Centralia, Washington

We left Port Townsend on Rt 20. It felt good to be heading south and moving forward again. The traffic on Rt 20 was still quite busy but there was still a nice shoulder to ride on. We passed a couple of cyclist who we stopped and talked with. They were worked for Cycle America bicycle tours and have lead tours across the US. It was kindof funny when they asked us where we were staying that night and we both said, "we don't know". They both laughed and said that's the way to tour. He told us that on one of his "luxury-all inclusive tours" that someone left the tour because he couldn't provide her with a place to SHOP! By the way we have bought three souviners on this trip so far. They are the lightest key chain that we could find. One from Mt Rushmore, Glacier Park and the Pacific Coast Highway. We debated on whether we should ride onto Rt 3 and stay on the islands or go over to Rt 101 on the Olympic Pensinsula. After talking to several cyclists we decided riding Rt 101 would be better. There is probably going to be alot of traffic but we heard there wasn't a shoulder on Rt 3. The weather today was perfect for cycling. Sunny and about 70-80 degrees. A big change from most of our trip. We had to stop and ask directions at one point. They directed us to Central Valley road over to Rt 101. It was a very nice quieter road. We had great views of the Olympic mountains. Once we turned south on Rt 101 the traffic did pick up. There was alot more logging traffic than we would've liked with some blind corners but we just stopped and got off the road when we heard them coming. We stopped Dosewalillup State Park to camp. It was a very nice, clean campground. And they had hot showers.

The next morning we decided to ride the 10 miles to get something to eat. When we got to the town of Eldon where we thought there was going to be a restaurant there wasn't. So we had cupcakes, bananas, milk and coffee for breakfast. Breakfast of champions! While we were sitting on the curb eating, and old man in a very old, rustin junky car pulled up next to us to put air in his tires. When he got out of the car, he started talking to Hap about his dog. I couldn't really understand all that he said, but some of it was: "This old car runs like a top. It purrs like a kitten. My son drove it for a long time and gave it to me. It runs good but sometimes it doesn't stop so good especially when your not paying attention and you don't stop soon enough..........." As he said this he was getting out of his car, and weaving his way towards the door of the store. Ok Hap so which way is he driving? Let's go the other way after he leaves. We finished eating, Hap's new friend left and we headed south down Rt 101. We followed the Hood Canal until we reached Shelton. There was alot of oyster, shrimping and clam digging going on. The road was pretty narrow until Shelton. We opted to take the bypass around town and then had trouble finding a place for lunch. We finally found a Subway. We ate and then headed on toward Olympia. We got to Cindi's house in Olympia. She lived right on the harbor with beautiful views. It was really good to see her. We had toured with her several years ago and not seen her for awhile. We also met Spencer and Baffin, a newfoundland. What a beautiful dog. He reminded me of Mike and Marsha's Newfies, Bear, Ebony and Ivan. We spent a wonderful evening relaxing and talking. Cindi cooked some great salmon and flank steak for us. Thanks Cindi and Spencer.

The next day we decided to spend the day relaxing at Cindi's house. It was great. Hap worked on the computer most of the day. And also worked on the bike. He actually put a new tire on the year wheel. We are at 3700 miles and this is only the second back tire. We still have the original tire on the front. But we have only had one flat so far. A new record for us by the way. What a great relaxing day. When Cindi got home from work we went out to dinner on the harbor at Budd Bay Cafe. It was great food.

This morning we met another friend of mine for breakfast before leaving town. Milly was a nurse I worked with at Berger several years ago. She lives in Kent so she had about an hour drive to get to Olympia. But I told her we had ridden 3700 miles so the least she could do was drive an hour! We had a great time talking about "stuff". I can't believe how big her kids have gotten. She is working as a school nurse now and it sounds like she is doing a great job of course! We said good bye to Milly and headed south towards Centralia. Cindi had shown us the route that the Seattle-Portland-Seattle ride took every year. It was really a nice route. Low traffic, cool sunny weather. A few sprinkles but nothing terrible. We didn't ride many miles today but for some reason we were both really tired. We decided that what we needed was a milk shake. We stopped at DQ. When we got into Centralia we couldn't find a campground. I had picked up a coupon for a hotel so we opted for a soft bed! We walked across the street and went to a dollar store for a few supplies. There was a chinese restaurant next door so we got some take out (or as they say in Australia -- take away) and went back to the room to eat. We are changing our route (yet again!) and have decided not to go to Astoria. We have been to Mt St Helens twice before but never the front part (or west). Tomorrow we are going to head to Mt St Helens. Until then!