On the way!

We crested the hill huffing and puffing.  My shirt was soaked with sweat as we made our way up the steep wall of a hill.  Pausing at the top we assessed our situation.  it was about 83 degrees and late in the evening.  We were off route.  Fortunately this was intentional.  We were 3 miles from our start at the Anacortes ferry terminal.  This was a short hill on the way to our hosts for the evening, Bill & Ann Testerman. 

We had decided to do the rear wheel dip on Satuday evening 8/21 at 5:30pm shortly after arriving in Anacortes.  Jerry's brother and sister-in-law dropped us off, and went on to their hotel in Oak Harbor. It was a short haul of 4.5 miles to our host's house and that put us off route a brief distance. Bill and Ann greeted us and we quickly connected with them through shared stories of biking and hiking travels.  They prepared a great dinner for us and we talked late into the evening. 

We retired to our individual rooms at 9:30  and had a good night's rest.  We were up at 6:30, had a cup of joe with our wonderful hosts, then headed back into Anacortes to meet wth Jerry's brother and sister-in-law for breakfast at the Calico Cupboard.  A nice restaurant recommended by our hosts.  From there we more officially began our journey after saying our farewells.  It was cloudy and cool and there was a 5 to 10 knot crosswind out of the south.  A beautiful start to our trip.

We have broken up the starting mileage of this trip into 3 short days before tackling Rainy Pass and Washington Pass at 5,477 feet.  I am finding it hard to slow down and relax after several busy days of preparations, sleepless nights, and stressful decisions about work, this trip, and making arrangements to maintain my medical certification later this fall.  I will adapt, but right now it feels like I am not doing enough mileage and being irresponsible to boot.  

Tonight we are staying with the gracious family of Roger and Elizabeth McDonald in Sedro Woolley.  Just 27 miles into our trip.  We are camping in their yard and they are providing us a spaghetti dinner.