The Adventure Begins

This post is dedicated to Nadia Armamios. Beautiful woman in every respect.  Her memory will live on in everyone she touched.

I knew Ed would be at the front desk, so on my way put to Pike Place, I gave him the book I bought him to show my appreciation for him upgrading me to an ocean view. He said he would read it on his vacation to New Hampshire as he sat by the water. He also jogged my memory about Etta's, which Amy had mentioned.  I ended up going there for breakfast.  I had their signature salmon which came with a cornbread pudding that as far as I was concerned was the star on the plate!

 

As I ate on the patio, a man let his son dance on the ice that was chucked on the street to melt.  He was having a good time! We should all jump in ice when the opportunity presents itself.  

Almost as soon as I got outside Pike Place, I spotted Leo and his really cool clocks which were made from bike gears, crank wheels and cogs.  I bought a rate Schwinn crank wheel, which he would ship after changing it to orange and purple, which are colours I prefer.  Thanks Leo!!!

I went through Pike Place and saw something I had seen before.  The Bachelor had caught fish being thrown at him there, and I got to see a lady give it her best shot.  I think after a few tries, she managed to pinch it with her elbows before it fell in this picture.

I did not want to retrace my steps when I got to the end, so I tried to go downstairs to see the other shops. Instead I found a gum wall which I believe was also on The Bachelor but I had forgotten about.  It was pretty amazing to see all that old chewed gum, and I soon realized it was not just one small section of wall, but a huge section!!!  I was tempted to grab a used piece, it smelled so good!  But I haven't chewed used gum since I was 3 years old, much to my mom's horror.

On my way back to the hotel to arrange a taxi AHEAD OF TIME, I stopped by to say bye to Leo and noticed a SOLD sign on my clock.  I feigned disappointment that it was sold as I wanted to buy it!  We laughed and I bid him farewell.  As I walked back along 1st Ave I saw the Space Needle for the first time from the ground as I had seen it from my plane window as we landed at SEA-TAC.  

Ed arranged my taxi and I went to my room to charge a few things and get ready to leave. I also took the time to call a gentleman who will remain anonymous, but who knew about my adventure and offered to shuttle me around Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge.  When that was done, I rested. When the taxi arrived it was a big SUV so the trike fit, and I caught the rocket shuttle to Port Angeles. I gave Ed a hug and the taxi dropped me at the RocketShuttle pickup area at SEA-TAC.  The shuttle driver, Jared, mentioned there was a seat beside him when I tired to find a spot to sit.  We chatted most of the 3+ hour trip. I learned he had 4 boys aged 11-17.  We also got into a bit of politics and he tried to convince me guns aren't the reason, it's that some people who have guns don't value life.  We called my Port Angeles contact and he told us where he'd be.  

I did not know what to expect.  Would he be young like me?  Turns out he was a healthy man with way too many bear, coyote and elk stories to be my age.  After I put my trike together, I realized his assistance was invaluable.  He gave me ties for the cables, sawed off some pipe so he could give me some gorilla tape (think duct tape but stronger... Sorry tried and true Canadians who swear by duct tape) but without adding bulk.  I used his bike pump, drank his V8, used his washroom, and took a load off and talked about his experiences with teaching.  He finally suggested we get on up to Hurricane Ridge, a mountain I couldn't possibly hope to climb by trike.   So we loaded my trike on his rack and off we went!

I had already admired the mountains but driving up was something else!  When I missed seeing a cub bear (2-3 according to my new friend) he promptly u-turned so I could see it.  He was true salt of the earth. 

 He shared so much with me, and I enjoyed his stories on our ascent.  When we got to the top, I was awed by the lookout!  He mentioned it's more magical when there are clouds.  I could imagine, but I still felt fortunate for the clear skies.

As we went to check another view which looked into the sun as it was about to set, he mentioned something about my blog.  He said Creative wasn't the word, and I wish I could remember exactly how he described how I wrote, but I remember I was flattered.

As his vision is not the best at night, he dropped me off at a campsite and we quickly said goodbye, before it got any darker. He asked to remain anonymous but he should have a name.  I'll call him Papa Angeles.  It's fitting.  He was like my guardian angel, making sure I started my adventure easily and without problems.

I had enough light up get my tent set up.  I had never even tested it, but it worked great!  It was a crazy awesome day!