Thursday Oct 8 after work I headed home and with Friday and Monday off I packed a weekend bag and headed up to Camano. Spent the night at moms, then Friday 8am Wendy & I headed for Coupeville and the Port Townsend ferry. We had reservations for the 11am boat. We got there an hour early, so we drove around thru Moms old neighborhood in Admirals Cove, which is only a few miles from the ferry dock.
It was very windy on Whidbey Island, and the ferry took a slow round about way across the sound to PT, because the water was very rough from the high winds. The boat headed south into the wind and some of the waves jerked the boat a little as we went but we hardly rolled any with the swells. About 3/4 of the way across it eased and smoothed out. It wasn’t forecast for windy conditions Friday , but it was supposed to be stormy on Saturday.
We arrived in Port Angeles about 1:30 to calm and partly sunny weather, and as we got closer to downtown the traffic got heavier because of the crabfest which had started. It was right next to the Red Lion where we had reservations for Friday and Saturday nights. They checked us in a little early and we unpacked and headed out walking for some lunch. A large tent was set up nearby with the crabfest-ivities but since we planned on having dinner in there, we found a little crepe shop across the street which satisfied our hunger at 2pm. Crab crepes for both of us, Wendy’s with gluten free batter which was very good. I also had a cup of crab bisque. Both filled me up but not too full.
As we walked around the various tents of different vendors Wendy got a call from her longtime classmate Joyce who then came down to meet us along with her husband Rick. We walked and talked and ended up at a pierside restaurant both for drinks and a chance to sit down for awhile. We stayed there talking for an hour and a half, time to watch the Coho both arrive and depart again. With crabfest going on, the Coho schedule for the weekend was 3 arrivals and departures each day instead of the normal 2.
At about 5:30 we left the restaurant and parted ways. Wendy and I went back to our room to wash up and I then walked over to the Blackball Ferries office to pickup our tickets(already purchased online) for the 8:20 Saturday morning Coho to Victoria. Unfortunately they were closed, I had missed it by an hour. Oh well. I walked back to the room to get Wendy and we then headed over to the big tent for our crab dinner. $25 bought a whole dungeness crab, corn on the cobb, and cole slaw. We each got one. It was delicious, you really had to work for your food, and it was messy, cracking and going after each little morsel. But it was satisfying in the end. We were full and back in our room by 7:30.
We were in bed by 9:30. Saturday we were up at 6, and the ferry office opened at 6:30 so I was first one there to pickup the tickets. While it was still dark, I could see stars and it was mid fifties out, so it appeared to be a nice day starting. Ferry boarding was 7:45 so after breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we walked to the ferry, and we were not even remotely first in line at 7:45. Quite a crowd on hand heading to Victoria(I considered it full, but apparently it wasn’t even close). We produced our passports and tickets and boarded fairly quickly, and didn’t bother with trying to find a seat, instead preferring to stand at the stern watching the cars load. At 8:20 departure time, they were still waiting for a couple of very late walk-ons but they managed to get them on board and depart only about 5 min behind.
I didn’t take our normal camera but used my phone for both photos and videos. Lots of neat views to take pictures of. The Coho is not that large for walking around, especially with lots of people on board, but we walked around inside and out plenty of times before looking for a seat inside to relax a little in. The inside was fairly crowded with lots of families and loud kids. But not unpleasantly so. The weather remained decent, and the wind was actually less up on the bow than back on the stern. About 15 minutes out the boat started to roll side to side a bit but it was not at all unpleasant. Wendy was teasing me that the rolling would make me seasick. I laughed in her face. HA! At about one hour, we got into fog as we got closer to Victoria, and the boat started foghorning regularly. Slowed down a tad as well. For about 20 minutes we were fairly well enveloped, couldn’t see anything in any direction. Then it cleared slightly and there was Vancouver Island approaching quickly.
It was surreal coming into Victoria harbor in some fog, but it was calm and warm and quite comfortable outside. When they announced which side of the boat we would be departing from, the passengers started gathering there. Wendy and I were fairly close to the gate and were about the 50th off. Once thru customs, we found our way to the back of the HUGE line of people waiting to board for the voyage back to PA. We were told it was full(Coho holds 1000 pax maximum). It took awhile for the boarding to complete, but it all moved pretty fast. We had to preclear US Customs in Victoria, and then we boarded right where we got off, and we hung around on the bow watching the departure activities.
The boat pretty much departed on time, and backed slowly into the harbor and turned forward and proceeded slowly. Float planes were taking off, the Victoria clipper arrived, harbor patrol boats moved slowly about, and a random raindrop or two touched us but it never really rained. Once out of the harbor and up to full speed, we hit the same fog again, only this time it had spread all the way over to PA. There were another few random raindrops enroute but not a problem, and we got ourselves some coffee and sweets to snack on and found open air seating on top of the cafeteria towards the stern. Clearly, the boat was full as there were few seats inside open but a bunch outside on upper deck were available. With the fog, there was nothing to see all the way back. It was spotty fog in PA on arrival, coming and going, again very surreal, the various vessels nearby looking like ghost ships, and the forecast rain was approaching. We waited until 2/3rd of the other passengers were already off before we joined the line. This time the line was slow as we had to go thru customs AGAIN. Not sure why since we cleared going out.
Here is a 15 minute you tube video compilation of our trip. And some still photos can be seen at: https://picasaweb.google.com/113536361040306340213/2015_1012CrabfestInPortAngeles
The 12:45 departure back to Victoria was on time so we walked out on the local pier for better shots of it leaving. The rain then started, no wind yet, and after a few final Coho photos, we headed for lunch in a nearby bistro. What a great ride!
The rain came steady and heavy for the afternoon, and we both got a little damp on our walk back from lunch so we spent the afternoon in our room, reading, writing(this blog), and just watching the wind blow the rain sideways, and wondering how everyone else who came for the crabfest were enjoying it. An umbrella didn’t appear to help anyone much with the wind.
At 7 we headed back to the big tent for something different than the crab dinner we had last night. I had two crab enchiladas, and wendy found some gluten free soups, and had some good crab bisque. Beer and Cider were handy so thats what we drank. Wendy found another classmate and talked for awhile. The wind and rain outside blew the tent sides in and out, making the tent seem to be living and breathing(it was very InTents!). But it was warm inside with all the activity. At 8pm we walked back in more consistant rain and we were done for the day.
Sunday we slept in until 7:30. Walked down to the hotel restaurant for our breakfast, the weather bright and cool, was a great day for an easy drive back home. At 10 the festivities opened up again, and Wendy walked over to go buy a couple whole dungeness crabs for her mom. Then we checked out about 10:15 and drove around PA a little while since our PT ferry reservations weren’t until 1:15. We had plenty of time for a leisurely drive back to PT.
We got in the ferry line just early enough that they put us on the 12:30 ferry instead of waiting for the 1:15. Once in Coupeville, we stopped for lunch at a little waterfront shop for some quiche and chili. Then got back on the highway and were home at Moms about 3:30.
I spent the night there again, figuring no point in rushing back to NB. Would drive home Monday morning more leisurely.
What a great weekend!