Day 23: Ferrying to Olympic

My last morning in Seattle and it was the first I saw Katrina. Sam had crashed on the couch after an exhausting night of Lord of the Rings, and the two of them cooked breakfast while I packed up (thanks!). Thanks again, Katrina and Stephanie, for letting me stay at your place and pretty much have free reign as I explored your city. We said our goodbyes and I cycled to Pike's for one last time. Muchia made a great sandwich to go and I tossed in a carrot cake cookie for good measure, which is two carrot cookies sandwiching cream cheese frosting. I also snagged 1/4 lb of smoked coho salmon for a snack and hit the $8 ferry to Bainbridge Island.

Bainbridge, town of, is a cute little tourist area with a couple wineries and soon to be a brewery, I was told. Wishing for a fermented drink I stopped in the tasting room of Eleven winery, which was founded by a former semi-pro biker and gets its name from the smallest gear in a bike cassette, 11 teeth. It just so happened that all their profits go to the World Bicycle Relief charity, which Theo Chocolates also supports. Due to the recent prevalence of this charity and my having just heard about it, I'll be adding it as a charity option for the challenges. Feel free to change your contributing charities as you'd like, just let me know.

Eleven had some tasty wines, even a white that I enjoyed (I'm more of a red drinker). I was tempted to try another tasting room but realized that it was after 2 and I needed to bike 60+ miles to get to camp. I pushed across the island, which seems to be made for leisurely biking, but not before stopping by the water for lunch. Not much is tastier during a ride than smoked salmon, good cheese, and dried apple rings to munch on. I hit the mainland again and ended up at Sequim State Park (pronounced like Squim) in a hiker/biker site next to a couple guys. After one warned me about food poisoning, that even McDonald's was out trying to slip poison into your meals, I kindly thanked them for the offer of a fire and company and kept to myself. I walked down to the waters edge and caught a great view of the sunset. Although I have yet to be able to see the sun actually set, the color and view of Sequim Bay were still fantastic. After doing some logistical planning I've decided on visiting Olympic, doing a day trip to Victoria, then beginning to head east. I am definitely excited to see Olympic Natl Park!