Epilogue

Flights were all on time, and after a nearly four hour layover in Las Vegas, and a bonus stop in Sacramento, I got into Seattle just after 10pm Thursday night. As usual Southwest had my bags coming off the conveyor just about the time I got to the baggage pickup. I grabbed them and went out to the courtesy van area to call Motel 6 for a pickup. When I called from the courtesy phone at the curb, they didn’t answer, so I called information from my cell and asked for “Motel 6 Seattle Airport”, which is what my reservation said. Their next pickup wasn’t for 45 minutes so I got their address and grabbed a taxi instead. Got there, and they had no record of my reservation, which I’d prepaid through Hotels.com. They called the other Motel 6, which they say is often a confusion, and they had no record of me either. Finally got through the telephone maze at Hotels.com to find out there is actually a THIRD Motel 6 near Seatac, so back I went in another taxi, the cost of the two taxi rides now basically negating the savings I’d made by booking at Motel 6 in the first place. And this place didn’t even have an airport shuttle, so I thought I’d have to take yet another taxi in the morning.

Still on east coast time, I was wide awake before 6am the next morning. This being Seattle, there was a latte place right outside the motel, and the nice guy there pointed out to me that the light rail station to take me into Seattle was only a half mile down the road. An easy 10 minute walk and I was on the train. 

Train, two buses, a ferry, and a car ride, and I'm HOME! Mount Rainier is out in all its glory, birds are singing, sunshine, blue sky, quiet. I am so, so happy to be here. Why would anyone want to live anywhere else?

When I retrieved my bags from the baggage claim  the one holding the Spatz bread and pickled bolgona was soggy and smelled like vinegar. Sadly, the pickled bologna jar had leaked all over the bread and it was a soggy mess.  Bologna is OK but I guess I’ll have to wait until my next Michigan trip for that crispy goodness of toasted Spatz. I was lucky to snag the two loaves, too, as Spatz is just about to go on their annual 2 week vacation and everyone back there was stocking up.

Picked up Thomas Evelyn Cat from Dennis and Char's house yesterday and he spent the first couple hours home hiding under the bed, but this morning he jumped into bed and cuddled up to me so I guess he's adjusted. I let him out on the upstairs deck this morning while I sat in the sun catching up on reading the local paper, and he managed to crawl onto the tree overhanging the deck. He had an adventure climbing up the tree and looked like he was having fun but eventually I coaxed him back down. Guess I gotta do some tree trimming

My bike made it here but is still at the bike shop. My local mechanic found that whoever had put the bike together last had tightened up the stem and aerobars so tight  that it has dented the handlebars. So I'm getting new handlebars, and a new stem to boot, one that will bring the handlebars a little closer to me. It's only money. It's only money.

Here are a few pictures from my last days in Michigan:

This summer's street art in Midland is all made from bicycle parts

They've painted the old Curry Parkway bridge bright red. I love it!

More Midland street art

Kayaking down the Chippewa River

More of that bike-parts street art