Yesterday was a day of many firsts for us.

It was the first day we rode in the rain.

At mile 15, it was the day David got and patched his first flat tire. It was cute; he pulled out the patch kit, I made some sandwiches, and 15 minutes later we were on our way.

At mile 40, two miles after lunch, I got my first flat tire. Not so cute. I think if memory serves correctly, it happened in 'Unfriendly, WA'. (Which, sidenote, did you know there is a town called 'Cape Disappointment, WA'?) Really though, the town was 'Castlerock', and my flat happened in front of Castlerock High School, where the football + cheerleading teams were having a car wash (yep, in the rain).
Now, I know... two bikers with their bike-dork gear on... we look like we have everything under control. Bikes turned over, gear scattered everywhere, bags open, a guy stooped over a crestfallen bicycle. yep. We were in the parking lot for an hour and a half. The patch wouldn't hold, and after the third patch I said, "forget it... this is why we have spare inner tubes. Throw that sucker in the bag, and we'll fix it later". So we did.
Unfortunately, after we loaded all the gear back on the bikes and started riding ten feet, I had my first 'second flat'. David forgot to sweep the tire, and there was a giant shard of glass lodged in the rubber. Drat! The patch kit reemerged. Now we were located on a speed bump, which meant every single car that passed had to slow down, look at us, and keep driving. Never so much as a, "got it under control?" out the window.
I know, what a whiner, right? David had it under control anyway.

It was the first night we got rained on. Nothin' says 'good morning' like soggy socks.

But you know what DID make me smile yesterday? In the morning, we left St. Helen's, Oregon and passed by their incredibly cheesy mountain fountain in the town center... AND IT EXPLODED WATER EVERYWHERE. mmm. Yep, thought about that winner a little while we were changing tires.

Also, riding through forests with perfectly lined trees.
And forests where all the trees were mossy and started their branches 30 ft up the trunk.
And camping out in someone's side-yard, cooking a healthy dinner of ramen, cheez-its, oranges, and coco wheats.
And riding through where Lewis and Clark explored.
And crossing the Columbia river via a mile-and-a-half long bridge.

So that was yesterday.

Today after about 20 miles, we said, 'forget Google'. We were on a state route, and there was a giant sign that said TACOMA, WA 50 miles. And we thought, "Really? We can just stay on this one road and get where we want to?" ...or we could follow Google's two-hundred steps to get there... Ok, yeah. No thanks. That was a good choice.

We talked to each other about what great Dads we have, and then we called them. I told mine we hadn't been dumped on yet... then we got dumped on. But you know, it was actually kinda fun today for some reason. We have rain gear, and I think we were both thinking, "this is just too ridiculous to not laugh about". Plus, the wet weather has brought out more slugs than I've ever seen in my life. I was picking them off our tarp as we put away the tent, and David was finding them in our bags throughout the day. I don't know why I get a kick out of slugs. I immediately think how slimy they are, and then that if I were a bird I would probably love Washington.

Sorry, I know this is dragging on and on, but I have to share one more thing. I did it. I ate a 'double down' today. So did David. If you don't know what that is, look it up. Why did we eat this grotesque (defined as: distorted/unnatural in shape or size; abnormal and hideous) product? Because we're biking gajillions of miles and we can. Probably wouldn't do again...a regular piece of fried chicken will do just fine.

We love you all. Seattle tomorrow.