With only two weeks before departure, we have taken the next (really) big step: Storing everything we want to keep, but cannot take on our trip.  Our plan is to store all of these items at Jason’s parents’ house in Maryland, mostly inside our subcompact car, parked inside the garage.

Everything we want to keep in a tiny car!

The garage before.

I was worried that we wouldn’t have room for everything.  It turns out that when we boiled our belongings down to the bare essentials, minus outdoor gear and touring bikes, there is room to spare.  I also suspect that when we get back in a year plus we will wonder why we thought all this stuff was worth keeping!

The garage after. Viola!

We kept our kitchen supplies and a few appliances, our down comforters, formal clothing like suits, lots of board games, some large speakers Jason built, my folding bicycle, musical instruments (guitar, oboe), memory boxes with old cards, letters, photos, and bicycle accessories for carrying cargo.  The car insurance is cancelled as of today, and we put gas stabilizer in the tank for storage.

It’s really happening!  Right now we are in Maryland, and when we return to State College we will sort what is left at the apartment into free, $1, $5, $10 piles, and have folks come take it away.  Next weekend we will take another two-night cycling trip to prep our legs.  Then we will depart State College in … two more weeks!  Two more weeks!

Daisy making sure the comforter is fluffed properly for long term storage.

Also – we finally got our business cards designed!  250 of them are expected to arrive next week, to be handed out along the way.  Take a peek:

Our cycling website “business” card. Go us!

Daisy and one of the stumps left after logging hit the Pacific Northwest.

Originally, Jason was supposed to write this blog post about our adventures in and around Bellingham, WA.  Luckily, he dragged his feet a bit and I am sneaking to write this while he is at work.  I am glad to write about Bellingham, as it will always hold a special place in my heart.  Where else can you find rivers, bays, islands, mountains, and multiple co-op / natural food stores?  I am sure other places exist, but I was born and raised in Bellingham, so I know its nooks and crannies.  It is my favorite.

Green everywhere! What a wonderful sight.

One of our first activities after arriving in Bellingham was to take a hike. The Cascades mountain range meets the water near Bellingham, where we call it the Chuckanut mountains.   We didn’t have to travel far to get to the trailhead.  Our hike started with a sharp ascent, but soon we were in the cool, wet forests of the Pacific northwest.

We saw the stumps of some massive trees that were cut when the area was logged, motivating us to learn more of the local history at the Whatcom Museum later in the week.  For you Bellingham-folk reading this, if you have not been to the Whatcom Museum for a long while, it is certainly worth it.  They have an entire section dedicated to the work of Bellingham women in the early 1900s, and of course many photos of logging and accounts of the early European settlers.

Another piece of logging’s legacy in this area.

Jason on the shore of Cedar Lake.

We spent time visiting with some wonderful friends – some that we have known for many many years (thanks Toby, Kristen, Nathan, Millie!!!), and some new ones.  Rachel, we’ll cook next time we’re in town!

We poked around some more tide pools at Larrabee State Park, and scampered over the sandstone rocks.  Luck was with us – the weather was stunning.

The beautiful view at Larrabee – Washington’s very first state park!

It was bittersweet to leave after only a few days, but the big trip is rapidly approaching and there is much left to do here on the East Coast.  I presented at a conference in Baltimore this week, and we are working through a massive to-do list that must be complete in six weeks.  Yikes!

To complicate matters, the last service dog we trained has a nasty case of kennel cough and we are rehabilitating him for the next 2.5 weeks.  He is such a sweetie, and we cannot stand to hear him cough.  He is being pampered on a big fluffy dog bed, and has spent the last two days doing nothing but sleep.

Hamlet made himself right at home. It is a gift to have him back for a few weeks!

The California sun! A shock to our systems after the cold East Coast winter

This spring break we are taking a whirlwind trip of visits on the West Coast.  The first few days we are spending in San Diego, because Jason has an academic conference here, and then we will head north to Seattle and Bellingham to see friends and family that we will miss on our big trip.

The trip certainly started out eventful from the very beginning.  We had booked separate flights because Jason’s company paid for his trip and I was self-financing.  My flight was supposed to leave State College at 6:00 am, but it was cancelled in the wee hours of the morning.  Some quick talking to costumer service earned me the last seat on a comparable flight out of Harrisburg.  Phew!

That afternoon, miraculously in San Diego, we went to the Midway Museum.

The Midway Museum – a remarkably large aircraft carrier.

It is a massive aircraft carrier that has been retired, and is now open as a museum.  They let folks peek into all the nooks and crannies, and set up some lovely displays to illustrate what life was like on a floating city.  Our favorite part was the bunks for the sailors.

The next day was our real day of adventure: We spent the morning poking around tidepools in the warm California sunshine, and then spent the afternoon reliving the first day of our Mexico to Canada bicycle tour from nearly two years ago.  We also scouted out the route from San Diego to the border that we plan to take this year.

Jason loved the life in the tide pools

Some interesting seaweed at the tide pools.

 Our drive out of San Diego was a highlight of our time here. It was incredible how much of the route we had vivid memories of.  I remembered the exact part of the road where we wondered if we would ever reach the top of the climb… and the many spots we stopped to eat snacks!

On our way back to San Diego we also saw a thwarted roadside fire.  By the time we got there it was mostly just blackened plants and firefighters, luckily, but we got the chance to take a photo.

The end of a roadside fire.

While in San Diego we have gotten to share meals with some of Jason’s friends.  It is surprising how much fun you can have with people that you only see once every year or so.  I am looking forward to seeing more friends in Bellingham and Seattle.  I fly north this evening, and Jason will join me tomorrow night. I better get outside and enjoy the sunshine while I can!