After an incredible night’s sleep, the MacFarland’s greeted us with breakfast in the morning. We set out for Shelton early to beat traffic and the forewarned heat that was sure to strike in the afternoon. After getting lost a few times in Bremerton (seriously, ACA, these maps are confusing), we finally found our way and cruised through some good 17 miles before stopping at the cutest gas station convenience store and for the first time this trip, I succumbed to my chocolate milk addiction. I also made a friend with a dog who purely only wanted to hang out with me for my banana and donuts. Oh well, I miss Addie so much I’ll take whatever dog interaction I can get!
After the gas station pow wow, we moved on. We decided to take the advice of Gary and alternate from the ACA route to take a flat and shaded route by the water (rte 106). We are so happy we did! Not only was the route gorgeous, but we were shielded from the heat and traffic wasn’t so bad. Gary told us that Bill Gates owns a house on that street, though you’ll never know cause you can’t see it from the street and he even has a secret underground entrance. He was right cause we surely passed right by it without even noticing it. I guess if you’re Bill Gates, you can afford being super secrete!
Eventually 106 dumped us onto the all too famous hwy 101! Because we knew we only had 10ish miles left, we took a long lunch by a fish hatchery and literally took a nap in the gravel. Naps are one of those things where if you need one, better take it any way possible! After all, we knew we had a guaranteed shower at night, so being caked in dirt wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.
We knew we had a guaranteed shower cause once again we were using warm showers to host us. We found Larye and Judy who were kind enough to let us stay with them for the night. Larye is a retired software engineer and Judy is a retired nurse. Sound familiar to any parents I know? Hmm…
They are super sweet and made us dinner and an amazing dessert. They told us all about their love for touring and all about their family. They have great-great grandchildren, which I thought was pretty cool.
But alas, it is way past my bedtime and I’m falling asleep as I type this, so forgive any grammatical errors I may have made! We are really hoping tomorrow’s ride is just as enjoyable as today’s!
Emilie Bikes and Hikes 