9/1/14 Back in the US of A

Welcome to Friday Harbor, Washington, USA

Well I'm back in the USA, here at Friday Harbor, in the San Juan Islands, Washington.  The ride up from Victoria to where I caught the ferry in Sidney was uneventful except that I lost my spare tire somewhere along the way.  I'll have to see if I can get another one when I'm by a bike shop somewhere.  Their is only one ferry a day to Friday Harbor and it didn't leave Sidney until 6:00 pm.  So I arrived when it was just about dark and still didn't have a place.  The customs officer said there was something at the fairgrounds, but didn't know any details.  Anyway, since it was close I rode out there to check it out.  Turns out it is only for RVs with prior reservations.  It was just about dark now and there is a little picnic pavilion with a wide bench so I decided to take my chances and spread my sleeping bag out on the bench and hope nobody kicks me out in the middle of the night!

I survived the night with  nobody kicking out so it all worked out OK.  This morning when I went breakfast I was invited to join a couple, Val and Malcom, who live here on San Juan Island.  We talked about bikes and boats and they invited me to stay at a little "camp cabin" they have on there land.  It started to rain around noon so I called Malcom to confirm that they were serious.   He said "Sure, come on out".  I slogged through what be now was heavy rain any was pretty well soaked by the time I found there place.  Val showed me to this cute little cottage they built to stay in while they were building their house.

Nothing much but a bed and a small sitting area, but it sure is cute, and dry!

They invited me up to their house when I got dried off.  They are both musicians that play at contra dances, so we also got to discuss music and the assortment of instruments they have.  Val and Malcom are just a really nice couple!  They also invited me for supper and said I was welcome to leave my gear here tomorrow so I could explore the island unloaded.  I think I'll do that, especially since the weather is supposed to be nicer tomorrow.