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These are the Chronicles of Famous Surf Writer Ben Marcus and his trip into the Wilds of the Alaskan Frontier.
Latest Update:
September 10, 2000

8:18 PORTSIDE INN, ROOM 215

Well, the SequimAthalon didn't quite go off as planned. It turned into the Sequim HalfAthalon, but it was still a good day.

The original plan was to hook up with Fourth Generation Jeff and enjoy all the fruits and macho leisures of the Olympic Peninsula in a single day: shooting skeet in the morning, then driving west, surfing Elwha River or Lilliput Point along the way, then fishing for salmon at Sekiu or Neah Bay.

Ambitious? Oh yes. As it turned out, Jeff Galbraith did go surfing and I got to see waves at the mouth of the Elwha River. No shooting, although I did loan my longboard to Jeff's friend Torry, and he shot some curls. We looked at some creeks and rivers but didn't go fishing, although I did have Neah Bay halibut at the Bushwhacker Restaurant for dinner.

So, the Sequim HalfAthalon. Not all it could have been, but still a good day. It began with me finishing another edit on the Fishing with Greg Noll story, followed by mom throwing me out of the house for the millionth time. We can't all just get along.

It was Saturday, so I set my sights on that Driver License test. I got a hotel room in Port Angeles, watched the Giants play the Padres and then drove around and around until I found the dang office. I faced the computer test again, but this time I was smart. The test allows you to skip questions you aren't sure of, so I skipped all the questions that involved numbers: How far can you park from a fire hydrant? How far behind a car do you have to turn off your brights? Skipped all those, got to the end and passed it.

I passed the computerized Driver License test!

I passed the computerized Driver License test!

The man at the office found a vacancy for next Tuesday for the driving test. I was thinking about going over to Canada until then, when I turned around and there was Fourth Generation Jeff Galbraith. He was driving by the office when he saw a big Ford Econoline Van with California plates and figured it was me.

We poked around Port Angeles a bit, walking down a nice little creek to the ocean just east of Port Angeles. No surf, no fish, but a nice spot. Jeff was with his gal and another friend, Torry, who was kind of a cross between Anthony Ruffo and Dave Kies. They had gotten waves earlier in the day, and debated what to do. We drove back toward the Elwha River and parked on the west side, not the Indian side.

I had seen this river several times while poking around up here, usually by myself, so it was weird to be doing it with someone else. There were a lot of cars with surfboards on the road, and when we pulled up I finally saw surf breaking within the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There were decent little waves breaking at the mouth of the Elwha River, kind of like Lower Trestles, just bowly little waves shifting around. It was a nice set-up: fly-fishing only in the river, and good surf at the end.

Jeff and Torry went surfing, with Torry on my longboard. There were about 12 guys in the water, so I just watched.

They met me at the hotel later and we drove around Port Angeles before having a nice dinner at the Bushwhacker, next to the hotel. I had fresh Neah Bay halibut.

All in all, a nice day. Lots of fresh air and all that. Now I'm in the hotel room, watching the History Channel I'm going to divert myself until Tuesday, take the Driver License driving test, then jump on the first ferry to Canada.

Jordan River. Tofino and points north.

Hope all is well on that end.

Ben

 

 

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September 18, 2000
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September 8, 2000

September 8, 2000
 

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