Washington

Well, we have made it through all the time zones and now we find ourselves in the Pacific Time Zone, a place in which I don't think I have have ever been. Anthony, on the other hand, was stationed for awhile in Presidio of Monterey, CA, when he was in the Air Force before we were married.

 We are so excited to be in Washington so we can spend some time with Alyssa and see what she's been up to in Seattle with her Summer In The City missions project with Cru.

Can I just complain about the placement of this sign? Please, how is anyone supposed to get their picture without standing in traffic. We were disappointed that this is all Washington had on the road in which we entered, which was Hwy. 2. I expected something much better than this, for sure. It's just awkward.

Just FYI, we have driven about 4,275 miles to get here, and our bikes can prove it. They are so dusty and dirty, and Anthony looks a little sad at them for being abused that way. You know he would rather be riding on one instead of having them just hang on the back of our van. He is, however, trying to ride at least one mile per day so he can log his mile on the National Bike Challenge. He was number one in Tennessee for awhile after he rode to Huntsville and back last month, but has dropped significantly since then. Did I ever tell you how competitive he is? He would deny it, though.

We stopped in Spokane for the night, and drove around the downtown area. They were having a big celebration with fireworks at 10 p.m., but we decided not to stay, even though I bet it was going to be something spectacular with all the people already on the Riverfront at about 7. With us just crossing the time zone, we were pretty tired, and didn't want to fight traffic trying to get out of there after dark.  This morning, however, we got to get in a bicycle ride to take in the really nice Riverfront area that Spokane (that's pronounced spo-CAN to us rookies who have never even said that word) has to offer. We were driving around, looking for a place to park when we came upon two gentlemen riding pretty casually and asked them if that road led to downtown. One of them said to drive up the hill and park, get our bikes ready, and by the time they got up there, he would show us where we needed to go. We definitely took him up on that offer and got a little tour from a local. The local's name is Jerry and his friend's name is Jack, who is visiting from the D.C. area. They are both retired military and Jerry is a member of the Spokane Bicycling Club. We went through an area getting to downtown that he referred to as Felony Flats, because he said that's where all the felons lived, but I felt pretty safe with three ex-military. We rode for awhile and then made it to the Riverfront where there was a lot of activity. I think the July 4th celebration lasts through the weekend. Here are a few pics:

The next picture is of the Spokane River and Spokane Falls that run through downtown.

This is the Looff Carousel, which was built in 1909.

Right across from the carousel was a nice water fountain in which people could enjoy. Reminded me a bit of Chattanooga.

More downtown pics:

Here are the gentlemen we met who got us downtown and gave us a little tour:

We have met the nicest, friendliest people. It's been great.

I just thought this was an interesting bathroom. This was located in a park. Loved the rock.

Last but not least, we found our moose!!! Who would have thought that, of all places, we would have found it on the Riverfront in Downtown Spokane?

I know, it's another not real moose, but it's the best we can do, I guess, for now.

And look at the sign we saw when we got on the road!! Seattle, here we come!