Traffic, Traffic, and More Traffic

We had planned to see the San Juan Islands on Thursday and Friday, with an overnight on the islands Thursday. The only way to get to the San Juan Islands is by ferry. We tried to make a reservation for the ferry for Thursday morning, but all the ferries were fully booked. On the website, they say that they do save some space for non-reservations. We figured in order to get on without a reservation, we'd probably need to be in line early. The earliest ferry on Thursday was 5:55 a.m. and we thought our best shot at getting on without a reservation might be that early one. We thought if we got in line by 4 a.m., we might be able to board the ferry without a reservation. To be in line for the ferry by 4 a.m., that would mean leaving the campground around 2 a.m. since it is about a 2 hour drive from the campground.

We didn't like the prospect of having to do that, so we booked a hotel room in Anacortes, the city where the ferries depart from, for Wednesday night. The hotel was about a 10 minute drive from the ferry. That meant "only" getting up at 3:30 or so Thursday morning. And that is what we did.

So we spent Wednesday afternoon traveling the 109 miles to Anacortes. Most of the travel was by way of Interstate (I-5), so you would think you could make a 109 mile trip in less than two hours, in normal traffic. We are learning that there is nothing normal about Seattle traffic. It took us almost four hours to get to Anacortes. Since we left the campground around 2 p.m., we were not in rush hour traffic. There were a number of slow downs on I-5, but whether they were from accidents, construction, or beached whales, we never knew. Traffic would just slow down and then all of a sudden pick up again. At one point, it was so bad that it took us 2 hours to travel 55 miles.

We did enjoy some nice mountain views. While Seattle does have its traffic problems, it has a beautiful backdrop of mountains to enjoy while sitting in traffic!




Along the way, we saw this sign:


Yikes! Considering the traffic in Seattle, I'd hate to be caught in Volcano Evacuation traffic!

When we got to Anacortes, we first drove to the ferry terminal to see where it was and ask a few questions about our chances of making the ferry without a reservation. We then went to our hotel. When looking for a hotel in Anacortes, many of them were over $200, so we chose a cheap (much cheaper) hotel. But it turns out the hotel was quite nice. There were two beds, but the two beds were actually in separate rooms, with a small kitchenette in between. Very roomy.

Anacortes

Our two-bedroom hotel room

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 11, 2024 at 3:41 AM

    What’s up doc? I bet you gave that captain a stern look and said “ it’s
    A-boat time to let us ride this ferry after riding in all that traffic!
    no Pier pressure we just want to ride! Lol
    Ellen Hebert Hutchinson

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2024 at 6:50 AM

    Wow! Nice hotel room!

    ReplyDelete

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