Well, the guys are on their way. We dropped them off and watched them start their journey at 8:40am yesterday morning. But let me quickly jump back.
Tuesday morning, we left Mama’s dad’s house and drove a few hours to Astoria, Oregon. We drove around a bit while waiting till we could check in to our motel. We visited the Astoria Column, the West Goal Point for the Transamerica Trail. We also located the trailhead where we would drop off the boys the next morning. Later on, Mama and us girls walked down the main street and located a thrift shop where we spent over an hour and bought several items. Finally, we were then able to check in to our room at The Atomic Motel. Ours was a nice large ‘family room’ with three beds. The guys spent the evening taking out all their gear and packing it up, as well as shopping for food for the next few days. It was slightly chaotic, but exciting. For dinner, we feasted at Fultano’s Pizza. We had to wait at least 30 minutes for our pizzas–we thought they’d forgotten us! Finally, we settled in and went to bed.
Wednesday morning, Daddy and Mama went to Starbucks for a nice coffee and then stopped again at the trailhead for a picture. Back in the room, us kids slowly got up, took showers, and ate breakfast. Just before 8, we loaded in the sub and drove to the trailhead. It took almost 40 minutes for the guys to put on their panniers and prepare to start their trek. At long last, we said good bye and took our last pictures. It was bitter-sweet.
Meanwhile, Mama and us girls began our own vacation together. We packed up, checked out of our room, and visited a historical house called The Flavel House, an old Victorian home once owned by a wealthy and influential citizen of Astoria, Captain George Flavel.
After lunch, we left and drove down to Salem, Oregon, where we are visiting for the next few days with our friends, the Prys’.
Now what you’ve all been waiting for: the reason I’m writing this post, and an update on the guys’ bike trip–which are both related. Wednesday was a tough day for the guys. They encountered many hills, but enjoyed good weather. Amazingly, they biked 49 miles total. They would have stopped earlier if they could, but no campsites were in sight, so they had to trudge on. They were exhausted. Daddy told me that at times, him and the boys parked their bikes on the shoulder and collapsed onto the pavement for a 10-20 minute catnap. They finally found a state park where they could spend the night. They ran into a few other bikers, who were making their way from Vancouver to San Francisco. These new friends stopped by their campsite for a chat and to share some cookies. The guys cooked some food on their camp stove before heading to bed. (In the morning, they discovered that a raccoon had broken into one of Rocky’s panniers and eaten his bread roll!) Because of the spotty (and sometimes nonexistent) wifi, Daddy asked me to post an update about them.
Today, the guys faced terrible weather. The whole day was filled with headwinds (up to 50 MPH), tons of rain, and cold weather. The wind caused the rain to sting them as they biked. They were thankful to take shelter at the Tilamook Cheese Factory for a short time where they ate burgers and ice cream. It was here that Rocky described the day as “miserable…the rain was just terrible…[the winds!]…well yes, both. The wind blew the rain which made it like needles.” Forrest says it this way: “It was great…you just plugged. And when you hit a hill, you just stare at the ground and then, oh I’m at the top! It worked pretty well…Very windy…I was in front…[at one point] we were racing a train…It was actually a better day than I expected a rainy day to be for bicycling…Yes you were soaked, yeah you were cold, but you kinda just kept going.” But despite the downs, there were ups. The guys went to Pirate’s Cove Restaurant for lunch, bathroom, and to take shelter from the elements. They requested to use a table to make their lunch. The lady they asked seemed surprised but granted their wish. They then pulled together a lunch of honey and almond butter sandwiches. Daddy ate avocado with almond butter and honey (cause he had to figure out a way to eat that avocado). They pulled into Tillamook RV park for the night. Because of the lack of trees, Daddy realized he would have to sleep with the boys tonight in their small tent. They would have to lie sideways on their mat, with their feet hanging off the end. So, they stopped by the local thrift store and looked for an air mattress. Instead, they found a large lawn chair cushion. Daddy asked the lady if they could rent it for the night. She was confused, so Daddy explained their situation. She happily lent it to them for the night and asked them to return it in the morning.
Daddy requests prayers that he would sleep well; for teamwork and harmony; and for good and positive attitudes. Thank you all!
Below are some pictures. I will let most of them speak for themselves.
Signing off…
(I wanted to attach a video which we took before saying goodbye. Unfortunately, I am not able to. Stay tuned for the video in a later post!)
