June 15
Friday June 15 – Astoria, Oregon
Up early in
Portland, Oregon at the motel near the airport. I tried again several times to get a connection to my Internet
Provider Service so I could post my journal from yesterday. I was on the phone with Paul back in Ohio
but nothing worked to correct the problem I’m having with the modem
disconnecting right after it dials. Very disappointing – but who knows, maybe I’m
not suppose to get all tied up with the
technical stuff on a trip such as this. So I’ll keep trying at each location. Paul will return next week from a 6 day bike trip he will be
doing in Ohio – then he can receive my updates by my faxing them and post them
on my website.
It was a special
moment today when 2 girl friends I haven’t seen since high school graduation
came to the motel to pick me up and drive me to Astoria. Carol & Carol walked in the lobby and we
instantly agreed we haven’t changed or aged one iota! They looked just the same-
I could hardly believe it. Carol
K. has retained a wonderful midwest (North Dakota) accent. Carol R. and Carol
K. have such wonderful smiles and good humor.
It was wonderful to see them.
On our way out of
Portland and the whole 2 hour drive to the costal town of Astoria was a
beautiful drive. So many very tall pine
trees everywhere. A bright golden
yellow bush is in bloom now. I can’t
remember the name of it.
I saw several bikes along
the winding rolling highway. Made me so
excited just to see another biker. I
really can hardly wait until tomorrow.
Just as soon as I
checked into my room, I went to the bike assembly room where boxes of bikes
filled the room. I guess about 10 – 12 people
were there putting their bikes together.
I immediately checked my box and was so glad FedX took good care and not
a hole anywhere. All was good and
secure and the bike was in perfect condition. There were 2 mechanics to help in
reassembling the bike if needed. Each
bike had to pass an inspection before we could take it away. I had a little
trouble reconnecting the computer sensor on the fork. It wanted to slip
down. But I devised something to hold
it in place using a small bit of rubber padding behind it – then it stayed put. Our helmet needed to be inspected for proper
fit too. Also we had to attend a special flat tire repair session, if we couldn’t
demonstrate that we knew how to take off & put back on both the front and
back tires. I knew how to do it so I
wasn’t required to go through that.
It was nearly 8 P.M.
before I left the bike assembly room.
By this time my friends were hungry, and I too, for dinner. We drove down the way to a seafood
restaurant and ate overlooking the bay.
The Mighty Columbia River starts here in Astoria.
Our hotel overlooks
a large marina and we can see the impressive bridge that spans the across the
river into the state of Washington.
When we returned to the motel room, we got out the old Wopanian yearbook
of 1963 and talked about all the good times we had a Wahpeton high school. We each remembered different things that one
or the other had forgotten about. We
had some chuckles.
I am so glad to be
here, safe and sound. Tomorrow is a big
day. Meeting my “family” that I’ll be a
part of for the next seven weeks.