August 18, 2020 Tuesday
The virus struck again. The hotel, which normally serves a hot buffet breakfast had eliminated that due to the virus and instead handed out requested items, beverages, fruit bars etc, to be eaten in our room. Not tasty, but somewhat filling and grabbed bars for the rest of the day.
I identified a car charging station at a nearby Chevrolet dealer. I drove the car over there and the staff was very helpful. I had a conversation with several of them who were eating breakfast outside. They claimed that this dealership sells more electric cars than any other Chevrolet dealership in the state and that buyers come from out of state because of the dealership's outstanding service. Most of those whom I spoke with are fervent Trump supporters. They firmly believed that the Democratic governor's restrictions on activity was wrong and unconstitutional. Anyway, it was easy to charge up there.
My spouse was feeling tired so after I returned with the car I set out alone to explore Port Angeles. I drove threw town and parked in the park near the pier. The town has two long main streets running in parallel along the waterfront. It had a mixture of local businesses and chain fast food outlets. he park/pier area had a wealth of plaques and murals which described the area's history.
Port Angeles is the largest city in and county seat of Clallam County. Most of the county's 20,000 people live within the city's boundaries. I walked through the transit center and was surprised to discover an extensive bus network that seemed to run throughout the county. A Spanish explorer entered the harbor in 1791 and named it, but European settlers did not enter the area until the mid 19th century. The area got its big boost when Victor Smith convinced the then Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase to move the US Customs Port of Entry for the Territory of Washington from Port Townsend out to Port Angeles. More patronage followed when they got President Lincoln to designate 3520 acres in the area as a federal reserve for a lighthouse and military purposes. That lead the Army Corps of Engineers to plot out a federal town plan and street plan which still exists. (That makes Port Angeles the only city other than Washington DC to be laid out by the federal government.)
Prosperity and growth followed, but then disaster struck. Victor Smith died in the sinking of the Brother Jonathan paddle steamer off the coast of California. Without its patron the Customs House was returned to Port Townsend and Port Angeles fell into obscurity for two decades. When the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony was established in 1887 growth resumed. Logging, lumber and pulp mills and shipbuilding powered the economy well into the 20th century. The mills began to close in the 70s and 80s and now one remains open. Tourism has become the major economic driver spurred by the construction of the Hood Canal Bridge cutting travel time to Seattle, ferry traffic to Victoria, Canada and increased popularity of Olympic National Park. The area had and still has a significant presence in the area. Indeed the town's street signs were printed in both English and an Indian language.
However now the place was pretty quiet due to the virus. Many restaurants were closed, the ferry service to Canada has been idled and the sidewalks were pretty empty. The park had a small beach,("Hollywood Beach") a large pier and a tower that overlooked the Juan de Fuca Strait. I could see Canada from the tower. I encountered two older men with MAGA hats on and I asked them what they liked about Trump. They said he was a great man and that there was nothing he could do or say that would dissuade them from voting for him.They were from Idaho and very pleasant. I stoped for a burger and brew in the Barhop Brewing and Artisan restaurant. The bartender bemoaned the reduced tourism and said that normally the streets would be crowded and that there would be lots of people streaming off the ferry. He said that there had been a recent spike in virus infections in town and he worried if he would be able to remain in town if he lost his job.
After a few hours walking around town i returned to the hotel. However I got ansey again and again drove out to the park again. This time I walked west out of town to Ediz Hook, a spit of land that extends north and then east protecting the harbor and ending in the Coast Guard Air Station. I was not permitted to enter the Station. I walked around for a few hours again noting that there was a marijuana shop, decorative windmills and a bridge memorializing a sister relationship with a Japanese city.
I picked up dinner at Little Caesar's Pizza which was running a 2 for $10 Tuesday pizza special.
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