A Pink Frame of Mind: Day 10: It's Cathlamet dammit, our first Warm Shower.

We were suddenly awaken last night by a pouring rain and the sudden realization that we had left our saddles and Jet's Doggyride uncovered. Between the interstate and the railroad on either side of us, sleep was hit and miss for the remainder of the night. Since we would be meeting up with the Columbia river today I assumed the road ahead would be more or less flat. I could not have been more wrong and since I was not mentally prepared for lots of hills and constant wind it turned into a long and discouraging day. Washington decided not to let us off easy on what was our last full day in the state. According to Julie the day had not been so bad, she had been drafting (staying close enough behind me to prevent receiving any head wind) and only had the hills to worry about. Finally, we trudged up the final hill that put us in Cathlamet, a name we have been butchering for the last two days. A lesson on pronunciation was forthcoming. Julie suddenly decided she was hungry...two corn dogs and an order of jalapeño poppers hungry! A hungry Julie is not to be denied, so I quickly complied with her demands. Once satiated, Julie figured it was time for us to get going so we didn't keep our first Warm showers host waiting. For those that do not know, WarmShowers.org is a online community similar to couch surfing that is geared toward touring cyclists. We called to get directions to their house and after yet another mispronunciation our host Steve jovially proclaimed "It's Cathlamet dammit.", and henceforth it was said correctly. We cannot say enough about our hosts, Kim and Steve. They were kind, generous, and fun to visit with for the evening. Steve is an avid home brewer in the process of opening a brick and mortar operation under the name Drop Anchor and we wish him the best in his venture. Kim, is about to be the counties newest volunteer EMT so area residents can rest easy. After a great spaghetti dinner I walked with Jet along the Columbia while Julie hung out with Kim. All in all our first experience with warm showers could not have been better. We were well fed and rested for the day ahead. Oregon here we come.