Nothing too new on the road to Longview

But the day was by no means underwhelming.

Really beautiful landscapes lush with evergreen forests, rolling green hills, and every so often glimpses of  Mt. St. Helens. Just your typical Washington bike ride drifting along the shadow of one of her giants. Didn't take pictures because I knew my phone wouldn't do it justice. I think it would take the sublimity out of the spectacle.

We expected a relatively relaxed ride of the same sort as the ride down to Centralia, and today we were only traveling about 50 miles, so we took it easy in the morning and got a cup of Joe at a cafe. Didn't hit the road until 12:45. We should have taken it more seriously, it was WAY more difficult then yesterday.

So far I've REALLY enjoyed exploring the charms and unique character of each small town we pass through. And seeing the 'city limits' signs are rewarding in that they are indicative of the fact that we are actually getting somewhere. Which is promising.

Pat and I enjoy our beer, to say the least, so we've been tasting the local beers at the towns we spend the night in. Last night (Centralia), we visited Dick's Brewery which makes a mean IPA. Unfortunately it was closed, but it was still exciting to pass a spot that has produced beer we've been drinking for 4 years. Uh, I mean 1, cus Pat is 21.

We still found some yummy other local beer at a nearby brewery where we had a few cold ones. Yummy. Olympic Club Brewery.

Pat told me not to take pictures of the cows cus no one cares about cows, but hey, I'm a city kid, these things are exciting to me. So here's one.

Moo.

Tonight we are staying at Couch Surfing house no. 2 in Longview Heights with Christopher Robinson. I'm not sure if I should ask him about pooh. Hmmm. He wants to be a composer so we have tons to talk about. He lives with his friend who has a really, really nice house, and I'm glad we are up the heights, because according to my GPS app that my mother forced me to download, there are a shit ton of sex offenders in Longview proper. Thanks mom.


Things I've learned so far
1. Couchsurfing is friken awesome
2. In small towns, people are confused by our bikes
3. In small towns, everyone is a character, and they love talking to strangers. Mostly about our bikes.
3. Road kill looks nastier when you're on a bike
4. Patrick must really like my ass cus hes been looking at it for 110 miles.
5. My butt hurts (that one's for you, godfather)

Next up: Longview --> Lake Oswego. Almost 70 miles so we're a little nervous. BUT WE GET TO STAY WITH MR AND MRS ERNST!!! YES!!!!

Anyway, much love all! Go Giants, feel better Panda
Santino






Pretentious Pat Moment of the Day:
on no child be left behind
PP: "Yeah lets fuck over the smart kids so all the idiots can catch up"