If I was Any More West Theyd Call Me Kanye

I have finally made it across the US but I’m not done yet. It’s time to move south and start heading back home. It’s funny “back home” almost every day this sequence of questions comes up.

Person: What are you doing?

Me: Yeah I’m actually going cross country on my bike.

Person: Where are you headed to?

Me: I guess technically…Home.

That’s exactly where I am headed. I left home and ever since, home has been my final destination. I guess they are right it’s the journey not the destination that matters. And what a journey it has been. Today I experienced another one of the countries wonders. This one Man made but still impressive. The Seattle Space Needle. Massive truly is not fitting for how….massive the needle is. And if you are moved by its sheer size than the view from its peak will astound you. On a clear day (which I was privileged to experience) you can see the whole city. They have really cool video tours of the different areas in Seattle, a nice restaurant, and a helpful staff. My day was coming to a close and I needed to get to Oregon for some catching up. So I hopped on Issy and we’re off.

Today I saw for the first time from our western coast the Pacific Ocean I will have the opportunity to see much more of it on my way to California but it was great. I’m on my way to Corvallis, Oregon to see an OLD pal. I have not see Sara in 10 Years. But like Shawn in North Dakota I can’t get this close and not see her. In 8^th grade Sara moved from Ohio to NY. Quickly she and I became fast friends. Unfortunately after that year her family moved again to Portland, Oregon. We wrote a few letters back and forth, but like with most kids our age, before the AIM, Email, and text messaging era, we quickly got caught up in what was going on around us and high school being so new. So we lost touch. Facebook has reconnected us and I hope that Sara and I will maintain a small relationship at least. If not well Remi and I will.

Driving from Seattle into Oregon I passed Portland. It was late at night and was lit up like NYC during Christmas. I didn’t have time to stop and chill in Portland but it truly was a beautiful place. After getting to Corvallis Sara, Remi (her boyfriend) and I all went out with some of Remi’s friends. Remi is the man. Cool kid likes hip hop and rap, and even showed me some awesome movies like FRESH (if you haven’t seen it you really are missing out give it a look-see) We had a couple drinks, danced for a bit and just caught up. It was a good time.

Sara and Remi are a great couple and really are an inspiration. They have found something special that for a moment made me think of settling down and finding my important someone. I do enjoy the bachelor life but this trip has shown me that experiencing life with another can be even more fulfilling. It makes the experience so much more intense. This is assumption of course but in my mind when I look back on the trip I will remember the great times and people I had had along the way but the space needle for instance the next day, week, year will show a different view. And I would like to have had someone close to me experience it in that moment, someone I could kick back with and talk about the great time we had. But quickly the moment fades when I think about experiencing it my own way and traveling my own journey. So again Issy and I move forward.

One Mile at a Time