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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