we're not in Michigan anymore...

We finally began our much anticipated bike journey today! Before we start going on about biking we'll start where the last post left off....

we never actually went back to sleep on the train, which sucked but we were going through some really cool terrain so we decided to eat breakfast. Everyone on the train was pretty peeved at that point because it seemed like we had gotten nowhere in the night. We heard later on that there were some engine issues and we had to hook up to a big freight engine to pull us the rest of the way. We saw the freight engine later, which helped confirm that rumor. anyway eventually we made our way through Washington and got to Spokane where the back half of the train turned southwest for Portland and the front half (our half) headed northwest to Seattle. It was weird. Once we left those losers behind we chugged on through some basalt fields (we had the pleasure of an on board history/geography lesson from some park rangers that hang out on the train between Spokane and Seattle... I listened intently because I am a nerd) and then on to some of the most beautiful mountains we've ever laid eyes on.

The train wound along steep mountain passes and over breathtaking rivers. Our eyes were glued to the windows. We went through the Cascade Mts and saw the Columbia River. They were great. It felt like a real life version of Disney World's Thunder Mountain Railroad. Anyway once we got past that stuff we pretty much had one goal: get to Seattle and to our campsite before the sun sets.

The train pulled in to King Street station (like King's Cross Station in Harry Potter but much less cool) at 4pm. Before we got there we made a game plan so as soon as we stopped we got down to business. We went straight to baggage claim and set up shop. As soon as our bike boxes arrived Ethan got to work unloading them while I packed our stuff into our panniers. In a matter of 25 minutes we had put out handle bars and peddles back on the turned two very large duffles into four small panniers. We had just enough time to spare to get to the post office and send our train riding gear to Chelsea in Redondo Beach. It was a close call.

After that we headed straight to the pier to catch the 5:30 ferry to Bainbridge Island. We got up to the station and a very nice gentleman pointed out that we would need to go where the cars go. Easy enough right? Ummmm no. Not easy. All the bikers getting on the ferry knew what they were doing but we did not. The ferry that had just arrived was unloading so we sat and waited for our turn to get on. We figured we would leisurely stroll our bikes on and there would be some designated area for them with directions. Nope. Not at all. It was a mad dash to find the first place to tie up your bike which we didn't figure out until almost all of those places we're taken. We wheeled up to the second floor and found a spot against the rail we were unsure about leaving all our stuff there while we went up so we were grabbing important things when they let the cars on. Apparently we were on the way because a man trying to park yelled something very obscene at us as he went by. I became very flustered and instantly hated everyone person who calls Seattle home. With the exception of those Michiganders who I know that live here.

Moving on. It was a nice ferry ride and a super nice guy gave us directions to the state park we wanted to stay in. We grabbed a very quick piece of pizza and a coke at some random place, filled up our water bottles and headed out. We rode up HWY 305 across the island and then onto the other side. The campground was only a few more miles from there so we stopped at Albertson's grocery for some fruit as a snack and for breakfast. I'm not sure what time we got to the campsite but we were more than happy to have made it with plenty of sunlight to set up. We went down by the water to catch the amazing subset and get a panoramic view of the Olympus Mountains. They're incredible and we're going to be biking around them. :]

Currently we are nestled in our tent about to have a great night's sleep. We're very excited about sleeping.

Before we go... We noticed that there is like zero roadkill out here. Any ideas why??? Comment your answer!!!

Xoxoxo from Washington.

WTF mate?!

So it's 5:53am Pacific Time. Needless to say we're very tired. We are stopped in Sand Point, Idaho, which we should have reached at 11:50pm last night. That means we are 6 whole hours behind schedule - it also means that we will most likely not get to Seattle until around 4:30pm (the coach attendant claims we'll make up time in Spokane, WA... I don't trust him) instead of 10:30am. Ethan is equally skeptical and swears they stopped the train last night while we were sleeping as a joke. We are slightly annoyed ...and this guy keeps walking by asking where the lounge car is that has been on the train since Chicago. Pretty sure he's hallucinating or something... This has only added to our annoyed state.

On the bright side (literally) the sun is up and casting a beautiful glow on the surrounding mountains. It's lovely out here :] time to try more sleep. Will post later once we've made it to Seattle - or sooner depending on our frustration level.

Welcome to Nowhere, USA

It's day two of our journey aboard the Empire builder. Upon Ethan's request I will attempt to spell better and spell check when I'm done. :] This morning was a little rough. I slept for about 6 hours, while Ethan's sleep was less successful. We woke up at 6 and forced ourselves to sleep longer. At 8 we knew that was all we were going get. We sat up and tried to get ourselves together. We ate a couple Clif bars for breakfast and looked out on an impossibly flat landscape. At about 10 we stopped for a smoke break (no we did not take up smoking ...it's what we call the fresh air breaks that the train takes when we have to pick people up/drop people off/refuel/restock)... I have no idea where we were, probably the middle of nowhere. After that we decided to brush our teeth and get cleaned up. We suprisingly fit in one bathroom together (don't get crazy we're not into that kind of thing). We got out of there ASAP on account of the fact that it smelled like a port-a-potty.

