6:45 AM to 2:00PM.
Leaving Anacortes
It was hard to say good-bye to JB and Beth Seaman. They hosted us in their lovely home, fed us and shared all their love and interests with us. Beth even generously picked me up at the train station in Mt. Vernon, 21 miles from her home. 
L to R: Beth, Barbara, Pam, Carol, and JB
Darlene Laubenstein and her sister Betty drove Pam and Carol from Warrensburg, MO to Anacortes, WA in her van. In addition we were all surprised when Pam's Aunt Lorene and her friend Mike showed up from San Jose, CA, 900 miles away, just to see us pedal off. They made sure to send us off with a healthy 2nd breakfast.
It had been cloudy, cold and rainy. Everyone kept telling me what a bad spring Washington was having. Coming from sunny Southern California I was quite worried about the cold going over the Cascade Mountains. Well, be careful what you wish for. We left Anacortes in beautiful weather. In fact it is said this will be the hottest day of the year in Western Washington. They are experiencing a High Pressure Weather System from California. Could I have brought that with me? Now, the enormous amount of snow is melting so fast that they have closed our first mountain pass due to avalanche danger. It will be reassesed on Monday. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
We can attest to the spring runoff. We rode along the Skagit Highway and oohed and ahhed as we passed one thundering creek and waterfall after another pouring into the Skagit River. Then every direction we looked we saw snow covered peaks or lush green ferns. Now, we understand we may pay a price for all we've been treated to. We are hoping to ride over Rainey Pass on Tuesday.
In the meantime we rode into Concrete Airport yesterday where we have been installed in the pilot's lounge. We have a kitchen, showers, hide a beds and the most stunning view of the forest and snow covered peaks as we watch small planes land and take off.
We were treated to dinner at Annie's Pizza.
We were even loaned a car by Jack Mears to drive around Concrete. We decided to stay here another day before heading to Newhalem at the bottom of the pass.
Jack on right with friends.
We took a leisurely ride this morning along the Skagit River and got some beautiful pictures. We returned to Concrete where we were given a tour of the airport.
Harold Hanson is retired from building ski resorts and shopping centers. He is a pilot, collector and restorer of rescued planes. He showed us his stable of approximately 50 vintage airplanes. The oldest is from 1932. A true visionary, he has almost single handedly led the town of Concrete into developing this airport. We so enjoyed not only looking at the lovingly restored planes, but hearing his stories of all the things he has done in his life. He is working hard to put Concrete on the map and after 5 years it seems to be happening as more and more flight enthusiasts retire here. He has done everything from planting grass to organizing community events.
Harold with a sliver of his collection
Pam, Carol and I just met face to face on Thursday, May 15th. We feel so fortunate to have connected through an ad in Adventure Cycling Magazine. We are on a honeymoon. Let's hope it lasts.
Our first night together Pam was trying to winnow some weight from her panniers. She asked for my help in discarding unneeded items. I assured her letting go of the deodorant would not be a problem. Then, when we cleaned up after our ride to Concrete I pulled out my lipstick. She chastized me for jettisoning the deodorant and carrying the lipstick. I replied "you can't smell the pictures." Like I said, "Let's hope the honeymoon lasts." We are having great fun together.
2 comments:
Love your blog, very much. I feel like I'm on the ride with you. I felt such excitement as you filled me in on all the people you've met. I mean they just keep appearing to take care of you and show you a good time. How cool is that? I just have one question: So Barbara, did you eat the pizza????
We each had a delicious salad at Annie's Pizza Restaurant.
Barbara
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