Whidbey Island

This is Bill writing this blog; Pat had to show this old guy how to do it. We are staying at the home of my Navy friends, Wil and Pam Shellenberger, on Whidbey Island, Washington. I have known the Shellenbergers since 1978 when Wil and I were stationed on USS Tripoli together. I was the Navigator and Wil was the Chief Engineer of the ship. The Shellenbergers have been very gracious in picking us at the airport and hosting us this weekend. They have a beautiful view of the Puget Sound and we can look out on the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean.

We left Stevens Point yesterday (Saturday June 7) loaded into my van with my wife Teri and daughter Jillian. We said goodbye to Karen and Laura Henneghan and hit the road at 7:30 AM. We drove over to Minneapolis, where we stopped at REI for some last minute shopping before heading to the airport. At the airport I said goodbye to Teri and Jillian and away they drove, leaving us at the check-in counter. It was then that I realized that we were committed to this adventure.

Today (Sunday June 8) we assembled our bikes and loaded them up with all of our gear. We just returned from a test ride down to the bay, where we dipped our rear tires in the Pacific Ocean. With a little luck and effort, we should be dipping our front tires in the Atlantic Ocean in about 2 months. While by the water, we met Zach and Kyle of Whidbey Island who were kind enough to take photos of the three of us beginning our trip. Hopefully, the folks we meet along our route will be as friendly and helpful as Zach and Kyle were.

We plan to leave Whidbey Island tomorrow morning and start riding east. We will be crossing the Cascade Mountains within the first 3 days, so we will be challenged early on. The weather is cooperating; temperatures in the high 50's/low 60's and cloudy, so perfect for the type of riding we will be doing. We are ready to go and looking forward to the challenge.

--Bill Jenkins