Today was a tough day by any account. My host hadn't woken yet by the time I had to leave, so I felt bad having to write a note and take off. Then the nature of the river and the roads meant I had to make a big "U" to go a short distance as the crow flies. Then despite receiving good directions, I missed a turn and went some ways before realizing I had no recourse but to turn around and go back. I got bit by a bug that actually made me bleed. In the afternoon as I was finally getting close and feeling alright, the winds picked up and made the last 20 miles much harder than they had to be. It was also an uphill day, and not to mention an 80 mile one (before my blundered detour). ...Oh yeah, and in the 90 degree heat I had a chocolate bar melt in my jacket pocket (which you may have noticed in pictures I wear like a kilt/belt for extra pocket space, and quick access if it rains), and it made an awful mess. Plus now it's going to rain tonight, on my tent, in my mosquito ridden campground.
...So yeah. Maybe it's a sort of serendipity, a way of assuring me I am indeed ready to be done with the vagabond life. ...Or it could be my punishment for pushing to the end. If I wasn't so close, I probably would have asked for a rest day in my posh accommodations after my 86 mile ride yesterday, before zooming off to more difficulty. But it is what it is. And the end does draw near.
Tomorrow. I can't believe it. I reach Seattle tomorrow (fingers crossed). I'm excited, anticipatory, nervous. It's only been 5 and a half weeks, but I've fully adapted to this way of living. What's it like to not need to gorge constantly to avoid starving? Do normal people not eat pop tarts by tearing the package open with their teeth while biking and cramming both in at once? What's it like sleeping in the same bed night after night? ...What's it like thinking about things other than food and sleep? What's it like going back to sedentary living (...okay, so I actually sit basically all day too, on my bike, but you know what I mean). I think I am definitely in for a culture shock of sorts, that's for sure. This is a way of living all of its own. And with one more hard day, it ends.
...But trying to live in the present, the today. This day hasn't been all bad by any means. I biked through the gorgeous Yakima Canyon. And at the moment I'm indulging in what I feel is a well deserved veggie burger (at a cafe directly across the freeway from Lake Easton State Park...and thus a considerable walk out of the way over a bridge) while I charge my phone. I didn't have any flats, there were no insane drivers, the winds didn't blow all day at least, it could have always been harder. In many ways, it was just another day.
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