June 13, 2025
Sh!t, Spit, and Ferry Food
Lopez Islander Resort to Anacortes with a little extra
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What the map doesn’t show is that once we returned to Anacortes, we did a 6.2 mile out and back on the Tommy Thompson Trail, so that I could see it (I drove the day we came into Anacortes before we headed out to the islands.)
Today started differently than we originally planned. Rich woke up sick with a respiratory infection and could not ride. So we switched roles and he drove while I rode. But first Jim and I had a little toilet trauma.
It’s never a good sign when a hotel bathroom includes a plunger. Sure enough, Jim managed to clog the toilet after breakfast. He tried valiantly to unclog it using the provided plunger and many expletives were exclaimed, but it was all to no avail. His excuse was that the plunger was of the cheapest, ineffective variety. So, at my insistence, since I needed to use the toilet, he trekked down to the office and they called for maintenance to come up to unplug it. The maintenance guy arrived even before Jim got back and he brought a different, but identical plunger. He comment was that not only was “the plumbing system old” but that the “hotel cheaped out by buying the plungers at Walmart instead of buying the good ones from Japan.” I kid you not, he worked on that toilet for 45 minutes before he got it unplugged, and he left the bathroom spotless!
We left the Islander and headed south to do a representative loop of the island. We knew we wanted to be back at the Ferry terminal to catch either the 2:05 or 3:00 ferry to Anacortes and we wanted to stop at Spencer Spit State Park to walk out on the spit.
The terrain was gently undulating, through lots of farmland punctuated by forested areas. Much of the riding was through walls of trees broken up by dirt driveways, or through wide expanses of open fields of grasses or recognizable hay crops. All of it appeared to be very sparsely populated.
When we arrived at Spencer Spit park, we locked our bikes and hiked down a steep trail to the water and out onto the spit. It was low tide so we were able to easily walk to the far end where a narrow channel of water separates Lopez and Frost islands. The spit was sandy and covered with seashells and driftwood and very beautiful.
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After returning to our bikes we rode out of the park and immediately encountered a RWGPS error, as it tried to direct us onto a private and prominently posted road. No doubt the owner got tired of bike tourists riding down his driveway and through his property. We diverted and were easily able to find our way back to the ferry terminal.
We had hoped to get some lunch at the terminal but unlike the terminal on Orcas, with a cafe and a well-stocked store, the Lopez terminal didn’t even have a vending machine. And the bathrooms are porta-potties; I didn’t see any running water for people waiting for the ferries.
According to a local cyclist also waiting, the ferries impose limits on the number of cars allowed to board that vary depending on the time of departure. The result is that many people wait for hours in their cars to make their crossing. Commuting, island style!
As walk-ons, we boarded first and instead of having us tie the bikes at one end or the other, they told us to put them in the right side “cubby”, by which they meant the side car passage. There were no ties, so we propped them as securely as we could against the walls and went upstairs to the passenger area and the snack bar. Jim got some chicken tenders and tots which had no flavor whatsoever. Amber and I got wraps that were so bland and tasteless that I might have tossed mine except that I was very hungry and it had cost $13! I vowed to never again eat ferry food after this experience.
When the announcement came to return to bikes and vehicles, we hustled down and the bikes were all still upright. Then we heard an announcement for all walk-ons to go to the front of the ferry and we were all the way in the back. We ended up walking between closely parked cars, trying to to hit them or their mirrors, for the entire length of the ship to get to the front.
It was a very full ship and we knew all those cars would be right behind us as we disembarked. So as we were docking, all the bike riders mounted up and prepared to ride quickly off the ship. And we did-all of us used our e-assist and rode swiftly up the ramp and then we raced up the lanes leaving the ferry terminal, trying to beat the cars to the street where there would be a shoulder for us to ride on. First the motorcycles caught us and it didn’t look like we would make it but then a shoulder and bike lane appeared before us, just as the big trucks and cars caught us.
The rest of the 5-mile ride into Anacortes was uneventful except for one turn that took us unexpectedly up a very, very steep, but thankfully short, incline. I slammed the assist into “Turbo” and was able to shift down only 2 gears so I was still whoafully over-geared. I barely made it up, out of the saddle, huffing and puffing the whole way. Amber was right behind me, also barely making it, and some kids on the street yelled to us encouragingly, “You got this!”
We went directly to our motel, the Mariner, to check in. Jim and I had a bad experience here last week when we were in room 105 and it sounded like a water main ran through the walls, off and on, all night. Jim made sure we were given a different room down the hall on the opposite side of the hall this time.
Then we continued riding, going down to the bay to catch the Tommy Thompson trail. We rode along the water for a couple of miles and then along a causeway and then a wooden bridge over the bay.
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On the way back we passed two familiar pedestrians-Jim’s youngest brother, Jon, and his wife, Ann. We thought they were headed up here tomorrow but apparently I misread the text and they are leaving tomorrow to go back home to Napa. We had fun catching up and then going to see their American Tug that is being stored here while it is for sale.
Tomorrow is a rest day. Laundry is a priority, followed by a bit of downtown sightseeing.
Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 330 miles (531 km)
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