Ferries

Mikals pedal fell off so we are working on getting that fixed. We have my bike all geared up, I remember why her name is phatty patty, feels more like a motorcycle. 

Mikal is on the phat bike with a backpack and we just bought tickets to Orcas Island. 

There is a big storm coming in this weekend and we plan to be biking the Olympic peninsula, I think we are gonna get wet.

I'm feeling really self conscious abou my bike. She just feels so bulky. I would really like to get new panniers, especially for the front, but I am so sick of spending money. I know I can get the gear cheaper offline or pro deals, this trip just came up so fast. I know getting new front bags would help streamline the trip. I only have a few things in them for their size, it's like I have sails on my bike. 

Met an interesting guy on the ferry. He looked Mexican so I was checking him out. He lives on the island and is a yoga instructor. Told us we could camp in his yard at otter pond. 

The island is beautiful. Rolling hills and old trees with sunshine. It reminds me a lot of bar harbor, lookin out over the hills next to the road down into a bay filled with sailboats. 

My small gears aren't working and there are a hell of a lot of hills. They have bike turn off areas. I just used one to take off my clothes. It's gotta be close to 70 and humid. 

Not really sure where town is, probably shoud have grabbed a map. Just flagged down a car. The gentlemen inside told me four miles, up and down. 

It's starting to get dark. Didn't take that into consideration. The sun sets around seven. It's six now and we haven't made it to town. Really slow going. Mikal is on Beyoncé and her upper gears aren't working. We could probably walk faster. 

I should probably boil my shoes. They smell so bad it makes me feel a little sick. 

Everyone is in town at the bars for the Seahawks game. I really wish Mikal had an id. This is going to be our new save money plan. 

It's really getting dark now biking out of town. We keep seeing little areas and are tempted to try to poach a camp site. We have the state park and otter pond about five miles up and decide to try to book it.

There are so many hills and I packed so much shit on my bike. I honestly don't know if I can make it up this hill. I'm about ready to say eff it and pitch the tent on the side of the road. It's dark, there's no shoulder and we have been going up for a good mile or so. Maybe I'm not ready for this tour. Maybe I shoud have gone home first to regroup and get the right gear and my bike fixed up. If Mikal wasn't hear trucking on up ahead of me I might have hitchhiked to the park. I don't think id ever quit, to stubborn to quit. 

I took a minute to take off my jacket, grab a quick drink, re adjust my handhold and burrows my head and pushed on. The hill is finally starting to level out. The burn in my legs is starting to ease and I about run into mikal as she's stopped in the dark in front of me. We both look down a dirt path, same thought to check it out. There is a chain up but don't seen a no trespassing sign so we go for it. 

Tons of cobwebs crossing the path and it opened up a hundred yards down and we set up camp. 

We are super short on water so decide to make refried beans, the same ones from my NOLS course a year and some months ago. We whip out some tortillas too. We don't have salt or pepper so I grabbed the honey. The beans taste like plastic bag but really not that bad, could be a New Mexican desert. 

We just checked the gps, otter pond is a few hundred yards up the road, guess we should have checked that before settling in. 

Found a plug out here!

Bike Shop and Beers

Mikal and I seem to be in intermission mode. Switching from road trip to bike trip has not been the fastest process for us. Dealing with getting her id situation straightened out isn't really working. Is it even possible to get a new id while traveling in a different state? 

We went down to the local bike shop. Nick fixed my fender, drilled a hole right thee her and zip tied her up. Beer fest was goin on down the street so they broke out some beers for us. Felt like old times sitting and having some beers in the bike shop. Felt like we were visiting old friends rather than bike shop owners we just met. 

Traffic Jams and Poop Plants

I'm so glad Mikal is driving through Vancouver id probably be crying if it were me. 

We just passed this baby sitter vanand I noticed it had a cage in it. I pointed it out to Mikal and she's like, grace, it's for dogs. We both laughed and cried for a good five minutes.

 We are stuck in traffic and something started smelling, Mikal thought it was me and I thought it was her. We both looked at Fuzz Nugget sleeping on my lap an started cracking up before realizing it was the sewage plant next to the bridge. What a place to be stuck..

gettin cranky

i had just finished buying some necessary goods for grace and i. . .ice cream, walkie talkies, and loofah gloves.

excited about the purchases, i pedal down the main drag through town .. then my forward progress stops.
i look down and my foot is still in my toe cage but my pedal is no longer attached to the crank.

i get off my bike, kind of puzzled, notice the threads are stripped ..
figured i can't walk home with the bike because then the ice cream would melt ..
so i pedal awkwardly, uphill, with one leg and the other keeping pressure to hold the two pieces together

the ice cream was only slightly melted. 

and tomorrow we get a new crank.

Cat Food and Cliffs

I made the jump to run back to Bellingham to grab the Nutt. The boys were out kayaking and the Nutt was up sleeping in C's bed, the one Nutt changed into a cat lover. 

