So some of you might be wondering since I am biking the Pan-American Highway, why did I go to Minnesota? Well the answer is that one of my good friends was getting married and no way was I going to miss that! It also gave me the opportunity to see friends and family again before leaving for the long stretch of this journey. During my stay in Minnesota I had such a good time; my mom hosted a Pride Party in October since I missed Pride this year as I was on the Dalton Highway then, I played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time and loved it, danced, played nearly the entire fall season of soccer, did bike repairs, went on a few bike rides but was mostly lazy, and got to spend a lot of time with Frankie the dog and her moms who happen to be my best friends.
I was planning on hightailing it out of town immediately after the wedding but was easily convinced to stay through Halloween to just have more time with friends. I am very pleased I did that. I got to have a send off dinner at Sweeney’s Saloon in Saint Paul with all these lovely people!
As I write this I am sitting in my aunt and uncle’s living room in Olympia, Washington poised to continue biking south in a few days. And you might ask yourself a question again, how did I get to Olympia if I was just in Minnesota? Well the answer is simple, I took Amtrak. I had no desire to bike through Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Pacific Coast seems much prettier plus legal cannabis.
I spent a night in the Green Tortoise Hostel in downtown Seattle and spent most of the day hanging with my good friend Julia who came south from Vancouver to see me. The next day I took the ferry to Bremerton and from there biked the short 90 kilometers to Olympia and family.