To Everett

We left Rockport State Park in the early morning rain. yuck. I haven't had to ride in the rain since Pennsylvania (i out ran the rain in Iowa), but I guess it was fitting to spend our next to the last day in the rain. It was also fitting that I would get lost just one more time.

You see we stopped about 17 miles in for coffee/hot chocolate because it was cold, and when we did my group apparently missed the sign saying we were supposed to turn right. We went straight instead, and 10 miles later realized our mistake. We turned around and headed on, adding 20 miles to the day. A long day with lots of hills, we had one last big downhill headed into town before racing across some very narrow, busy bridges to reach our host location. That night we went to a Karaoke bar for Hannah Wagley's birthday and to celebrate the end of the trip. It was a great night.

Then into Seattle. Wow. After over two months of riding we were down to just 40 more miles. Because of the route, a lot of it on the bike paths, we stayed in big groups for most of the day. Things really sunk in for me when I saw the space needle, such an icon of Seattle. We had really made it. Things were pretty crazy as we headed through downtown, and we eventually made it down to the water where we followed the road down past all of the piers. We crossed over into West Seattle and then grouped up and waited about a mile away from Alki Beach. When everyone made it we rode in, parents cheering and then we all ran into the water. My parents surprised me by coming! I had no idea they would be there, and it was so good to see them.

We had a ceremony on the beach that night, and everyone began to leave after the build day on Monday. Dustin, my roommate came up on Monday night, and we've been hanging out with Lisa and her brother, Matt. We're staying at the Green Tortoise, a hostel right in the heart of the city. Great location. We've been really big tourists, checking out the space needle, Pike's Market, the University of Washington, kayaking in Lake Union, and just hanging out on the beach. Its been great catching up with Dustin, and I can't wait to get back to Ruston before too long.

We leave for the airport later tonight (our flight is at 6 am), and we'll head to El Paso for a few days before heading back to the 708 house.