B sent the sweetest message apologized for not messaging about Nutt yesterday. Said they kept him inside and snuggled all night, that he was super happy and they would do what they could to keep him in. I had to follow my intuition though  and take him to Seattle.  

Forgot the cat food in Bellingham and about ran out of gas in Everette looking for a Petco. The traffic is stupid and I ended up missing the driveway. Parked at a police station, ran through a trail in their garden and climbed up a nine foot rock wall across the street to get to the pet store. 

I walked in and this kid bombards me saying he is the rep for some cat food company and starts going into his speil. I'm already stressing and in a hurry, the kid doesn't get it and follows me all over the store making suggestions and asking to go over ingredient lists between science diet and his brand. Finally I drag myself away as he rolls his eyes at my decision to stick with science diet. I pay for the food and cliff jump back to the car.

R had messaged me to meet him in the flamingo Parkin lot of the woodland park zoo. Never has handing over the Nutt felt so much like a drug deal. It was really good to see him, been since my freshman yeah of college.

Anxiety

I have been a little off today. Stressed out. I'm not used to being responsible for a living thing other than myself. The Nutt is a huge part of my life it makes me sick to think of something happening to him. I should have planned this out better. The house he was going to stay at outside Seattle sounded perfect and quiet with a responsible foster mom. Then I heard the coyotes were bad and they got the neighbors goat. I guess the neighbor here in anacortes found a cat head in his garden from coyotes and that's what I pictured. I had a mini freak out and took him straight up to Bellingham with the boys. 

The whole drive there I felt like it was a bad idea. I couldn't stop thinkin about him getting hit by a car or some drunk kid taking him. I guess that smashed in window and stolen purse and laptop left me a bit uneasy about Bellingham. 

He has never lived by a busy street before and took off across Garden when we got there. Watching him dart out like that in front of traffic almost made me throw up. 

I just need to have faith in that if he can make it camping in Alaska, the Yukon and all the way down through British Columbia, I sure as hell hope his ass knows how to look both ways before crossing N. Garden. 

AWA Hospitality and People Bringing it in for the Win

We got into Anacortes yesterday after getting the car window fixed and a trip to REI. Shopping stressed me out a little knowing I was out $600 from the break in. It's ok until I think, dang, that was a two week pay check. But I gotta remind myself not to think like that. It's easy to look on the brighter side when I have Mikal next to me just rolling with the punches and my AWA family, blood family and friends to support me. Also, when I went to the police station I was a bit annoyed because the officer hadn't returned my calls after 6 hours and I got there and he was on lunch. I sat outside the police station waiting a bit worried to leave my car out there with the busted window. I still locked the doors. 

I got into the room and the officer was this linebacker of a man but when he spoke his eyes softened and his voice was calm. He listened and nodded and asked for as many details. He took his time and most importantly he cared. This was such a different experience from the last time I had my things stolen, where the officer told me I was from flint, I should have known better and locked up my stuff. They not only didn't help me, but made it harder. This man was the opposite. He even went as far as to commit to checking craigslist, as soft an sweet as he was I sure wouldn't want to cross him, having three daughters my age he was taking this one personally. I left the station with a happy heart and a new found respect for law enforcement. 

The people at Louis auto glass were the same, very protective and wanting to do what they could to help, had me bring the car in the day before to lock it up in the shop so it wouldn't be out on the street with a busted window. They had it fixed by 10 am the next morning, even the insurence people were amazing!! I didn't even know that was possible? 

The boys were super supportive too. Letting us stay and just kinda do our thing like we were part of the family. I'm glad we stayed the extra night, the Nutt won over the not cat lover and now they want foster him for the two months we will be biking. 

I'm worried about leaving him. Nadjas house would be perfect, quiet little neighborhood and they are super responsible cat owners, but their cat is such a bully it took Nutt 6 hours to leave his box and that's only because I dumped him out. I could take him to my friends girlfriends house but that's a four hour drive and she days lots of cayotes and eagles. Then the boys up in Bellingham live on a busy street and I'm worried he will get run over. It's itching at me to just get a bob and take him on the tour. Mikal said she'd pull him. 

As soon as we got to anacortes Nadja welcomed us whole heartedly! Brought us in and gave us snacks and margaritas and all the mail from my mom and in the bottom of the mail bag a box of trail snacks and other goodies from her an Jim, It was like going to your grandmas house if your grandma was young and hott. 

We meant to go on an adventure around town, made it to the side of the island that overlooked the San Juan islands. We meant to get a tour but got distracted by a thrift shop then a bike shop and tai food. I have never met someone more hilarious at a restaurant as Nadja. 

We biked back home and all sat around chatting. They had to leave on a vacation this mornin but Jim helped me lock up the phat bike an the kayaks, showed me where to park the car an gave us a key to the house. I'm just so blown away by the hospitality. I guess if it was my house I would do the same thing without a second thought, but when I'm on this side it just fells so huge. I feel safe and cared for. So many good people in this world.