Hood Canal Bridge, by WA Dept of Transportation

The big news around here is of course the Hood Canal Bridge Closure. It begins May 1 & lasts for 6 weeks. About the same length of time as a Survivor series. Concidence? I think not.

This is how we in PT get to the other side. Why did the Port Townsender want to get to the other side? Well, a lot of our friends & relatives live there. Some of us work there, and for crying out loud, there’s no Lush on this side, let alone a Target or Nordstrom.

And then there are some folks who really DO need to get across. Like my friend K’s husband, who works for Boeing and comes home to PT on wkends. Or people getting medical treatments. Or the big semis that bring us our food and fuel!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who developed shortness of breath and started inventing crackpot schemes to get to the other side. Not that I (or most of us) go that often; it’s just the notion that it’s going to be so much harder. And smack in the middle of Tourist Season. So much for the Rhody Festival.

At any rate, there are a lot of plans in the works. Some more bizarre than others. Our little ferry to Whidbey (the PT-Keystone route) will still be open. The ferry is small & often cancelled due to tides or weather, so reservations and finger-crossing for that one.

Then, there’s a ferry from PT straight to Edmonds, once a night only, Sun-Thurs (reservations available) It leaves PT @ 10:40, so you’d be in Seattle about midnight on a Thursday evening. Perfect, right?

More Ferry info.

Or, you can do the ferry water shuttle. Every time I hear that explained, it sounds like an episode of the Amazing Race. No thanks. Big problem- yes, it can get you to the other side, but your car stays on this side. And you have to leave Seattle by 8:1o PM. If you have 2 cars, you can leave one on the other side. Or you can get very, very familiar with Seattle’s public transportation system.

Then, there’s air. You can fly on a tiny plane from “Jefferson County International Airport“  to Sea-Tac for $95 each way.

But my favorite: Kenmore Air will fly seaplanes between Port Ludlow and Lake Union. That’s so wild, it could have been my idea. (Actually my best one involved hangliders & piracy. But that’s another story.)

At any rate, we’re all whistling & repeating to ourselves “We have everything we need on this side. Lalalala…” Except the shopkeepers, who are going quietly mad.

It’s going to be a long six weeks…

Here’s the official info