Coming Home

It is so nice to have the St. Martin's campus close by as it offered more pleasant time for my early morning walk again this morning. I wandered through a few different paths and areas and came to the Church/Abbey where the (I assume) priests were going to early morning Mass.

 

A little further on I found more boatS. The old one was named "Murphy's" and the newer one was "Murphy 2". Perhaps they raced these in some year.

 

We had a leisurely morning before packing up to head home in glorious sunny, seventy degree weather! Summer has arrived -- at least for today. Riding along the trail was a delight.

This lake will some day be only a bog we think.

Even found an elephant along the way.

Needed a snack break so we pulled up a piece of pavement and enjoyed a rest as well.

This rail trail connected several communities by train back on the day. The day was so gorgeous and we had time, so we took a detour ride to Tenino for lunch.

Four cycling gentlemen were stopped at a crossing with us and suggested Scotty Bs for lunch -- actually they insisted we go there. So we did. A fifties themed restaurant where the food was ok, and Scotty seemed to do all the work -- waiter, bus boy, cashier and owner, and was very friendly.

There is a big quarry in Tenino where they once cut stone and shipped it by train to Olympia for building. In front of City Hall there is a statue commemorating the Stone Cutters.

 

At first look, we thought these were real deer. Not. They are one dimensional metal sculptures.

This was our longest mileage day and we were ready to be done by the end of it. Our frozen coffee drinks and ice cream (for me) were well deserved treats.

Our tour was short in miles but long and full in fun and adventure. Now I must pack for the next adventure which will include Susan. Come back in a couple of days and see what is happening.

 

Olympia

We did a combination of walking and cycling today. Weather forecast of 70% chance of rain until around 2:00 was not inviting good thoughts of cycling so we chose to take the public transit bus into town and explore around on foot.

 

For my family and friends who live out of state, Lacey, where we are staying, is an outskirt of our state capital city of Olympia, and is an easy hop and skip into town.

We strolled the streets, visited a few small art galleries (a favorite of Vickie's), stopped into a couple of bike shops (fortunately the jacket on sale did not fit me) and a toy store to play with a few of the toys.

The guys at the bike shop told said that the 5th Avenue Sandwich shop was the best place for lunch. Vickie and I were not very impressed (okay, we were not happy) with our veggie sandwiches, but Gerry made a better selection of a salad.

After lunch the sun was peeking in and out, and a lot more out, so we hopped the bus to come get our bikes. The bus had taken us about half an hour to get to downtown; we biked there in just under that amount of time and the distance was oh so short -- as in less than five miles!

We cycled around the Capital campus for a bit, stopped in at the gift shop at the legislative building -- Vickie thought maybe we could buy a law here, but no.

We returned to the Historic District, where we had walked earlier, for now it was coffee/tea time.

 

Our cycle route into town from Lacey was very underwhelming as it paralleled the Interstate (I-5) so closely that the trees and bushes could not hush the noise even a little. When we finally got onto a better part of the trail -- it ended. Right at the Capital building. We wanted a different route home! We used the Thurston County bike map which proved to be a good tool. The best part was following (when we could) the "popular roads used by local cyclists". Those roads meandered and wove through quiet suburban neighborhoods with little to no traffic.

 

Couldn't pass up this tree. The photo doesn't really show it well enough, but the best I could do. It has two sharp angles and the tree grows healthily.

At the end of our long and full day we walked to O'Blarney's Pub for dinner, and to our delight there is entertainment on Tuesday nights -- traditional Irish music. We were toe stomping to the tunes of the six member group for an hour before heading home for bed time. Bed time -- as in, good night ;'-)

A walk through Saint Martin's University

My tour buddies are late sleeper inners, and I am an early waker upper. I took a morning walk through campus for some photos. The road we took yesterday that kept us off of busy College Ave. and brought us to our motel.

 

 

The morning rain has stopped and I think we will be getting on our bikes soon for today's cycling adventure.

Mini bike tour Yelm-Olympia

Touring light?

Looks like so much gear! Well, we had to be prepared for the rain that was forecasted, and actually falling as we pulled out of my driveway. We fretted about that rain during our two hour drive to Yelm as we passed through several "squalls". BUT -- not only did we not have a drop of rain, the sun shone on us for most of the day. High, fluffy white clouds kept getting more distant and made room for all that blue!

I had to adjust my bike and gear as the pannier put onto the rear rack interfered with the shift box and my gearing was off. With Vickie's help and my experience with working with my friend Jim(ali), we finally got it working and I moved the panniers to the front rack. That set up worked really well. Thank you Jim, for all the teaching and tutoring you have given me that helped me to not panic when something went wrong!

With permission from Yelm City Hall, we parked in their photo secured lot for the two nights we will be gone, and after a subway lunch we were geared up and on the "Yelm to Tenino Trail".

This trail connects with the "Chehalis Western Trail" that would take us to Lacey where we had reservations at the Super 8 Motel for two nights.

 

We did a short stop at Monarch Sculpture Park for a look at some of the "odd" art work there. It is different.

When we neared Lacey we scouted out a Starbucks and lazed in the sun(!) at the outdoor table with coffee/tea and a snack. We took what the cycling map noted as "local cyclist back route" to College Ave. where our motel is located. We discovered that "College Avenue" is named such because it goes by St. Martins Univeresity/Abby/Benedictine Community. It was a delightful traffic free, tree lined road and wound its way onto and through the campus. I did not take time for a photo as we were engrossed in determining if we were on the correct road, and I hope to get back there tomorrow for at least one photo.

 

The Beauty and the Not So Beauty

One thing about train travel -- you see it all, from lovely landscapes, farmland and coastline to the bowels of the cities. There are the scrap heaps and the junk yards, and the close look at poverty.

I suppose it is how "wrong side of the tracks" came about.

I am real close to home now and this will most likely be my final post for this trip. Any of my friends and family who have visited my blog, thanks for coming along with me. I loved my trip and visit with Sheri and Alexis, and now I am ready to be home.

 

Heading Home 4/23-24/2012

Near San Luis Obispo is the Horseshoe curve where, at one point, the front of the train and the rear of the train become directly across from each other. This to avoid a steep climb into the mountains.

At one part of the curve of the horseshoe is the San Luis Obispo Men's Prison.

The trip toward north affords views of the Pacific Ocean that we were not able to enjoy in the dark when headed south. The upright paddle surfers enjoy the waves, and there are a few nice ocean views, but looking at the expanse of nothing but the sea recalls to me why I am not interested in going on an ocean cruise. I know there are highlights of the cruise, but waiting to get to an interesting port while driving upon the vast sea does not call to me.

I have seen very few oil fields, and even fewer working oil fields. Chevron oil fields are hard at work.

I tried to get a photo of the morning sunrise over what I think might have been Mount Shasta, but by the time I got my camera ready we were in the trees and this was the best I could do. It was a gorgeous sunrise.

 

Unlike a couple of passengers I talked with, I sleep well on the train. The upper bunk seems to cradle me, and the movement of the train rocks me to sleep. Very nice.