Did I just have lunch at 7:15 AM?

Had an enjoyable evening,complete with hot shower.Visited with camp neighbors,who are native to Washington.

They shared good info about the area.

One of them is a cyclist, he told me of some alternative routes that are off the main roads. He said that it is beautiful and there are “some hills”.

I rolled out of camp went a quarter mile bam! My first hill of the day easily 15%.

For the first time I was standing on the pedals. My 200 yard long wake up call.

I wasn’t even out of the park.

It was a clarion call for the day.

Within an hour I was pushing the bike up the hills.

That said the views were worth every pedal stroke and step.

First picture was from two days ago, I just thought it was an iconic building.

Took the ferry to Port Townsend and the got on the Larry Scott Memorial Trail, hard crushed gravel with minimal foot and bike traffic.

.

The picture doesn’t reflect it , but it felt like I was riding through The Fushima Inari Tori gates in Kyoto.

You’ll have to look up that reference as I don’t know how to import it.

I’ll go out on a limb and call it mystical.

I still wasn’t sure where I was spending the night,hoping for a hotel.

Stopped at a diner for dinner, in Port Haddock. They had a couple of suggestions, that didn’t work out.

The reservation agency had some ideas, IF I wanted to spend $400.00, yes the decimal point is correct, a night.

So ok there is a camp ground s few miles ahead.

When I arrived at the turn off it was 6 miles out of the way, down hill.No thanks I’ll go to the next town, 10 miles further.

I arrive there to discover ,no camp ground there.

I look on the map,there is one 7 miles aheadIt’s now 6:15, I’m watching the Sun.

It hasn’t been flat since Port Haddock.

I proceed a mile or so,only to discover,I went in the wrong direction, so I back track

An example of a smaller hill.

Now I’m walking many of these hills, watching the sun., praying that cramps don’t decide to raise their ugly specters.

Of course there is one last hill to the camp ground and at 7 pm I gratefully pull into the camp ground.

I sent a garbled text to my wife.

For all my whining, I can’t explain how grateful I am I am to be here.Two years ago this month,I was in London ,with a back that had gone out. I couldn’t walk 1/2 a block using a cane without stopping to catch my breath.

Marlina was infinitely patient, and working her backside off to help me, when she was suppose to be enjoying a vacation.

I am a very lucky man!

Speaking of which, I got up this am,went to the restroom in the park and it was locked, found another and on my way back to camp, I meet this Von who with his brother is camped next to me .

He and his brother are riding from Canada to Mexico.

We start talking a before you know it,we’ve blown through 30 minutes of conversation .

We say good by and hope to meet on the road.

Later that morning I run into Von and his brother Wendell in an underpass.

There goes another 20 minutes.

“Luke trust the force”

Tonight I’m in a hotel room and taking tomorrow off .

Hoping all,ya’ll Sleep well

Paul