Two if by Land

Now, since we were back in Anacortes and all the way up north in Washington, we couldn't help ourselves and pointed the Jeep east to North Cascades National Park. We drove highway 20 through NCNP by gorgeous Diablo Lake and then through the Methow Valley to Winthrop, Wednesday night's campsite.

Thursday morning, we awoke to rain on the tent and three ducks quacking around outside. We fueled up with cinnamon rolls in downtown Winthrop, which by the way, is all done up like an Old West town. Great and weird all at the same time. We then headed south toward Oregon.

Evening view from Pearrygin Lake State Park campground.

And, since we were so close, we took a small detour into Leavenworth, which by way, is all done up like a Bavarian village. Again, great and weird all at the same time. (P.S. We saw no less than five Husker fans in and out of the Leavenworth shops. GBR!) Then came lunch in Yakima after driving through more apple orchards than we could even count. I think all of the apples of the world come from the Yakima valley and by golly, I think I'm right.

We rolled into Portland around six tonight and started the long process of unpacking and drying out gear. Another adventure completed. What to plan next?

All Aboard

And now, a word about the Washington State Ferry System.

I have never been on a more organized public transportation system in my life. It's absolutely the best. The ferries were on time, clean and safe and ride was smooth like butter. The ferry people were always helpful, telling us where to park our bikes, answering questions, providing directions with a smile. Plus, you buy one ticket, in Anacortes, and then you can basically ride as much as you want. We rode four ferries for $16. Four bucks for a boat ride? I'll take that any day.

In the Rain Shadow

Since we were already in Seattle and since we had a gift certificate to a hotel in Anacortes, we decided to turn the football game into bike-touring road trip. Our plan? Spend Sunday night in Anacortes, hop the Monday morning ferryto Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, bike around it, camp, hop the Tuesday morning ferry to Orcas Island, bike around it, camp, summit Mt. Constitution, hop the Wednesday morning ferry back to Anacortes. Yeah, yeah, it's an ambitious plan, but definitely doable. As you know, we're definitely hard core.

Sunday night's view from the hotel window. Bleak.

Monday morning ride preparations at the Anacortes ferry dock.

View of ferry dock at Friday Harbor. Bleak.

But the biking gods shone down and cleared away the clouds just as we pulled out of Friday Harbor and pointed our bikes toward Roche Harbor on the north side of the island. San Juan Island is full of great things to do and see. Most of the island is reasonably flat farmland, with vineyards, pastures, cutewooded B&Bs and of-course, sculpture gardens.

Our lunch stop at the W.B. Sculpture Park.

Roche Harbor.

Monday night campsite at San Juan County Park.

Tuesday morning, we got up early and headed south by Lime Kiln State Park back toward Friday Harbor. This was our best chance to spot some whales, but we kept looking out on still, quiet water.

We caught the Noon o'clock ferry to Orcas Island and headed north toward the east side of the island and our Tuesday night campsite at Moran State Park. I now know why no one ever talks about how great it is to bike on Orcas Island. Because it sucks. Sure, the scenery is gorgeous--Orcas is more mountainous than the other islands-- but all of those mountains mean lots of climbing and our bikes were pretty loaded down. So when we stopped for gelato in Eastsound around 5pm, we were pretty tuckered. I'm not sure who said it first--"you know, we should just get a hotel"-- but that's all it took. B was on the phone, finding us a room. It was a great decision. We had already abandoned our Wednesday morning plan to summit Mt. Constitution, the highest point in the San Juans at 2,409 feet, so we took showers, had some great Mexican food and got a great night of sleep. We are so definitely not hard core.

We took off bright and early Wednesday morning back to the ferry dock and headed east for Anacortes.

Conclusions, i.e. lessons learned:

1. This was our first bike tour. We'll definitely do another one, but B didn't like the trailer one bit. We'll do a rack with panniers for him next time too.

2. We will not be biking the San Juans again. The whole time we just wanted to be out on the water. We will come back for sure, but next time, on a boat.

Battle in Seattle

I had been waiting for last weekend for almost a year. Last year, Dacia and I discovered that Washington, her alma mater, would be playing Nebraska in Seattle in September. We immediately asked for time off at work and made plans to go. And, as if that wasn't enough, I rallied the cousins and got us all together for the game.

We headed up Friday night and drove the entire way through pouring rain. Saturday's forecast was looking bleak as it proceeded to rain all night. But, the football gods shone down upon us and the clouds parted just in time for kick off.

The game went our way--Nebraska, 56. Washington, 21-- and we had such a great time! Husky stadium is definitely the loudest place I have ever been. Ever. I thought games in Lincoln were loud, but they don't even compare. When they would score, the place would absolutely erupt. The fans were super nice, the band was fun (half-time show was a tribute to Lady Gaga) and tailgating was out of this world. Find me another place where you can go out on a boat at half-time and get a beer. We can't wait to show Ryan and Dacia a good time in Lincoln next year.

The Battle in Seattle crew: Carrie, Dan, Ryan, Dacia, me and B.

Pretty much every Husker fan I know this side of the Rockies was there. Jody and I pose with Barrett, his first Husker game!

The rest of the weekend, we spent with the cousins. Pizza, beers and the Arizona game on Saturday night and then breakfast in Claire's neighborhood on Sunday morning before they flew out to Nebraska.

Joel, Sander, B, the Space Needle, Kevin, me, John, Claire and Lisa.

Such a great time.

Five years ago

Five years ago. That's how long it had been since I saw my friend Marissa. Five years, until this past weekend. Alas, I don't have photographic evidence, but I got to spend Saturday with her, showing her around Portland on a day that had to be weather perfected.

Marissa and I lived next door to each other in Neihardt Hall for two years in college and it was so great to see her and catch up. And eat and drink of course! We started out at the Saturday market and then headed to the food cart pod at 12th and Hawthorne for some Potato Champion. (Yep, Portlanders, you know what I'm talking about.) Then we drove up to Mt. Tabor for a view of the city and then on to Widmer Brothers Brewing for Oktoberfest. We topped off her short visit with tacos at Chez Jose with B and then Katie's dance show. Whew.

Great day with a great old friend.

The birds, the birds!

A couple of years ago, over the course of about 6 weeks or so, B and I watched the entire Planet Earth series from the Discovery Channel. If you haven't seen it, you should because it is a fascinating look at the wildlife of our planet. Polar bears on the hunt, migrating elephants, the elusive snow leopard.

What struck B and I as the most fascinating though, wasn't watching the great white sharks actually jump out of the water, but rather seeing all of the crazy, neurotic birds of the world. Canadian snow geese that will challenge a fox that is going after its nest. Birds of paradise in Borneo that make clicking sounds and dance around to attract mates. These amazing cranes that migrate over the Himalayan mountains. Birds are fascinating. So, when Alyson and Brad suggested that we have dinner together last week, I said, "Hey! Let's go see the swifts!"

The swifts I speak of are the Portland Vaux Swifts. Every September, around 30,000 of them roost in the old chimney of an elementary school in NW Portland. It's become the event of the fall in Portland--pack a blanket and a picnic and sit on the hill by the school and watch the swifts gather. Then at dusk, they swirl down into the chimney for the night. It's absolutely fantastic. (You can also watch adorable children run around and play and slide down the hill on cardboard boxes, but really, the birds are the show.)

The Swift Watch 2010 Team: Brad, Alyson and B.

Four years