Day 70: Watching Some Whales (and some seals and sea lions)
Port Angeles to Port Townsend
50.78 Miles | 1:21 Riding Time | 4:30 Sailing Time
It’s Wednesday, June 19, 2024, and it’s Day 70 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
It was a short ride today, but a long sail. I left Port Angeles with plenty of time to get over to Port Townsend, WA for my 10:00 whale watch. Riding in to Port Townsend was another milestone for me. I had never heard of the town, until I started watching the Sampson Boat Company on YouTube. Leo has been on a 7 year mission to restore a 1910 wooden sailing yacht from the keel up, and get her back to her former glory. The Tally Ho is now in the water and looking great.
If you recall, back on May 5th, I was in Denver. Well, the bartender at my hotel was Doug. When I told him I was planning to go to Port Townsend, he perked up and told me that his sister’s family run the Puget Sound Express whale watching fleet there. So, when I checked in, I asked if anyone there had a brother Doug in Denver. “That’s my uncle Doug.” It was fun to make that connection from what seems like so long ago in my travels.
It was the best whale watch I’ve been on. The boat was fast, clean and comfortable, and not too crowded. The crew was great. And, we saw Orcas! We saw some seals and some sea lions and some birds, too. But, the Orcas were the highlight.
I explored the town and shops. Had a nice, relaxing time walking around, and learning about the annual wooden boat festival. Dinner at Sirens (Cioppino) was very good, and sitting on the back deck overlooking the water while chatting with some local folks was even better. On the walk back to my hotel, I managed to get a great picture of a Blue Heron walking along the shore in the moonlight. It’s a town I would definitely want to come back to.