Don’t stop now

Previous readers know by now when I mention a plan it’s only to tell of it being abandoned. Yeah, this is another time. But it was a change for the better.

I left Astoria at the crack of almost-dawn intending to stop somewhere about half way to Port Townsend, on the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. Then I would meet up with a friend in Port Townsend on Monday, and go to Port Angeles on Tuesday to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island.

Having started out so early I found myself at the halfway point before 9:00. Oh. Um. That was sooner than I thought (if I had actually thought about it beforehand). I found a place to park beneath a large tree and took a nap to compensate for being awake since the middle of the night. (I hadn’t slept well because I was worried about missing my early start. Starting early had paid off, though. The road was nearly empty.)

I awoke refreshed and decided, what the hell, I might as well go the rest of the way to Port Townsend. I fired off an email to my friend to warn him I’d be a day early. He was cool with that. So off I went.

We spent the afternoon in Fort Worden park, talking, poking around in one of the old artillery batteries, gazing at Mt. Rainier and the Northern Cascades (on a rare day the haze was light enough to make that possible at this distance), and talking about van dweller and guy stuff.

Then we split off to streetdock on different downtown streets. He had been in Port Townsend a few days, and had hung out here several times before, so he assured me I would not be hassled. That was true. Today we’re going to do some more van dweller and guy stuff, including a walk in the forest. Unless plans change.