All we do is walk! – Post 10 of our August Seattle trip

Sunday nearly did me in. First we walked a mile to the grocery store. It was a beautiful morning and it’s a nuisance to drive our big camper van on the narrow, twisty and hilly streets of West Seattle. So we walked! A mile there and a mile back. Then we had something to eat and then John wanted to ride the ferry again. He’s like a little kid, I swear!

We walked a mile down the hill to the ferry terminal, rode the ferry for a couple of stops and got off at Southworth.

From Southworth, John intended to hike on a trail in a park – you guessed it – a mile away. Actually the park was more like a mile and a half up from the ferry terminal.

We walked the mile and a half to the park but by the time we got there I was hot, exhausted and wanting to pee (available at the ferry terminal but not at the park). So John gave the trail a wistful look, and we turned around and hiked a mile and a half back down to the ferry terminal. He will have to go back out to hike that trail himself some other day.

Maybe we could take a bus out there – which by the way – we saw a bus on the ferry. As well as a taxi. Multilayers of public transport.

This ferry line has 3 stops; Fauntleroy, Vashon Island, and Southworth. Cars getting on are marked with a tag in the dashboard showing where they are going and loaded appropriately. Most of the time they can get the cars lined up in the right place at the right time facing the right direction by utilizing two sets of ramps in a U-shape on the ferry. But the ramps have a low clearance, so tall vehicles have to ride in the center of the ferry. There’s nowhere for them to turn around. So depending on which direction the ferry intends to dock, those vehicles may have to back onto the ferry.

We watched this large truck back onto the ferry. The driver did a great job. He had only a few inches of clearance on either side, and he quickly backed straight as can be, with no hesitation. The locals say it can be pretty funny to watch a tourist try to back a boat trailer on. I sure couldn’t do it!

While waiting for the ferry back to Seattle, I struck up a conversation with a cute little boy, probably about 4 years old. We had a great conversation about how ferry docks were constructed and how they operated, and which lines were power lines and so on.

Then the child noticed Biska. “That’s a nice dog over there,” he said. “She’s my dog,” I replied. He considered this, looking at her and looking at John who was holding her leash, and then the boy said to me, “Is that your dad?” lol.

It was a fun day, but I was tired by the end of it.

Are you getting tired of pictures of forest paths and ferries yet? We’ll do something else soon, I promise.

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