We got back to our seats and both decided to continue reading the books that Rane put on our phones with the Kindle app (if you don't have it and don't mind reading things on your phone you should get it... Do it!). I was (still am) concurrently reading Fifty Shades of Grey and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, while Ethan decided on The Girl Who Played with Fire. Reading helped make the time go by rather quickly. We visited the Lounge Car for a while (it's a car on the train that has tables with bench seats and chairs that face the picture windows) to take in the incredible views of North Dakota and eventually Montana.

At some point we got backed up and for what seemed like an eternity we chugged along like the little engine that could. I swear we didn't go more than 40mph for like 5 hours. It was gruesome. We knew we were running late already and we wished we were playing Oregon Trail so we could change the pace to gruelling. Finally we picked up our pace after we stopped for a very breif smoke break in Havre, MT.

Current time: it feels like we are making lots of progress as the Rocky Mountains greet us with stunning views of their peaks and tree covered sides. The landscape has changed dramatically as we get closer to the giant mountain range. It's Ethan's first time seeing the mountains so his eyes and the camera are glued to the Lounge Car window. I've hiked in the Rockies before, but I'm still humbled by their grandeur and intense beauty.

We often say that things so big (like space or the ocean) remind us that we as humans are teeny tiny part of this world we live in. The mountains give us that same feeling. It's an incredible experience. We just stopped at East Glacier Park at the foot of the Rockies and the sun has set. We'll spend another hour or so in the Lounge car taking in the last few ounces of light and scenery. We'll probably play Spike and Alice (spite and malice) and Ethan will probably let me cheat, but he'll win anyway. That's all for today! Happy 7/11!!!

Goodnight y'all!

All aboard the Hogwart's Express!!!

Helllllloooo! Apologies for the delay in posting yesterday's installment of the Daily Prophet (aka our blog for you muggles out there). We arrived in the Windy City around 10pm central time. We hung out with Stevie, Jordan and Steve for a bit before headed to bed for some much needed pre-train ride rest.

In the morning we ate a little, brushed out toofins and headed for our favorite store: REI. :] We needed to pick up a few last minute items for the trip and since REI was about a mile away it was the perfect opportunity. Stevie graciously offered to drive us there which we gladly accepted! We got almost everything we needed (they didn't have a collapsible backpack we needed for the train ride or any Go Pro camera attachments... Real bummer). We did however find a suitable stuff sack instead of a backpack at REI as well as a tripod attachment for the GoPro at Best Buy. Woohoo!

When we got back to Stevie and Jordan's we unpackaged our new gear and packed it with the rest of our stuff. Stevie order Jimmy johns for lunch in the meantime and by the time we were done loading our stuff they arrived with our subs. That's freaky fast delivery! Once we had finished scarfing the deliciousness it was time to load the bikes and head for the train station. Our nervousness definitely increased... it was actually a pretty decent mix of emotions but mostly anxious, nervous and excited to finally be on our way!

We arrived at Chicago's Union Station at 12:30...plenty of time to catch our 2:15 train to Seattle. Stevie pulled up right out front so we could unload our stuff and bikes. It would be an understatement to say that carrying huge duffels, a cooler and two other bags while pushing our bikes was awkward, but we said our goodbye's to Stevie and waddled into the station eager to start this big adventure.

We pushed our bikes inside to find hundreds of people scurrying about up and down the stairs, heading to their separate destinations. We searched around for an elevator - there is no way I could have gotten my bike, myself and all my crap down the stairs in one piece- luckily a nice lady showed us where it was. We clambered in and headed down to the Amtrak ticketing area. We looked around for a minute unsure of where to take our bikes. We felt a little lost so we used the self check-in kiosk to get our tickets then Ethan went for help. A very nice Amtrak employee directed us back to the elevator (which was even more difficult to get into because she was in there with us) and took us down to the basement. "Turn left and go straight to the baggage area." Sounded easy enough. We turned left and we met with the an overwhelming mix of sights, sounds and smells. We kept going hoping to see this "baggage area" soon. Forklifts and employees hurried past us as we walked. Finally we came to a counter where a teeny tiny sign said 'baggage.' More than less than unhelpful if you ask me. The man at the counter asked if we needed bike boxes, which I thought was obvious, but whatever. He then offered us a used box for free - I quickly changed my attitude about this man. He directed us take of the pedals and the handle bars so that they lay flush against the bike. We moved our stud out of the way and got to work. I grabbed an alan wrench for the handle bars and Ethan started on the pedals. The pedals on my bike proved to be a bit more than our $2 wrench could handle- fortunately another very helpful employee offered his bike wrench which took the pedal off with ease. We loaded the bikes up, paid the appropriate fees, tagged them with our info and checked our duffels.

