On Salt Spring Island
There are many different ways to get from Salt Spring Island, where we live, to Oregon, where we used to live:
You can take a ferry to Tsawwassen, just south of Vancouver and then drive south across the Peace Arch border crossing and down the I-5. That’s probably the fastest way.
Or you can take the Black Ball ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, WA on the Olympic Peninsula and drive south from there towards Seattle - a slower and more scenic route.
Or you can take the Washington State Ferry from Sidney, BC to Anacortes, WA. And that’s what we decided for this particular trip.
The San Juan Islands and the Gulf Islands are basically the same chain of islands in the Salish Sea. Just south of the border they are called the San Juan Islands.
Friday Harbor
It is interesting to note how different Washington State ferries are from BC ferries: no fancy gift shops, no wifi, no luxurious buffets. Fare is cheaper and so are the services.
Smug Harbor
We chose to spend the first night of this trip in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We had stopped there several times before, on the ferry, but never stayed to explore the island. Now we were there by 1 PM and spent the afternoon driving around the entire island. San Juan seems very similar in size and landscape to Salt Spring - but not nearly as artsy. My favorite stop: Snug Harbor’s marina and coffee shop.
A very interesting bit of history about the San Juans and its neighbor, Canada, is the story of “The Pig War”. The border between the USA and Canada (England) on this particular island was in dispute when an American farmer shot his neighbor’s (a British guy) pig in 1859. This escalated into a stand-off: a company of infantry came across from Bellingham, a warship was dispatched from Fort Victoria and more warships gathered in the bay. Marshall law reigned on the island for twelve years. The border dispute was eventually settled with help from the Emperor of Germany. And it all started with a pig… Be sure to watch this video from the US Park Service: https://vimeo.com/103012997
The Orca Inn, Friday Harbor
I had booked a hotel online. I am still not sure if the choice was right or wrong. I had only been able to find very expensive places until I came across The Orca Inn on the edge of town. It seemed to be the most affordable place. And the room was very clean. It was very quiet at night. But the room was only 2 steps wider than the queen size bed. It felt a bit like sleeping in a drawer. The hotel was comprised of 9 double wide mobile home type building, each with 12 rooms cramped into them. Tiny but clean and it had a clean bathroom and shower. Really it was all we needed to sleep there, which was good because there isn’t even a chair to sit on.
We enjoyed walking around town, up and down hill. There were lovely little shops and a few cafe’s. We enjoyed a nice happy hour on the patio of Friday Harbor House - great drinks and a perfect spot to sit. But the servers were snooty and they didn’t hide the fact that they were not impressed that we only had drinks and didn’t eat dinner there.
The Bean Cafe served good coffee and breakfast complete with fast wifi. We walked by several nice shops and cafe’s but Salt Spring wins, hands down, as far as galleries and funky shops are concerned.
What always amazes me if the number of cyclists on these islands. Tourist organizations seem to promote the Gulf and San Juan Islands as bicycle heaven. And they could be. But, in my eyes, they are a far cry from the ideal place to cycle. The roads are hilly and windy with almost non existent bicycle paths or even shoulders. Plenty of traffic makes it less than safe. Yet bicycles come off the ferries by the dozens. The islands truly should look at finding a way to create a safe infra structure for these cyclists who bring buckets of money on their 10 speeds.
And then we steamed out of town on our way to Anacortes. No orcas or whales but the ferry did have to slow down for a deer swimming off the bow…
Instead of heading straight for the I-5 from Anacortes, we drove south to the Port Towsend ferry - a crossing of 20 minutes.
Mount Olympus, Washington
From there is was south and west across the Olympic Peninsula, with views of Mt Olympus, Mt Baker and Mt Rainier most of the day. This is a gorgeous drive here through green fields and abundant rhododendrons, with the snow capped mountains in the distance.
Having lived here, the US always feels like a comfortable, old pair of shoes we slip on again. But the differences with Canada are always apparent to us. The people are so jovial and kind, south of the border, yet everywhere are signs for ‘guns for sale’, pawn shops, and religious slogans. One store boasts a huge sign: “Guns for sale, new and used, the tools of freedom”. I’m glad we don’t have these kind of signs in Canada, they give me the shivers.
I also notice many more drive-by coffee shops in the US. It’s nice to have dinner in a typical American diner, for under 35.- including wine and beer for two. And I love being able to pick up a bottle of wine in a grocery store as opposed to the Canadian specialty liquor stores.
We wove our way south along many backroads through Washington, ending up at the 6 KM long (!) Astoria bridge. Can’t help wonder what Lewis and Clark would think if they saw this amazing structure connecting the north and south shores of the Columbia River at its mouth just before the Pacific Ocean.
