On Monday (May 1) I was in Minnesota and it was snowing. On Thursday (May 4) I was in Cheney, Washington and it was sunny and 27oC (80oF). In between those days there was laughter, tears, a new vacation planned, a train ride, and thankfully a friend who left her phone on overnight so she could let me into her apartment at 2:30am when she thought I was coming the following night.
So let’s rewind a bit to me still being in Minneapolis. So on Monday, that terrible snowy Monday, I had decided I was finally going to start packing for my trip; I’m leaving the next day after all. I went upstairs to the attic which I had called home for the past month and looked out onto my piles of things. There was some organization to it, but not much. A bystander looking in would just have seen distinct piles where I saw order. I was planning to wash my clothing on Tuesday so I could leave for my trip with all clean clothes so Monday I only going to pack my gear. I got a notebook and pen and inventoried everything I planned on bringing on my tour and set them in a unified pile waiting to be placed in the appropriate pannier. Once complete with inventory I started to pack the panniers only to quickly stop because I couldn’t really actually pack without packing my clothes too. Oh well, I guess I will procrastinate. Time to cuddle a puppy and watch Netflix.
So Tuesday came, my day of departure from Minnesota! I put in my load of laundry and walked to the post office to finally officially change my address from the place I hadn’t inhabited for over a month now! Packing went by pretty quickly, it was sunny out so I would want to do it quickly so I could go outside and play with the puppy. Priorities. Eventually I go back inside and repack my gear, taking out a few things I decide not to bring with me to lower the weight I have to bike as well as balancing the weight. Then back to the puppy.
So finally I am ready to leave. Sara and Steph were driving me to Sweeney’s Saloon for a goodbye dinner and we had to turn around cause I forgot my rain pants. Well I got to say bye to Frankie again so that’s a plus and worth being late to my own dinner for. For all of you reading this, if you want to eat and drink for free just tell your friends your leaving them for a long time and then they will be sad and buy you any meal and drinks you want. Enjoy it. Then tell them you canceled your trip and you decided to not quit your job after all. Or I guess you could actually be a good person not take advantage of your friends. But I digress. At this dinner we decided to all meet up again this winter, or possibly late fall, in Cabo San Lucas when I arrive there after biking south along the Pacific coast. Also at this meal my very good friend Jessica helped me give my bicycle a proper name; she is now and forever Yonder Esmeralda Shitkicker.
We make it to Union Depot with time to spare and hang out in the lobby reminiscing about our favorite times we spent together over the past few years, shed some tears and had some laughs when all of a sudden they tell bikers to board and we had a very rushed goodbye hug and I headed to the train. My train departed at 10:20 pm, and I possibly brought some of my own sleeping medication that tastes awfully like Jameson, weird.
I spent about 30 hours on the Empire Builder train making new friends, reading, looking out the window and wondering why in the hell did I not bring any yarn with me. I brought a freaking crochet hook but no yarn, travel fail. The train finally arrived in Spokane at around 1:40am Pacific time (3:40am central fml) and was going to Uber my way to my friends place in the neighboring town of Cheney. No Ubers existed. Shit. I promised her I wasn’t going to bike the short 23 km (14 miles), and honestly I think I was too sleepy to even attempt that. But luckily there was a van cab waiting to take someone away! We fit my bike and gear in and off we go! It was a pretty short ride to my friend’s apartment. I had been communicating with her earlier in the day letting her know my arrival time and to not lock me out so she didn’t have to wait up for me. I get to her place and ring the bell…. No answer. I try knocking. Still no luck. At this point I am thinking I may have to just set up my tent outside but I decide to try calling her, and huzzah she wakes up surprised to learn that I am here! She’s like “aren’t you coming tomorrow”? To which I reply “well it is tomorrow”! She let me in and we went back to sleep.
I wake up later that morning to the warm sun shining in. The forecast was for it to be 27oC and sunny out. I’m going biking. I ride to a local trail and ride that for 30 km before turning around to come back so I could meet up with my friend Katie and head with her to Spokane to meet some of her grad school friends. After sitting in on my first ever grad school lecture, I left 30 minutes into a 5 hour discussion, I went to a dispensary and bought my first ever legal marijuana! I ate me some pot and went back to Katie’s and went to bed. That is how I spent my first day in eastern Washington; I call that a success.
