Nearly time to head home !
Our last stop for this tour and a national park to finish off – Olympic National Park.
From Edmonds we drove across the sound via the Kingston Ferry – well we didn’t exactly “drive” across, we drove onto the ferry, it sailed/floated/motored or whatever across and we drove off the ferry on the other side.
It is obviously a busy ferry as the streets which lead down to the ferry have designated queue lines and there are strict signs leading from side streets about certain no left or right turns so there is no queue jumping!
Fortunately we woke early so decided to get an earlier ferry than originally planned. We arrived at the toll booth about 3 cars from the front but there was no forward movement. We waited a bit then Adrienne happened to check google maps which indicated a long queue had developed.
She then checked the ferry website which advised that the ferry from Kingston on the opposite side of the sound had been cancelled due to crew absence and so they had to organise an extra smaller ferry as a replacement.
We ended up leaving about 30 minutes late but just snuck on to the smaller ferry. We found out later in the morning that delays had extended to 2 hours so we were glad we weren’t going back that way!
Olympic is a big national park and has 4 distinct regions which dominate this part of Washington State out to the Pacific Ocean – over 3,500 square km in size. It became a National Park in 1938 and was designated a World Heritage site in 1981.
Not enough time to see too much and we headed for an area known as Hurricane Ridge in the northern section of the park. Unfortunately this area had been hit by wildfires a month or so ago and the visitors centre up there had been burnt down.
They were still allowing some access – or so we thought. When we got to the Port Angeles visitor centre at the base of the mountain we were told the road was closed due to the bad weather- it was pretty wet and foggy and there were apparently high winds which had blown over the temporary port a loos.
We instead went to Crescent Lake but again the rain and fog put us off any walking. We’ll just have to go back as the thick rain forest we did see was pretty stunning.
So we set off for Tacoma. We had a bit of backtracking then most of the drive was through forested area with small townships here and there. The whole area would probably be popular “weekend away” locations given the proximity to Seattle.
The rain continued and we made another couple of shopping stops before reaching our hotel in Tacoma. It was right on the water at the bottom of the Sound with a fantastic view – even in the rain. The weather was mainly wet but is so changeable – drizzle, then a bit of sun, then pouring rain – but generally wet !
We drove a little way along the bay to have our final dinner at RAM Big Horn Brewing where we had tasty burgers.
Today we had an afternoon flight to LAX and a late checkout and the brief break of morning sun let us walk along the bay a little way. This area was originally strewn with lumber yards – over 100 in its heyday- and there are relics of old docks and yards along the bay – now still a busy port.
We stopped at a couple of points around the bay on the way to Seattle for our flight to LAX. We managed to get the car all the way back still flashing it’s “change oil” light so no further issues there.
We arrived in LA about 20 early then spent about an hour on the runway as our gate had been doubled up. It turned out ok as by the time we got off, collected our bags and walked to Tom Bradley terminal the Fiji Airways counter had just opened.
We checked in, got through security and are now having “last drinks “ for the tour in the lounge.
It has been a great tour, with many highlights. 50 states now ticked off, a good cruise, a new country and as always a lot of fun along the way.
As always, meticulously planned by my wonderful Adrienne – we make a good team- she organises and I carry the credit card 😂😂Thank you my darling ❤️❤️
Until we are next “On Tour”, thanks for following along ! 🥂
I have enjoyed your trip. It looked amazing. I look forward to your next one.