Everett Station, Washington to Sandpoint, Idaho - July 23, 2021

Everett Station - 7.23.21

This morning, I put my bike and bags in the van and rode with Beth to her work at Progressive Dental in Mill Creek. It was nice to spend a little extra time with her in the morning. Being separate from her will be the most difficult part of the trip.

While in the parking lot, I sat in the backend of Moby (our van) and practiced guitar for about an hour. I’m working on “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young and “Dead Flowers” by the Stones. A competent listener would describe my playing as “poor”.

I headed to REI for a couple of water bottles, then returned to the dentistry. Beth carefully cleaned my teeth. At the end of the appointment, I absorbed a few details about the theft of Dr. Berry’s catalytic converter (RV).

Beth and I went for a special lunch at Kai Sushi in Everett. I very much enjoyed the time with her. It’s been so long since we’ve had this favorite meal of ours.

Parting at the train station was really difficult. I don’t have any words for that.

Amtrak is a breeding ground for gremlins, little creatures who enact setbacks on human beings in real ways. Lately, I’ve become keenly aware of them. These creatures can also be found in airports and public schools.

I try to focus on accepting them, and their mischief, with grace. This is often difficult to do.

Early on, a gremlin began pestering Kaia, a woman sitting behind me. She had planned on eating with her two children in the train’s dining car. Unfortunately, Amtrak has made the decision to disallow coach patrons from entering the dining car. Kaia was unprepared for this setback. After receiving this information, many different four letter words were used over, what felt like, a remarkable period of time. The word “bulls^*t” was repeated ad nauseum.

Coach seating is, as a rule, uncomfortable.

Kaia’s gremlin resurfaced - this time impacting her abdomen. A stillness settled over coach seating as two bags were filled with vomited burger.

Sandpoint Station (Early)

Amtrak unfortunately arrived at Sandpoint on time. I disembarked the train at about 2:40 AM. Needing more sleep, I cycled out of town on the Serenity-Lee Trail and found a spot to get a couple more hours of sleep. The Full Buck Moon was out. This is an excellent sign for the trip ahead.

Full Buck Moon (Ditch Campsite)

Note: Coach patrons abided by Amtrak’s mask guidelines. The one exception was a couple in front of me who engaged in multiple hard drinks and, later, a game of Old Maid.