Operation San Diego: Approved

My night in Anne’s Tiny House was great. And I was no less impressed with the whole Tiny House concept this morning as I was last night. Just to be clear, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of the Tiny House concept but it’s the first time I’ve actually seen one. The concept is pretty simple – get rid of that which you don’t need and your living space requirements become very small. One might even say tiny.

In addition to building the Tiny House from scratch … without plans, Anne also built an outdoor kitchen and outhouse. And both are as impressive as the Tiny House. Before I went to bed last night I was looking at the house thinking, “I wish I could build a Tiny House.” No sooner did the thought enter my mind that a simple retort followed, “I COULD”. After all, as Anne said, “It’s not rocket science”. Much like cycling across the country, it just takes time and commitment. With my time currently committed to cycling, a Tiny House project will have to wait. But, if I ever finish cycling, a Tiny House project may very well be in my future.

I could’ve talked with Anne for hours about the house and other topics but she had to attend to other commitments and I had to pack up for the day’s ride. But before she left, Anne took a photo of me to add to her guest wall in the Tiny House and I took a photo of us for my blog.

My ride today was to be split by another ferry crossing. Not wanting a repeat of yesterday’s missed ferry, I opted not to take a more scenic trail and stayed on the highway. I was confident I had time but I just didn’t want to take the chance – if I missed the 3:00 ferry, I would have to wait until 7:30 for the next one.

I made it to downtown Victoria without incident and even had time for a quick stop at Wendy’s for one last chocolate Frosty in Canada. It didn’t disappoint. From there I headed to the ferry terminal. The only thing remaining between me and my San Diego plan was U.S. Customs. As much as I’ve grown to dislike going through Customs, today’s experience was uneventful. One might even say pleasant. No, really. Pleasant. U.S. Customs. As far as I’m concerned, if you have to have a border patrol then my experience today is how it should be.

The Customs agent was professional but polite. He asked everything he needed to ask but did so in a conversational way rather than being confrontational. Maybe it’s because I was travelling by bicycle. Maybe because it’s a small ferry crossing. Whatever the reason, it was a pleasant surprise.

With customs cleared, my ride to San Diego was officially approved. As the ferry pulled away from the terminal I waved a sad goodbye to both Victoria and Canada. The next time I set foot on land it would be on foreign soil. And, if all goes well, it will be quite a while before I return.

At times the ferry swayed somewhat heavily from side to side, but other than that the crossing went very smoothly. There were even a couple of very brief whale sightings. I missed the first one but did catch a glimpse of the second one. They’re beautiful creatures but they tend not to stick around very long.

When the ferry docked at Port Angeles, everyone needed to pass through one final Customs check point. I’m not really sure what the point of the second check point was but it ended up being little more than checking the identification of each passenger. By 5:00, my identification had been checked and, despite not looking anything like my passport photo, I was pedalling again.

As I pedalled away from the ferry, the only thing standing between me and the end of my day was a 30 km to my Warm Showers host in Sequim. Once again, I had the option of staying on the highway or taking a trail. Jared, my host, told me that the highway was busy but had a wide shoulder, while the trail was scenic but was gravel at times. The mere mention of gravel made my decision easy.

The highway definitely suited me and my bike – yes, there was pretty heavy traffic but there were also nice smooth, wide shoulders which made the traffic somewhat of an afterthought. I made very good time and arrived in Sequim before the sun called it a day. I have to say, I was happy that the day went so well. It was a very short cycling day but a very enjoyable day overall.

My hosts, Jared and Wendy, were actually out for an anniversary dinner when I arrived. This didn’t come as a surprise as Jared had informed me of their plans when he offered to host. As such, I was welcomed into their home by their son Brendan. It would appear he’s a Warm Showers host in training as he was very welcoming and friendly from the moment he opened the door.

A few hours later I met Jared and Wendy who, just like Brendan, were very welcoming and friendly. We chatted for a bit, looked at some maps to plot out options for tomorrow, and even had some ice cream before parental duties took over and Jared and Wendy had to get their kids ready for bed. I returned to my room to do some writing before getting myself ready for bed. Both tasks were successful and drifting off into blissful slumber ended the day.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 47.09 km
Ride time: 2:23:52
Average speed: 19.64 km/h
Maximum speed: 57.04 km/h