in Port Townsend and it was raining again.
The Hotel I stayed in (just barley visible at left of frame) was reasonable because it had no air-conditioning and a shared bathroom down the hall. Authentic. Spread my wet stuff around the room and headed uptown for a look see. Lots of bars but Port Townsend is definitely upscale as is anywhere on this side of the sound.
The Pub is owned by a good friend of mine's wife and so I had to check it out. Bryan spends summers in Alaska working on the Alaska Railroad. He wasn't back to Port Townsend yet even though it is mid September.At the wooden boat festival...raining off and on. Fantastic craftsmanship and snooty people. I expected an artisan feel but it is obvious that many of these people bought these boats and some had little to do with the construction or restoration. Still, I enjoyed walking around in my rainsuit and sampling the free food. They were giving it away as attendance was sparse due to the cold rain.
DAY 5 map -- PORT TOWNSEND to SHELL BEACH
south of SAN LUIS OBISPO 1081.9 miles 2033.8 total9AM-2AM AVG. Speed 68 mph including stops
I spent the night and woke up to find it pouring outside. The prospect of running the gauntlet north in this weather is not appealing. Maybe someday I'll make the Canada trip. Instead I head south hoping to find good weather. Don't really need much of an excuse to ride the Pacific Coast Highway but I need to make time and take HWY 101. Glad I did beautiful scenery and wide sweeping corners, a real motorcyclist paradise. I didn't miss fighting the traffic on the coast highway a bit.
About 2 am near San Luis Obispo I encounter fog so thick I simply cannot continue -- pull off, throw up the tent on the beach in a no camping area I'm sure and sleep until the sun wakes me up. Tired but slept good even though it's windy.
DAY 6 -- Shell Beach, CA to Hermosa Beach, CA 196.5 miles 2230.0 totalRide on to Hermosa Beach to my brothers place and spent a couple of days enjoying the sun and riding his Ducati 750 in the hills around L.A.
I have been wanting a Honda ST 1100 for some time and I decide to leave the PC for sale in Torrance with a consignment lot. I flew back to Billings and saved a weeks vacation time.
Note: The bike sat way longer than I thought and I ended up letting it go too cheap.
