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The Portland International Hostel turned out to be not too bad. It could use a little up dating since it was a bit worn in spots but all in all, it was convenient and we slept well. We spent our last morning in Portland visiting the Oregon History Museum. Fortunately it only had two floors so we were able to see  it all in the limited time we had. We picked up our bikes and bags, headed to the train station for the 6 hr ride to Mt. Vernon. 

Here are our bikes tagged and ready for boarding. Heading home. 

Crossing the Columbia and saying goodbye to Oregon.

Six hours on the train gives one time to reflect on our bike trip. Some things we've learned ............

-hills are never as steep as they appear from a distance. 

-more towns should clean the shoulders of the roads.

-99% of drivers are polite.

-always pack half the amount you think you need and bring more laundry soap instead.

-stop often to enjoy what is there -- you'll probably not come this way again.

-traveling by bike is the right speed and with someone you love it is the best! 

-you can eat and drink lots while cycling (after you stop pedalling, of course).

-numb fingers and a sore bum are part of the experience.

When planning a trip, you can't always make perfect connections. We arrived in Mt. Vernon at 8:30pm, not enough time to bike to Anacortes before dark. So we had to spend the night in Mt. Vernon and then catch the ferry to Victoria that leaves Anacortes at 8:45am! So up at 4:45am and off by 5:15 we biked 30 kms to the ferry, over the Skagit River on the old bridge and across the fertile (and flat) farmland. It is light at that time of day and there's less traffic, although Mt Vernon is still coping with congestion from the I-5 bridge collapse. When we started our trip 2 weeks ago the ride from the ferry to our motel, in Mt. Vernon took us 2hr and10 minutes (in rain). Today we planned for 2 1/2 hours but arrived at the ferry in under 2 hours. Maybe we are better riders after all the biking we've done. 

Norm needed a coffee by the time we got to Anacortes at 6:45am.

The weather is cloudy and cool today, good time to return to our normal life in Metchosin. Our total milage for the trip is 688 km. I think we'll round it up to 690 kilometres.