Monday, June 18, 2012

Reminds Me of New Zealand

I'm sitting here in a renovated barn at the Vashon Island Hostel Carol and I discovered a few weeks ago. It has a full kitchen, bathrooms, and a lounge. It reminds me of the Holiday Parks and hostels I stayed at in New Zealand.

Carol and I decided to squeeze in one more shakedown overnight ride before we leave on Sunday for our 2 week ride around the Olympic Peninsula with Christian.

I met Carol this morning at the Point Defiance Ferry Terminal. It was about a 34 mile ride for me from home to the terminal. We took the ferry over to Vashon. As soon as we got off the ferry, the sun came out (it had previously been raining). We stripped out of our raingear and began the long climb up from the ferry dock. Since I wasn't carrying my full load on Betsy, I didn't have too much trouble getting to the top of the hill.

We stopped and had lunch at a cool place called the Coffee Roaster. I had a chicken wrap with Tzikiki sauce. Delish! They also had some fabulous coconut date rolls. I need to learn how to make those (shouldn't be too hard as all they are is dates and coconut).

When we arrived at the hostel/campground, there was no one here. The sign on the door to the house said if no one was around to go ahead and set up camp and that the barn was open. So, that's what we did. We also went for a walk around Fisher Pond. It's a Reserve donated by some guy named Fisher. The hostel backs up to it. Part of the trail was done as an Eagle Scout Project.

We tried a couple of Trader Joes' Indian Food dishes for dinner. One was a bit too spicy for me. The other looked like green baby food. However, it tasted okay. We didn't even have to use our own dishes. The kitchen is fully stocked!

We have yet to see anyone or have had anyone ask us for money. Maybe we'll get to stay for free?

I'll post photos tomorrow.

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