Since I didn't want to deal with snow, ice, and cold, I decided to stay near the water and head up Whidbey Island. This gave me the chance to get the photos at West Point that my wife and I didn't have the time to get at our wedding. I also made a quick stop at Kayak Point on the way back.
Albums from past rides in the area:
More after the break…
Part 1: To Mukilteo
I started at about 8 AM and headed north on I-5. I thought my route would send me on SR-526 to maximize freeway time, but it instead was along SR-525 since it was technically the shorter distance. Either would've been fine, obviously.
When I arrived at the ferry terminal, I had something like 10 minutes before it started loading. That gave me enough time to get a panorama, but not much else on land.
Part 2: Whidbey Island
As the boat approached Clinton, I thought it would be a great chance to get some photos of the area there as well.
After scurrying back to my bike, I noticed that I had set the wrong route as the second half of my ride. Thankfully, I still had the original track file on the SD card and was able to quickly rectify the situation.
The riding along Whidbey Island was enjoyable as always, albeit a little cold with a few drops of rain here and there. Along the way, I stopped in Greenbank to get some photos. The deli was open, but I was really hoping to find a place with hot, plated meals. Since I last noticed, a pot shop had joined the cluster of businesses. There was also an SUV with its grille missing.
Pretty much nothing was open in downtown Coupeville when I rolled into town. I was still hoping to get a hot breakfast, but I was out of luck, so I just walked around to get photos. When I started, an older couple commented that it was a chilly day for a ride, but when I told them I had heated grips, they said that they "really save the day."
One cool thing I saw was Grace Street being closed to cars so folks could sit outside. Despite the number of people I saw walking around, nobody was making use of the benches.
Looking around on my phone showed that the only open place with food in town at the moment was the Sunshine Drip a a short way south, so I headed over there. I ended up getting a bagel breakfast sandwich, blueberry coffee cake, and a 12 ounce drip there, which was satisfying enough to keep me going for a while.
Before leaving, I thought to dig around for my Discover Pass…only to discover that it expired at the end of 2022, which left my next goal as finding where to get a new one. Of course, that would come after filling up my bike's tank in Oak Harbor.
After riding along SR-20 for a bit, I saw a convenience store on the left, so I headed there to see if they had Discover Passes and get some water. When hanging that left, I accidentally shifted into neutral instead of first, but thankfully I had enough momentum to get out of the highway before the oncoming traffic came. Unfortunately, the store didn't have them, and they told me to try the Big 5 back in Oak Harbor.
To enter the West Point area of Deception Pass State Park, my GPS said to hang a left onto a tiny gravel road, but the road was blocked off. My only recourse was a U-turn in traffic, which wasn't so bad since traffic was light. When I did find the proper entrance, I found that it was the one for East Cranberry Lake, which was a deluxe entrance! Not only did they sell the annual Discover Pass, they took credit cards! Now I didn't have to worry about buying a pass anymore.
As I slowly made my way to West Point, I saw a bunch of guys fishing on the side of the road where it was only a foot above the water. Their cars were parked in the shoulder on the opposite side. Only later did I discover that this body of water was Cranberry Lake and not Puget Sound.
When I did finally get to the West Point parking lot, I was stuck in a line of big cars trawling for parking spaces. Boy was I smug when I found the tiniest little sliver of asphalt on which I could park my bike!
Next up was the usual photo walk, since one of the reasons behind this ride was seeing the profile view of the Deception Pass Bridge.
There was also a guy shouting and waving to his family from atop some rocks out at the edge of the water.
I did have to skip one photo opportunity for a moment because a couple was making out on the bench in it.
One common theme was stuff put out for a running event: signs, cones, and a big finish line area. The run itself—which was across the Deception Pass Bridge—had ended, but there were still some folks running around.
Part 2: Return Home
After crossing the bridge and returning to the mainland, I headed south through the Skagit River Delta. I wanted to stop by The Rex to get some antacids, but they didn't have any, so I just bought a double-chocolate brownie that tasted like it had almond extract instead.
Before leaving, another customer asked me if I saw anything cool that prompted my photos outside, then asked if I got any good photos today. After I told her about my ride thus far, she said she was also touring the area, but for owls to photograph instead. Oh, and I also saw someone riding a randonneur-style bicycle with a handlebar bag and so on.
I then continued south and east to Conway and its roundabout, where I exited too early and had to go through it again to join the Pioneer Highway (old US 99). I then passed through Stanwood and switched to Marine Drive for a much more chill time than I-5 would've provided.
My next stop was at Kayak Point Regional County Park, which I'd only heard of because our wedding officiant had suggested it as another location for the ceremony. I didn't know I had to buy a permit to use the park, but thankfully there was a permit vending machine at the entrance that took credit cards. Unlike the parking lot at Deception Pass State Park, there were very few people here, and I ended up parking next to a stick-shift Ford Ranger.
The beach, picnic shelters, and fishing pier all caught my eye as I walked around taking photos. Very nice!
I thought about using the restroom at the park, but really didn't feel like walking all the way over to it.
After I rolled into Marysville, I stopped by the Tulalip Liquor Store & Smoke shop for antacids and an energy drink. I did have an energy drink, but it was too strong for how I was feeling after that coffee earlier. I was also hoping for a restroom, but they didn't have a public one, so I set the nearby Safeway as my next stop. Before I left, a couple of guys said they really liked my bike. The second guy kept talking about his 1963 Honda bike (likely a C9X Benly) and how it had the same tank grips as my bike, which had sadly since been stolen. He said he was on the lookout for a Harley-Davidson Road King or similar at the moment.
I thought that using 33rd Avenue NE for its light to get onto Marine Drive NE was going to be easier than the nearby roundabout, but the lane between the intersection I chose and the I-5 junction was completely backed up! I had to wait for several light cycles before I was able to make the turn, and it was slow going until I got past I-5. Not long after, I saw an Albertsons and decided to use the restrooms there instead. Unfortunately, there was a code on the door so I had to go into the rather outdated aisles to buy something (which ended up being toothpaste we needed at home). After going through the self-checkout, I asked the attendant for the code, but all she could do was radio for someone to let me in. I waited several minutes in front of the restroom without any sign of someone coming, but before I gave up, a younger guy with a broom walked up, opened the door, swept a bit, and let me in.
Remembering how bad the I-5/Marine Drive junction was, I just used SR-529 to get to Everett, then used local arterials to get to I-5. As I joined the freeway, a car that was behind me on the entrance ramp jumped left a lane immediately and ended up tailgating me very closely as I had to do the same since the entrance lane was an exit only.
Traffic on I-5 was fine all the way until Northgate, but I still wanted to try my luck with N 85th Street, which ended up being the wrong choice: it was full-on stop-and-go. I'm not sure what was going through my mind, but I moved a lane to the right, only for the lane to merge back into the lane I was in previously, which did get me around one car.
When I got home, a Prius was sitting in the no parking zone immediately before my building's entrance with its flashers on. While that was bad enough, the guy started to pull out after I was in front of him and turning right! This whole mess prompted me to send an e-mail to my HOA's mailing list, and, as of the writing of this post, there's still activity going on around the mess since a number of my neighbors have had similar close calls.
The "fun" didn't stop there, either: some lady moving in had the only working elevator in self-service mode, so nobody else was able to use it. Unlike the parked car, however, I didn't make a big deal about climbing the several flights of stairs to my floor.
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