This morning at breakfast, I met some of the staff from America by Bike. Among the crew that I met was Bama Cyclist Mike. Mike is the main guide for this trip and has led many cross-country trips for America by Bike. I have been reading his blogs about the trips for the past several months. Everyone I have met who has done an AbB trip has remarked about their great experiences with Mike and their respect for his skill. I nearly asked for his autograph when I met him.
We spent today connecting with Dad's maritime past and the history of Astoria. We went to the Columbia River Maritime museum and got to tour the retired lightship Columbia. I can't imagine how rough it would have been to be one of the crew on the lightship when she was moored at the mouth of the Columbia in a storm with 40 ft seas. The docent shared with us that even the most seasoned sailors were routinely seasick on the Columbia.
Next, we took a short drive to see where the Navy base was when Dad was stationed out here. We saw the housing for the base which is now a rental community and where the base was across the highway. I'm not exactly sure what the base has been converted into except that it is private with restricted access. They did however let us into one of the buildings where there is a picture of the Navy base. It was great to have Dad show us where everything was and to connect with that part of his/our history.
I took a peek today in the conference room at the hotel where we will assemble our bikes tomorrow. It looks like a freight depo with all the bike boxes (50 or so) waiting to "get the show on the road".
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