We headed back upstairs to find our boarding area where we waited in the seemingly never ending line to board the train. When we finally reached the platform we could hardly contain our excitement. The coach attendant told us which car we were riding on and handed us our seat tickets (they go above your seat so they know where you are going and that that seat is occupied if you leave it for some reason). We walked rather briskly to our car (# 711). It took forever. We finally reached and climbed aboard. There are no seating assignments so I went toward the back and picked two seats on the right.

The train (the Empire Builder to be exact) is much more spacious than I expected. I can stretch my legs out fully and still have room to point my toes. There is a leg rest and foot rest and the seats lean back pretty far. We are thankful that there is so much room- 46 hours is a long time to be uncomfortable.

The train starts moving at exactly 2:15. Much more timely than a number of flights we've been on. Our first major stop was Milwaukee - a familiar sight from last summer. The first few hours we tough for me to get used to but after getting some food my stomach settles and we settle into our seats. We ate some dinner later (cheese and turkey pita samiches) and enjoyed the scenery - we crossed over the might Mississippi during at some point. T'was beautiful! At about 10:30 we stop at the St. Paul, MN station. It's a fresh air stop (or smoke break as we call them) so we get out, stretch our legs and hang out on the platform. We decide it's bed time when we got back on the train - sleeping was a little more difficult than we had anticipated. Not being able to lie flat makes getting comfy next to impossible. Fortunately there are pills to help with that and I gladly partake. Ethan does not.

It's been a long day, but we were happy we chose the train for this trip - so far.

Test Post!

We leave tomorrow for Chicago!! We're there for a day and then getting on a train for 46 hours! Wish us luck!

Lake Michigan Bike Tour Daily Mileage Log

In preparation for our upcoming ~1,800 mile bike tour, I was reading through old posts from our 971 mile bike tour around Lake Michigan last summer. I got to the end and realized that I never posted a day by day travel log of where we camped and how far we went. You know it was an amazing experience when you can still recall every place that you stayed at and the general route that you took a year later. So here it is...

Day 1- Whitehall/Montague Bike Trail to Lakeview Campsite in Ludington, Mi ~ 51 miles
Day 2- to Turtle Lake Campground in Beulah, Mi ~ 61 miles
Day 3- to Andrew's cabin on Torch Lake, Mi ~ 57 miles
Day 4- to Crooked River RV Park in Alanson, Mi ~ 47 miles
Day 5- to White Tail Resort Motel lawn in Moran, Mi ~ 49 miles
Day 6- to Grey Wolf Lodge lawn in Manistique, Mi ~ 69 miles
Day 7- to Park Place of the North Campground in Escanaba, Mi ~ 65 miles
Day 8- to Holtwood Campground in Oconto, Wi ~ 76 miles
Day 9- to Point Beach State Forest inTwo River, Wi ~ 80 miles
Day 10- to Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium, Wi ~ 55 miles
Day 11- to Monica and Scott's house in Antioch, Il ~ 88 miles
Day 12- to West Surf St in Chicago, Il ~ 59 miles
Day 13- Rest day with Kolt, Jordan, Stevie, and Deanna
Day 14- to Warren Dunes State Park in Bridgman, Il ~ 85 miles
Day 15- to Drew's Country Camping in Holland, Mi ~ 82 miles
Day 16- back to the very spot we began this journey in Whitehall/Montague ~ 47 miles

Grand total of 971 miles at ~65 miles per bike day

Lake Michigan Bike Tour: By The Numbers

I found this on my computer the other day and thought I would share it from our Lake Michigan Bike Tour last summer. It's our second bike tour and we are currently preparing for our third and longest one this coming summer for our honeymoon, Seattle to San Diego (approximately 1,900 miles.)

1 engagement 
2 crazy kids on their bikes  
3 awesome roofs that we slept under (thanks Andrew, Monica, Scott, Kolt, and Stevie)  
4 different states visited  
5 days over 75 miles  
6 firework shows on the 4^th of July (all viewed from Escanaba over the lake)  
8 other bike tourists that we talked to  
9 campgrounds paid for  
10 campgrounds camped in  
15 days of biking  
16 total days  
47 miles in a day (our shortest) (x2)  
65 miles per day (not including our day off in Chicago)  
88 miles in a day (our longest)  
971 miles tracked by my cyclometer  
1,000,000 road cacti (aka porcupine road kill)