After a rest day in Victoria, another border crossing by ferry was on the agenda. From Victoria we took the MV Coho (built in 1959, according to Wikipedia one of the oldest active passenger ships) to Port Angeles.

After the speedy US immigration control in the port building, we had to bring tandem and trailer over ramps to the outer deck of the ferry. Since the ramps were probably designed only for wheelchairs and normal bicycles, we came only with great effort around the curves.

After tying the tandem to the bike rack on the deck, we were able to enjoy the 90 minute crossing. On the deck we got into conversation with a couple from France, who is cycling from Alaska to Central/South America.

With a traveler, who asked us about our tour, we were not sure if he knows where Alaska is located... as mentioned in the guidebook, we had the suspicion that he is of the opinion that Alaska is located in the south of the USA (for space reasons Alaska is placed on some maps in the south of the "Lower 48").

In Port Angeles, the ramps to exit the ferry were again as narrow as in Victoria. At the customs check the tandem friendliness of the facility then stopped. The customs and ferry staff noticed this, however, and we were able to leave the area through a side exit after a quick check with the obligatory questions.

After shopping, we paid a visit to the post office to send home any material we didn't need (anymore). The pre-clearance, standing in line twice, and mailing (with an employee typing up all the forms) took over half an hour.

After leaving Port Angeles, we drove on the Olympic Discovery Trail. This trail is on large parts of the route a former railroad line. This allowed us to ride pleasant inclines on large parts. But in some places it had extremely tight curves and steep passages.

In the evening we reached Sequim Bay State Park. Here we noticed differences to Alaska/Canada: There is more camping and there are showers!