Today was a strangely tiring ride. My legs were still sore from riding into Seattle (my quads especially, likely from that challenge with Navar). Nevertheless, it was a gorgeous ride… I feel like the scenery changes every single day, which is a nice change from when we were riding through the desert. We kicked off the morning with a strong ride dedication:

Lance getting everyone riled up (note the tired looks on my other teammates faces)

We rode through downtown Seattle to parallel to the water, passing by Pike Place, the aquarium, and eventually the space needle as well.

Once we got out of the city, the scenery shifted drastically; the panoramic went back to being the lush Washington green we had gotten so used to seeing. Zaid is definitely excited about that.

Another neat thing we did along the way was take a detour down to a lake; I’m pretty sure we ventured through someone’s yard to get there, but it was still a beautiful and memorable experience—the lake was so expansive and so still.

And they’re in!

I was also excited to get to Mt Vernon, b/c I knew that my sister and my friend Connie had sent me care packages! So, I definitely had something to look forward to. There’s really something special about receiving a care package along the trip for some reason. It’s just very thoughtful, maybe because people need to go out of their way to send it to you. So, a special thank you to Connie and Leian! You guys made my day and definitely helped me climb those hills to get in faster.

Gummies, cookies, rice krispies, and some wine (I turn 21 on July 23!)

The church also provided an absolutely delicious meal of pasta and salad among other things. It was so filling.

After dinner, Rich & I split to go with our host families for our last evening in the US—and also our last day with cell communication! Matt, our gracious host, was kind enough to take us to a vantage point that overlooks Mt Vernon; it was gorgeous—and we could even see Vancouver Island from where we were.

Tonight I expect the sleep to be amazing—with a down comforter set on a soft bed. Mmm. You really learn to appreciate the little things when on this ride. USA, it has been a fantastic journey thus far, and I will see you soon in AK. But now we must venture forward to Canada. Onward Sierra!