Day #36 - Back to Uncle Sam!

Today was day two of three transit days as we head our way south towards San Francisco. Today's leg was from Victoria, back across to the USA and Seattle.

We started the day with a very hearty breakfast at our guest house with an amazing view across to the sea. Canadians and Americans do love to mix their sweet and savoury and I think this will be the only time I ever have chocolate drops and sausages in the same plate! 

The first stage of today's leg was to catch the ferry back across the Salish Sea that separates Canada and the United States here in the north west. We were catching the ferry from downtown Victoria, right across from where we enjoyed a lovely meal earlier in the week (Day #32). As we approached where Google Maps was telling us the ferry port was, we were starting to question whether we had told it the right destination because it appeared to us that we were just heading towards the pretty harbourside - not a bustling international ferry terminal! Surely this can't be right we were telling each other as we pulled off the main road into what looked like a small side road towards the waterfront. However, it turned out we were in the right place and the ferry operator was a small operation that reminded us more of the Isle of Wight ferry than a major terminal. No photos because it was a restricted area, but I found this online:

The whole process of boarding, customs and immigration checks went smoothly but inevitably it took time. When it came to actually driving onto the ferry, we realised what a (relatively) small scale operation this was. The cars were really shoehorned into the boat! The horizontal space between the cars was no more than two feet which meant you couldn't open the car door that far when exiting your vehicle; you had to carefully squeeze your way out, being careful not to hit the neighbouring car with your door.

The crossing itself was smooth and it was a beautiful day - blue clear sky all the way. This gave us a lovely view of Victoria as we pulled out of the harbour and headed across the sea. The boat was definitely from a different era - had a 1970's/80's vibe to it. Some of the posters and lettering almost seemed to date from the 60's!

Arriving back in the USA at Port Angeles, we made our way back to Seattle and the same airport hotel we stayed at on Day #23. This took us the best part of four hours with the occasional stop or unintentional detour. One such place was a pretty drive through the waterfront area of Port Orchard which comprised of a cluster of small streets and cul-de-sacs along a waterfront, surrounded by trees and parks. We had a lovely Mexican lunch at a local restaurant that we stumbled across around the back of the petrol station. Needless to say, James was very happy! 

It was strange returning to a the airport hotel. It seemed an age since we were last here - we have managed to pack in so much since here last. 

For the evening, we were once again invited to join a long time friend of James', Alice, who had moved apartments since we last visited. We  were keen to see her new place (which was fantastic) along with the sunset view afforded from her new place since it was on the sixth floor of the building and gave a wonderful view across her part of the city. One of the highlights of the evening was her cheeseboard which came with these "I've never seen them before" moon grapes! Delicious!