In mid September of 2005, Joyce and I rode up the Hood Canal in Washington State to Port Townsend. We then took this ferry (see picture) across to Whidbey Island, Washington. From there we rode north to cross the border with Canada at Bellingham, Washington.
We rode to our friends; Peter and Francis Galea's house in North Vancouver and spent the night with them at their house. Peter always cooks up a great breakfast. After that breakfast the next day we jumped on our bikes and rode over to the ferry dock in North Vancouver to cross the water and head north up the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. There are a series of ferries (3, I think) as you go up the coast to the city of Powell River. We didn't have reservations anywhere, so we pulled into a resort like facility to check for rooms. They had two nice rooms right next to each other facing the Strait of Georgia and looking across to Vancouver Island.
We freshened up and went into PowerRiver to find dinner. There was a very nice little place on the main road right in town; I'm sorry I don't remember the name. It was in an old house that was several levels. They had a deck on the back side facing the water. The four of us each enjoyed our dinners and a glass of wine and then jumped on the bikes to ride back to our home for the night.
There is a liquor store right on the resort property so we bought a couple of bottles of wine to have while sitting on the deck. As the sun set and it turned dark; we really enjoyed our water view; the beautiful evening, and the friendship we share as we talked freely and shared stories.
Somewhere near the end of several bottles of wine; we all noticed that the extremely big bright moon we were watching had progressively moved across the sky and had now 'set' behind Vancouver Island. WHAT!!!!!! The moon doesn't set!
We were freaked out! What!!!!!! The moon does NOT set! The Sun sets......the Moon doesn't set!
I ask you now; does the moon set? Does it?
We walked down to the lawn in front of the complex to the boat docks where many people were out strolling on this warm September evening. One after another; we asked people if they had seen the moon 'set'. When asked; not one person had ever seen the moon set; and we all began to wonder what in the world had just happened. Was it a disaster? (we really didn't think that for long). Was it some phenomenon? Was it a hallucination? (we did drink several bottles of wine). The more people we asked the more strange it seemed........no one on that night had ever seen the moon set, and no one was sure that it was supposed to.
Luckily we had consumed enough wine; to eventually move on to another thought and finally we all went to bed later.
In the morning; I went for the local newspaper; and ......... lo and behold! There on the back page was the posted daily times for:
The Sun Rise and Set times.
and
The Moon Rise and Set times. Holy Moly! The Moon DOES set!!!
So......at an age where one of us at least should have known this; not one actually did. Neither did anyone walking that night. Since that day; on a regular occasion; I'll ask a new person if the moon sets. So far; of the 100 or so folks I've asked; only about 5% are absolutely sure that the moon does set. It's probably something every farmer knows....but no one in our group did.
We decided to make 'the Moon Set Ride' a regular event. This last year we rode to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island to watch it. What an amazingly beautiful city; and some of the finest surfing on the west coast. (really)
Joyce and I continued on from Powell River on that first ride. We took the ferry across to Vancouver Island and landed at Campbell River, B.C. Peter and Fran had to return back to Vancouver for business. Joyce and I rode down the east coast of Vancouver Island and stayed the night at Sidney, B.C. right on the water. The next morning; we took the Washington State ferry from there to Anacores, Washington. After that beautiful 2 1/2 hour ferry ride, we rode back down the Hood Canal to our home in Olympia, Washington.
A 3 night/4 day trip. 5 ferry rides. THE MOONSET! Fantastic weather. Great Friends. Plenty of wine (never when riding). This will be a trip to always remember!
We haven't decided this year where we'll go for the moonset ride. Maybe the Oregon coast.
Tell me about one of your favorite rides. Send your post to me: robertgrawet@worldwidemotorcycleassociation.com I'll post it for all to read. Also; send me a picture of you and your bike to post with it.
Ride safe!
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