Day Two Hundred Thirty-two, 091018 - Sequim, WA

Day Two Hundred Thirty-two, Date Sunday, October 18, 2009
Time in Saddle: ??
Distance for the Day: ?? miles From Blyn To Sequim, WA
Accumulated Trip Distance: ?? miles
Altitudes: Starting/Ending ??/??, Highest: ?? Accumulated: ??
Speeds: Avg: ?? mph, Max: ?? mph
Weather: 52° overcast with fog over the hills
Expenditures: $17

(Still no pictures. Haven't replaced my camera yet, but will soon.) The sky this morning was solidly overcast, and made things darker when I emerged from my tent. It was still dry, though, and for that much, I was grateful. I packed up my gear, and took off, continuing up the highway towards Sequim, and my last extreme compass point: Westmost. I stopped in the town of Blyn, where they had a rather large, well-appointed “mini mart,” to have a hot cocoa and Danish breakfast. I also charged up my laptop, and checked the map to figure out my route for the day. I left at 9:45am, with the plan to hit the Subway in Port Angeles. I got to the Port Angeles Subway at 12:05pm, and got a meal deal ($11) lunch, ate half while reading my book, and stowed the other half for tomorrow. I continued on at 12:45pm, passed through the town of Port Angeles, proper, and stopped at a mini mart to pick up some Gatorade and a soda ($6). That’s when I made a HUGE mistake: I left my fanny pack on an outside shelf, and took off without it. I made it several miles further west, and stopped to take a picture, but my camera, along with my credit card, ATM card, driver license, cell phone, Leatherman tool, digital voice recorder, iPod, and several other nice things, was not where I usually put it; I instantly knew what I’d done. Demitol – and I’d just got through telling my friend, Joe, that I have lost plenty of wallets, but ‘I never lose that fanny pack.’ You know what it was – I forgot to knock on wood – it’s true. Anyways, I rushed back to the spot where I’d left it going full steam, but it still took 20 minutes, and of course, by the time I got there, it was gone, and no one had turned it in to the mini-mart people. I asked to use the mini-mart’s phone, but they weren’t receptive to that idea, but suggested I go back into Port Angeles to contact the police. Good idea, so I did that. It being Sunday, they were closed, but there was a phone to call Dispatch, so I called, let them know my situation, and they said they’d send someone ‘in a few minutes.’ I waited, and then I thought I’d see if there was any wi-fi in the area. There was, so I sent an email to Joe and Joanna explaining my situation. Fortunately, they were home and checking email, and we arranged to contact each other via Skype. It worked great – we even did it with video. They set up my Skype account with money, so I could make outside phone calls, and sent me $150 via Western Union at the Port Angeles Safeway (a few blocks away). I also called my bank to have them cancel my credit and ATM cards, and to overnight a new credit card to me at the local bank, here in P.A, though it would come in on Tuesday. Also, by coincidence, an astronomy friend of mine mentioned in an email I received earlier today, that she had a friend who lived in Sequim (they pronounce it ‘skwim’ – don’t ask me why), the town just before Port Angeles(!) She gave them a call, and they said they’d be willing to host me, so I could stay with them while I waited for my card to come in – what a lucky break. Thanks, Lynn – yer a lifesaver! I used Skype to call them, and Pamela and Dennis B drove their pickup the 8.5 miles from Sequim to Port Angeles to take me and my trike back to their home at about 9pm; we arrived at about 10pm. We chatted a bit, and then they went off to sleep. Meanwhile, I got online using their computer’s network cable, and began to search for replacement gear. I did that until about 2:30am, and then blogged a bit more before heading off to sleep, myself, at 3am.