Seattle, WA (Skylar's Friend)
The tour is over and the group has split and divided to explore Seattle. Kristen and I slept in and missed the last breakfast group breakfast. But we saw them as we were headed there. After breakfast we headed back to the hotel and packed up our rooms and said good bye to some of the group who were heading out soon. We then headed out and explored the Pikes Public Market and the Olympic Sculpture Garden. We then met up with others and went for sushi and to REI. We returned to hotel to say good bye to other riders who were heading out. This left us down to myself, Skylar, Kenny, Eric and Connor. Kenny and Eric are staying with some of Eric's friends and Skylar, Connor and myself are staying with some of Skylars friends.
August 7
Portland, OR (Couchsurfing)
On our way out of Seattle we stopped for breakfast with as much of the group as we knew were still left. It was Skylar, Kenny, Eric, Bethany, Duncan and myself. The restaurant happened to be near a statue of Lenin in Seattle.
After breakfast, we said our good byes to Bethany and Duncan and the 4 of us headed towards Portland. In Portland we dropped off Eric with his friends and Skylar, Kenny and myself explored a neighborhood in Portland, there is so much we didn't get to see a lot. We did stop at a cidery and several breweries and I got to see my cousin Zak for a brief moment. We found a couch surfing host for the night. It ends up being an exciting night, the host is also hosting about 14 other people from all over the world. So I sat up chatting for awhile before retreating to my hammock that I set up in the back yard.
August 8
Richland, WA (Dad)
In the morning we picked up Jen at the airport and then there were 4 of us again. We headed out of Portland and headed to Hood River to do more exploring. After lunch in Hood River we headed to Richland, WA and we got to stay with my Dad for the night.
August 9
Village of Trees Campground (Delco, ID)
We spent the day driving, and we stopped for an oil change for the van in Nampa, ID. While there we stopped for some FroYo (we eat a lot of Frozen Yogurt). We drove the whole day to set up a good time for us to drop Kenny off tomorrow near Salt Lake City, UT. We found a campground near the interstate in Delco, ID.
August 10
Gore Creek Campground (Silverthorne, CO)
In the morning we found a good diner for breakfast and then headed down to Provo, UT where Kenny packed his panniers and headed off on a self contained adventure. This was followed by another long day of driving. We reached the Vail, CO area and asked around and everyone recommended the Gore Creek Campground. It is an amazing campground. We didn't roll in until late so no good pictures of the campground.
August 11
Fort Collins, CO (Beth)
We arrived in Border, CO for breakfast and explored for a little while and then headed on to Fort Collins, CO. We went for a very short bike ride and I am pretty sure that Syklar was just picking the biggest climbs he could find. But the descent was awesome, I hit speeds in the 40s without really trying. We then headed over to Beth's place for the night and got dinner with her and her roommate and had drinks with other friends in town.
August 12
Kansas City, KS (Skylar's Friend)
The riding days are long, Skylar has friends along the route. Tonight we are staying in Kansas City, KS.
August 13
Louisville, KY (Skylar's Friend)
We headed out to meet Justin for breakfast. The first attempt was "shut" so we found another place to eat. It was good to see Justin again. After breakfast we continued on our way, all the way to Louisville, KY.
August 14
Pittsburgh, PA (HOME)
In the morning we got a tour of one of the Heaven Hill Distillery facilities. We then made our way to Charleston, WV where I said my good byes to Skylar and Jen as they made their way to Virginia. My friend Cat came down and picked me up in Charleston and brought me back to the Pittsburgh area in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow I am heading back to my mom's (north of the Pittsburgh area) for awhile to figure out what I am doing and where I am going from here.
