Coastin' to the Coast

Yesterday, we went something like 62 miles into Sedro-Wooley, Washington. Nearly all the ride was alongside a turquoise river on a road that was a tunnel of green. It was something of a rainforest, with plenty of ferns, mosses, and undergrowth that we haven't seen since back east. The weather was cool all day, which was soooo refreshing after all the central washington triple digit days. It was a great ride for the almost-end-of-the-trip. We had a pretty massive dinner fail at the end of the day. The first place we tried had a ridiculously expensive salad bar, the next place didn't actually cook the pizza, and the subway we finally got to didn't have the sub I was gonna get (and didn't hear dad ask for something to drink). Little things, but when you're hungry at the end of a ride, it just isn't ok.

First sight of the Sound


Scummy bit of the bay

Today, we went through Burlington to ship some things and look for duffels to hold our panniers on the plane before going the rest of the 37 miles into Anacortes. The ride wasn't all that beautiful, for the area seems to be split into heavily-gated houses on the shore and scummy industry. The first few bays we passed were pretty gunked up or occupied by refineries. We did hit some bike paths - one was pretty nice and one had a gate that you couldn't get a loaded bike through. If there is one thing to say for Anacortes, though, it's that they have some amazing blackberries. Thick, juicy, and sweet = great snack for passing bikers. The San Juan Ferry Terminal was our terminus, so no great finishing pics (sorry). We got some food there, got some shots of the Pacific, and then started getting things wrapped up. My bicycle is now at a bike shop where it will wait to be disassembled and shipped to Madison. The hotel's a bit lonely without the bikes. While I'm happy that we've made it across, I'm not as thrilled as Dad is. I think I'd rather keep biking, just because it's so simple and so fun. Having to switch back to the whole "real world" thing is gonna suck, especially with the move coming up. If I can handle 4400+ miles, I'll be ok. There may be some summary post whenever I feel like it/get around to it.