Mike rockin the jersey
Today was the big day, we were cycling into another country! Out of Bellingham and heading north through more farm country, we had some nice miles of quiet back roads and a few miles of busy highway. Once again it was Tami who said it MUST be about time for a break, but the planned stop at a park was unfortunately not accessible from the road we were on, so that chocolate muffin had to be consumed while sitting on the edge of a ditch by the side of the road.
Mike’s plotted route next took us to a “bike path” which turned out to be an old section of road owned by BP that is now gated off and open to pedestrians and bicyclists only. To get to it, you head down a road that says Dead End, but you keep going until you reach the gate. Through the gate, the two lane paved road continues for several miles through beautiful fields of tall grass surrounded by trees and hills. We saw one other cyclist and a couple walking a dog and child. So peaceful.
Abandoned road – what a wonderful place to ride
Tami taking another break
At the end of the road it drops right down to Birch Bay State Park so we got ANOTHER snack stop with a gorgeous view out to the Salish Sea and a real picnic bench to sit at. Leaving the park we had more beautiful waterside riding until we didn’t.
View from Birch Bay State Park
Tami stacking rocks – deep concentration!
Our next turn not only took us up a HILL but the hill had just been freshly covered with gravel and oil. Yuck! Okay, that was not fun but it did get better as we got away from too much traffic and no longer had cars spitting gravel at us. But at least it did lead us towards Blaine where we stopped for lunch. We did need to refuel for the grueling border crossing, after all. We had another delicious meal, including deep fried avocado. Yum!
Deep fried avocado
It was literally just a few blocks to the border crossing but finding the way for pedestrians and bicycles is challenging. After a few turn arounds and asking the park personnel, we found the skinny little path that took us down to the multi lane car entrance, which we had to cross to get to the bike path. Or at first the US grass that leads to the nice Canadian bike path that leads to the actual crossing. Mike can tell this story…. Mike: As I understand it, the Canadians could only build the path to the actual border point. They have tried to get the US to build a path to meet up with it, but so far no luck. It is very strange as the US has a path that comes to within about a 100 feet of the start of the Canadian path. Oh well.
We discovered that bikes get to jump the line! Our entrance was just one side of the nearest vehicle lane and the immigration officer just turns to his other window and beckons us forward, ahead of the next waiting car. They even let us in! Of course, then we had to find our way to the small road that led to the super secret path that Mike had discovered on Google Maps that allowed us to cross the river on a footbridge and voila! We were in White Rock! Our first night in Canada.
Once we got checked in, we went for a walk around White Rock. This is a very British style seaside resort town, complete with tons of Fish and Chip shops. We also popped into an ice cream shop that we discovered the last time we were here. Not only do they have some great flavors (like 7 Up Float with Skittles), but the very happy proprietor has a constant stream of Frank Sinatra songs playing, to which he sings along.
Waterfront walking path
Is this how White Rock got its name?
That’s a satisfied look!
After a bit more walking, we found a seafood restaurant for dinner. We all got stuffed.