Kari dropped me off at BWI this morning for a noon departure to Portland. Fortunately I was able to enjoy a non-eventful flight. In Portland I was met by my friend Jim from Mass, who was on the cross country tour with me last year. He had rented a car and we drove the remaining hour or two to Astoria where the bike tour begins on Sunday.
I learned a little about Astoria from a recent book I read. Evidently Astoria was essentially a failed Jamestown. Shortly after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Thomas Jefferson and financier John Astoria schemed an expedition to settle the Pacific Northwest and make sure it would be under US influence (and provide profits for John Astoria's global trade empire). The idea was to send one group by ship around the tip of S. America and another group across overland . The results were a catastrophic disaster due to a myriad of reasons- disease, starvation, Indian attacks, fighting within the ranks. Mostly all died and the settlement was abandoned. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a chance to take a look at the original fort location.
The cycling tour participants and staff are staying at a Holiday Inn which banks the Columbia River and overlooks the bridge that spans into Washington State. I am enjoying quite a scenic view from my room window.
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| Packed and ready at BWI |
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