Centralia to Seattle

June 4, 1981

Seattle!

I am writing this journal entry from the seediest apartment building I have ever set foot inside. Even more unusual is that we never planned on being anywhere near here when we started out today.

We left Centralia early this morning because the day staff at the college came on at 6:00 AM. They were nice to us but we also knew it was time to get a move on. In town, we found a cafe where we ordered a round of eggs and hotcakes. Afterwards, we began pedaling toward Olympia, the capital city of Washington State. Excellent time was made, as we arrived in the adjacent municipality of Tumwater by 11:30 AM. Later, we stopped near the capitol complex, which was surrounded by very green grass and trees. Although it was overcast and wet, we took a break on a lawn near the capitol to enjoy the view and the relative peacefulness that existed, even in this center of state government.

From there, we went on to Shelton, arriving around 12:45 PM, with 48 miles under our wheels. I needed to make a few tweaks to my bike and did so under a big billboard that was advertising for Olympia Beer.

Making repairs under a billboard for Olympia Beer, in Shelton, Washington. Might have been a "subliminal" message for later on this evening. You can get an idea of how cold it was by looking at the lady and her toddler (far right edge of photo), all bundled up.

It had been raining, to varying degrees, since Tumwater and it did not stop until late afternoon. In the interim, we became very wet and cold. So, we decided to change our plans for the day. Originally, we were trying to reach Belfair, to camp, but decided that being all wet and cold inside of a tent was not the best way to spend an evening. So, we decided to push on to the promise of a dry hostel in Seattle.

Getting there involved riding 16 additional miles, to Bremerton. By then, the rain had stopped, the sun came out (briefly), and we enjoyed a beautiful vista of the water and the large ships docked nearby. We were able to get our bikes on a ferry boat, which headed across Elliott Bay and to Seattle. The ferry ride took 55 minutes and although the weather turned cloudy again, we stayed out on the deck, enjoying the expansive views of the water and the surroundings. During the ride, we talked to Mike-M, an employee of Eastern Airlines and based in Tampa, Florida. He was quite knowledgeable about the ferry system, the harbor, and the area. His information, about where the ferries all went, would serve us well tomorrow. We enjoyed talking to him and he told us to look him up if we ever made it to Tampa.

View from our ferry ride across the bay to Seattle.

Another scene from our ferry ride across the bay.

We talked also to another, younger fellow, named Brian. He relayed that he had ridden abroad, on a 10-speed. He told us that he had a vacant apartment in Seattle where we could stay. We accepted his kind offer, not quite knowing what we were getting into. That is how we ended up here, in a dilapidated building at the corner of 8th and Olive Way. It is in a very rough part of town that became more obvious to us, as we approached it. There were other occupants in the building who made a point of checking us out. Without trying to be rude or condescending, these were people down on their luck, in various ways. After spending some time there (and completing part of this journal entry), we decided it might not be the best place to find ourselves in after dark. So, we thanked Brian and headed out to find the hostel.

Once we arrived at the hostel, the quoted lodging fees were nearly twice as high as what was listed in the (old) manual that I was carrying. After some deliberating, Paul and I decided to fork over the cash and stay there. We settled in and then I walked about 10 blocks to find us some sustenance. Upon returning to the hostel, we devoured the food, rather quickly. It had been a long day of riding and a bit of an adventure, especially since having reached Bremerton.

The highlight of the evening was a vantage point gained when we found an empty room on the 6th floor of the hostel. It had windows that looked out over the city. Seattle was spread out before us and the Space Needle stood out prominently. We relaxed there with a cold Olympia ("subliminally" suggested earlier in the day). Before retiring for the evening, we counted ourselves blessed to have gotten here safely and to have had another successful day on the road.

Today's ride: 88 miles (142 km)
Total: 1,468 miles (2,363 km)

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