PDX

OK! Sorry for the delay. Things to do, people to see!

We made it, no buses, no rides from moms. It ended up being FAR easier than we had imagined and absolutely beautiful and we are very happy with our decision. From Walla Walla we rode to a campground on the beach just inside of Oregon which was awesome. we saw a nice sunset and woke up to the cahtter of seagulls :) We woke up the next day at 4:30 in hopes of beating whatever wind we were sure we would get, but ended up with an INCREDIBLE day of no wind/light tailwinds and made it 102 miles! We got in our century! And just when I was getting bummed because I thought it was impossible. However, that day was really really hot and we were in the desert the whole time. The next day was beautiful and again, light winds. We talked to a cyclist at this lookout point on top of a hill and we said we got into the gorge at a really good time. The next 2 days just got prettier and prettier. The hills weren't too bad, and even when there was wind we were kind of up in the trees so we got some cover from it. We rode on the Historic Columbia River Highway for the most part. It's America's first scenic road, and boy is it scenic. The developers made it a point to have the road go past all the most beautiful parts of the gorge, so there were waterfalls and deep woods and lots of lookout points way high up. We had an awesome reception by Peter and my mom here complete with champagne and fruit. Since then we've been exploring the city and eating a lot of food. Portland is awesome-such a pretty place, easy to get around and a lot to do. We're going to get to as many parks as we can and go to all the little shopping/cafe/restaurant places while we're here. I want to eat at every vegan restaurant there is!

We're a little homesick and the post-tour depression has definitely set in. It's an incredibly strange feeling being done, like, what do we do now? It's hard to describe....I'm sure once we get back into normal life (working, living, city life) we'll feel better. We got our train tickets today and are heading back to the midwest this weekend. We're not sure what will come next...we decided to NOT think about future plans while we're here. This is the end of our vacation and we're going to remain as carefree as possible!

I'll have Dylan write a blog with his deep philosophical biking thoughts, and maybe I'll write a "How My Bike Ride Changed Me" blog. And pictures will be here soon!

Until then, we can't wait to see the good ol' midwest again!