Tag Archives: USA

Day 7 – Seattle to Elma

113km of 500km so far

Goodbye Karen's house

Goodbye Karen’s house

Nurse, I need some medicine!

Nurse, I need some medicine!

Time to move on again. I woke up early, packed my things and I was gone before 9 as Karen was leaving for work. I went straight to downtown to catch a ferry to Bremerton. For the past couple of days I was debating whether to go all around Olympic park or not. In the end I decided against it, as I was worried a bit about my remaining days and whether I will manage to make it on my final destination on time. I had visited the park in the past anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss. On the ferry, I met and chatted for a bit with another three cyclists. Two of them started touring in Alaska and they are slowly making their way south as well.

The 3 amigos on bikes

The 3 amigos on bikes

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Goodbye Seattle

Goodbye Seattle

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I got to Bremerton just before noon. It’s a naval base and just next to the ferries, there are 3 aircraft carriers hanging out.

USS who-knows

USS who-knows

I started pedaling south and on the way I stopped for a few supplies for lunch. The beginning of the day is always a little slow with all these stops, but they are kind of essential to make the rest of the day go by. I was happy I found a nice spot for my lunch in Allyn, right by the water.

Lunch time

Lunch time

the spot

the spot

I couldn’t resist having a quick nap under the tree, something I really needed, as last night I went to bed late talking with the guys. I woke up and 2 elder couples were having their lunches right next to me. I pretended I wasn’t surprised and I started the usual conversation with them, about where I am going and where I am from. Today was rather hot, with the temperature going up to 28c, which was a big contrast to the rainy days I had experienced last week.

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Cut down this forest, we need more toilet paper!

Cut down this forest, we need more toilet paper!

At around 4pm I had another quick stop for ice-cream in a gas station of Shelton to help my brain cool down a bit. I was planning to get all the way to Aberdeen, but then I realized there was a campground a bit closer, so by 6pm and after 110km I decided to call it a day. The campground was actually an RV park. Even if I hate those things, it ended up being a good deal. With $16, I got a spot on the grass under a tree, wifi and access to electricity to charge my electronics. Though the last one is by the washrooms, so here I am like a toilet guard surfing the internet. On a good note, the manager gave me a bunch of home made cookies as a welcome gift. I used them as a celebration treat for my first week on the trip and covering the first 500km of the trip!!!

Day 6 – Seattle

2.7km out of 288 so far.

Today was another rest day in Seattle. I wanted to get a few things done before hitting the road. Benjamin and Karen left for work and I stayed home for a bit to do laundry and adjust a few things on my bike. Later on I went to the nearby cafe in George town for my internet fix.

The view from the cafe

The view from the cafe

I spend a couple of hours in the cafe and later on Jason came and picked me up to go check out his new place and dogs. I know it’s a bit cheating, but we put the bike on his roof rack and off we went.

why not?

why not?

Since we both didn’t have any plans for the afternoon, we ended up spending the whole day together. We took his two hyperactive dogs to the park, in an attempt to exhaust them. The off lease park was in a dog frenzy, with dogs of any kind and size running everywhere, barking, sniffing each other bum, and pooping all over the place. Everyone was happy over there.

here is Pitsu

hMeet Pitsu

and here is Miss Wayne

and here is Miss Wayne trying to put on the seat-belt

Dog party

Dog party

Run dogs, run

Run dogs, run

Later on we grabbed a few supplies from the supermarket and headed back home for dinner, together with Karen, Benjamin and Jen. I needed to make sure I could eat as much home made food as possible, before hitting the road to the unknown again.

Spinach-rice, sausages, roasted veggies and tomatoes from Karen's garden

Spinach-rice, sausages, roasted veggies and tomatoes from Karen’s garden

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