Cannon Beach
Sauntering (can you ‘saunter’ in a car?) through small villages along Oregon’s Highway 101, we past the Haystack Rocks at Cannon Beach, the picture perfect beach of Manzanita and the green pastures around Tillamook. Here you can travel on a steam train, visit the famous cheese factory and an aviation museum.
Depoe Bay, OR
We continued to Depoe Bay, which seems to have changed its slogan from ‘world’s smallest harbour’ to ‘whale watching capital of the world’. The latter does seem more attractive, even if it may be debatable. We always stop into The Leather Works Store, here or in Newport, OR which sells great leather briefcases, belts and much more at low prices.
Three miles north of Newport we finally reached our destination for the next few days: Moolack Shores Motel. For many years we drove by this place and often said that “one day we should stay there!” Since we did, this is one of our favourite motels anywhere.
This time we have a corner room with large windows looking out over the Pacific Ocean. Our room has a small kitchen and bathroom. The motel is directly over the beach, and our room has a private balcony where we sit and love the smell and sound of the ocean.
The view from our balcony.
And for dinner? It’s a short drive north to Newport and the best steak house in town: Szabos looks like an old wild west saloon, inside and out. But they serve the best darn steak dinners. Highly recommended.
To complete the circular route back to BC, you can drive from Newport on the coast, to Eugene in the Willamette Valley. Our favorite way is to drive a little further south along the 101, through the cute little town of Yachats. If you are here at night, be sure to have dinner in The Drift Inn. Not only does it have great food, it has the most wonderful life music every night. We’ve often enjoyed blue grass, folk and country bands here.
If you have never visited it, be sure to stop in at the Sea Lion Caves. You pay admission and then descend in an elevator down through the rocks to sea level to enter a huge cave where sea lions rest and breed. A smelly and impressive sight.
Just south of here, Cape Perpetua is a worthwhile stop with its gorgeous tidal pools full of star fish and anemones. The park’s visitors centre is definitely worth a visit as is a stroll over the black lava rocks framed by white foamy waves. If you have time, drive up to the high viewpoint where you can look way south along the picturesque Oregon coast.
Campbell House B&B
You can also opt to drive east on Hwy 34 along the Alsea River. This is a drive through a rhapsody of green: tall woods, moss covered branches, towering ferns. Not many services along the way but you end up in Corvallis, a lovely small town with a university and funky stores and pubs. We enjoy lunch at New Morning Bakery or dinner at McMenamins here. McMenamins is a wonderful chain of unique buildings housing a brewery and great restaurant, located across Oregon and Washington. Sometimes this includes a funky hotel in the most amazing historic, repurposed buildings. For instance, in Portland you can sleep in an old school.
From Corvallis we drove along backroads, through impeccable Mennonite farm country, to Eugene. Eugene is a booming university town. We love strolling across the campus or walking across the large and eclectic Saturday Market.
In all the 40+ years we’ve been coming here, we have almost always either lived here or stayed with friends. This time we booked a B & B close to downtown. The Campbell House Inn is a very special historic house with lovely rooms. When we were students in Eugene, in a previous life, we could only drool at it. Now we actually stayed here and love it.
Smith Family Bookstore
Ever since we went to school here (Kees got his Masters in Eugene) we have visited Mazzi’s, a now iconic Italian restaurant. We’ve been coming here for well over 40 years! Smith Family Bookstore is another place that remains (almost) unchanged. This bookstore is a maze of floor to ceiling shelves, piles of books teetering everywhere. I love spending time in this book heaven that sells both new and used.
Also dating right back to our earliest days in Eugene, is Prince Puckler’s Icecream - the best little neighborhood icecream shop and worth a visit if you are ever here.
And then it’s time to head north again. But instead of driving the I-5, which we have done hundreds of times, we opt for back roads if time allows it. I love finding a way on an old-fashioned paper map, through tiny towns, to make it to our destination without hitting major roads. We drive through towns we’d never even heard of.
Along the foothills of the Cascades we wind our way back toward the Canadian border. This has been a fun, and culinary, round trip of some of the most beautiful scenery in the Pacific Northwest.
BOOKS
RESOURCES in order of appearance:
https://www.nps.gov/sajh/learn/historyculture/the-pig-war.htm
https://www.moolackshores.com/
http://www.szabossteakandseafood.net
https://www.the-drift-inn.com/
http://www.newmorningbakery.com
https://www.campbellhouse.com/
https://www.mazzis.com/
