Fifteen minutes

so, it's been about 6 days since we left. i havent been able to update, considering i havent been next to a computer. the bus was sort of insane. we got on a bus that didnt have our bikes and packs on it, got back on the bus with our stuff but that bus was broken. somehow, it made it to the next terminal and things were good again. extreme stress. indeed. we arrived in olympia, said bye to two new road buddies sal and tim, and set off to assemble the bikes. of course mine needed some repairs, which made me stressed, but i got the front brakes fixed at no charge. booya. eric and i then decided to ride to the hostel in elma, about 30 miles, but left late and ended up traveling in the dark. on scary back roads with no streetlamps, in the cold, with 40lb packs strapped to our backs. brutal. but we made it to elma in 5 hours around 10, missed check in at the hosetl and had to settle for a shitty motel at the awesome rate of $55. fuckin a. what a deal. the next nite we went to the hostel, met and amazing woman who owned the place, she gave us fresh veggies from her garden for dinner (corn and green beans) and told of a place to pick black berries. then she gave us frozen blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. awesome. best dinner ever. then we got a 6 pack of rainier beer and watched the landscape turn dark and the sky lite up. fuckin sweet. come to washington, it's amazing. we're going to camp someplace tonite, then meet the crew tomorrow, and begin south to portland on the 9th. my birthdays tomorrow. weird. it doesnt even seem to matter compared to what im doing or where im at. but itll be fun to have some birthday beers and what have you. eric and i have been getting alone fine, which was never a worry for me, but you know how trips and cranky nites away from home can change people. there are so many of you back home that i wish were here to do this with me. id rather have a tour full of you mothers than any of the people im prejudging right now that i havent met yet. who cares, i'll take my chances with you fine folks. be looking for postcards if you gave me your addy. theyll be there. we've been taking pictures to document, but it wont do it any justice. i guess next time youll just have to cine along. so, it's on to portland in 2 days and that's the official start of the tour. i've only got about 15 minutes to type this, and i now have about 2 left. not bad, eh? pretty fast fuckin type master you know. bet youd never have guessed. eric is going to come on and post his account of the last few days, not that i have posted my account so much as rambled, but you know. well, ill type again when i can. wish you all were here.

kisses,
shawn