Monday morning. 10am Molly and I leave Bess' school after our parent teacher conference. No big surprises there so I am ready to set off. We head back home and I finalize my last minute packing. Just as I am about to leave, I remember to grab a cable to connect the mp3 player to the portable speakers I am bringing for the hotel room. Simple thing, but just the sort that would probably be pretty hard to come by once on the islands. By 11am, I am off. The Suzuki GS450 is as loaded as I've ever had her. Saddlebags plus a tail bag, fork tool bag and a brand new, bargain bin magnetic tank bag that seems far too big for the GS's little 2.5 gallon tank. Once on the road though, the extra weight and revised distribution seems to make the bike a bit more stable at speed. I ride almost all the way back to Bess' school and then jump on the Mukilteo speedway. By 11:35 I am waiting at the front of the line for the Noon ferry to Clinton. Motorcycles load before cars on the ferries and can bypass all the shoulder lines and go right on up to the front. Even though this is Monday at Noon and the ferry is less than half full, it still feels luxurious. An added benefit is that you don't have to wait in line at the ferry cafeteria.
On this trip there is only one other motorcycle on the ferry. A big Honda cruiser (VTX1800, I think) ridden by a big biker dude (club vest large "president" patch) and, get this, his five year old son on the back. I noticed the little guy when they rolled up behind me in the waiting line, but didn't notice how young he was until we got off the bikes on the ferry. 5 years old is actually the legal age limit for 2-up riders in Washington but I guess I thought of that as one of those strange laws that doesn't have any connection to reality. Dad says that he's been on the back since "about 3 or so" and until the year before would ride between his arms on the tank (yikes!). He said the kid loves to ride, but the only problem is that on longer rides he will fall asleep (YIKES!).We arrive in Clinton at about 12:25 and Honda dude zooms off ahead of me with his shiny new 1800cc's easily quadrupling my power output. I am about 3/4 a mile up the hill out of Clinton when I realize that I forgot to strap my helmet on in the excitement of my first ferry de-embark. I pull over to strap my head in properly real quick-like. Moments later I look over my shoulder to merge back onto the main road and am greeted with a seemingly endless line of cars that have now begun to stream off the ferry behind me. Lesson learned, when you get off the ferry on a motorbike, get some distance between yourself and the herd of cars before pulling over or accept your fate and ride in traffic for awhile. Thankfully some nice fellow slowed to let me merge and I was back on my way to Anacortes for the next ferry.
The ride up Whidbey via Highways 525 and 20 has some nice stretches and the sun was peeking through the clouds occasionally and fending of the forecasted showers. In Coupeville, at one of the busiest 4 way intersections on the whole island, 2 deer suddenly appeared from down the side street to my right and then proceeded to interrupt traffic while they decided where to head for lunch. Drivers were surprisingly unaffected as I am sure this is a common occurrence on the island. For me it was a good reminder to stay sharp and keep and eye on the the side of the road.
A quick stop at Deception Pass allowed me to rest my butt a bit, check out the views and hit the head (all very important). I was surprised how quickly Anacortes came, but there I was with just enough time to grab a Subway sandwich before hitting the ferry line. It is so nice to be able to roll up 15 minutes before the ferry leaves and know that you will get on... first! This time there were a couple of other bike on the boat; a Yamaha FJR1300 and a Harley UltraGlide both of which once again, made the little GS450's knees shake a bit. Don't worry little buddy, just don't fail me and I promise only 89 octane or better.Once aboard, I head upstairs to grab a seat and enjoy the views on the trip to Friday Harbor. The trip takes you past Decatur and Blakely Islands and then into the heart of the San Juans, past Lopez, Shaw and Orcas Islands and finally around tiny Brown Island and into Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island itself. I arrived in town about 4pm and headed up to one of the hotels that I had scoped out on the internet. Being the off-season with virtually guaranteed vacancies, I didn't bother to make a reservation. The Earthbox is a self styled "hybrid" hotel (hybrid between motel and hotel, I suppose). The facility is an old motor inn that has been refurbished with kind of a pottery barn feel. I suppose it's like a mini-me "W" hotel, or something. Anyways, after looking at a couple rooms, I decided to get a Sky room (all the room styles are named after an element of some sort). The hostess was nice enough to set me up in an upstairs, corner room for minimal chance of any noise intrusion. After a quick unpacking of the bike, I decided I needed to ride a few miles on the island before dinner. Looking at the map, I decided on a jaunt around Pear Point and then down to the Cattle Point lighthouse, which seemed like it was doable within an hour or so, with some gawking time at the lighthouse to spare. Very quickly, I was happy with my decision to ride in the San Juans. All the roads are small, relatively well maintained, and with a nice complement of twisties. Unfortunately, my trip down to the lighthouse was cut short a couple miles this side of the lighthouse as I noticed my fuel gauge nearing the big E. Not wanting to have to switch to reserve and cross my fingers on the very first night out, I figured it would be best to hightail it back to town and get my fill of $3.80 island gas. Damn, I wish I had remembered to fill up in Anacortes.
Back to the hotel and then it was off to find some dinner. Downriggers provided a nice scotch and some tasty meatloaf along with a great front row view of the ferry terminal and marina in the fading light of day. After a leisurely meal, I strolled around downtown for a bit then hit the grocery store before they closed to grab a few noshes for the hotel room. Some regular old non-time-shifted television rounded out the night (man I kept reaching for that fast forward button at every ad break).to be continued...
