Back to the Start

Oy from Vancity! Apparently it's been raining most of the month of our absence, and today it is beautifully sunny, and I am heading out for a bike ride, pannier-free.
Our train ride was a 3-seasons-in-a-day tour: We left warm Santa Barbara, where sleeping in my underwear was uncomfortably hot without the window open and wearing my bikini while laundry was getting done was not weird, and within 12 hours or so we were in snowy Oregon, seeing as the train goes inland through Klamath Falls and Portland. And so here we are, having quickly passed through summer and winter, back in the middle of fall, with its leaves lining the streets, just in time for cheap apples to make lots of apple sauce. (And did I mention we're going to bake some delicious pumpkin pie?)

I worked at a cancer fundraiser last night, and it was nice to jump right back into things, but weird because I haven't had time to unpack anything yet, and I lost the keys to my house within the first 15 minutes of coming home.

If anybody is interested in doing this trip, which I highly recommend - quit your job now - you will find the Mountaineers book (which we followed closely) "Bicycling the Pacific Coast" by Vicky Spring and Tom Kirkendall an invaluable tool.