To Kennewick and beyond
Day 10/May 11
We heard that there were some great wineries in the Kennewick area, so went that way instead of to Walla Walla, which is also known for its wineries. Our directions into Kennewick were for drivers, not cyclists, so we endured a lot of horn honking and line hugging into town. We later realized that we should have planned our own route into town.
We stayed at the excellent Clover Island Hotel, which really helped us put some things in perspective. We were disappointed that the wineries were 20 minutes away - by car. Do you know how far that is by bike? Some other time.
Of course, we found some other diversions and headed to the local museum that gave us plenty of information about Kennewick Man, who was discovered near here by a boy who was trying to get away with not paying admission to the boat race, which would pass by on the river just outside our hotel room. We were intrigued by the museum and the story of this find.
That alone was not enough to satisfy us, so we headed out to the Sacajawea State Park, which had an extraordinary exhibit on this female legacy. We learned about the proper pronunciation of her name and a lot about the Lewis and Clark expedition. This detour was definitely a worthwhile one in spite of our disappointment of not visiting any wineries.
We bicycled a lot in town and headed to a good local restaurant back in town. We really wished that we could have spent another day here as we enjoyed this town very much. But duty called and we would have to push on.
Day 11/ May 12
We had a very pleasant ride today and good see the mountains looming large far ahead. How long would it be before we started cranking up the passes and had to challenge our untrained legs. We can’t use the untrained excuse anymore because we have already many miles on our legs. So far we have survived any challenge presented us. There has to be something that will hit us hard very soon.
We pedaled in the heat again with little relief from the sun. We noticed some huge vineyards, but passed by too early to sample any of the product. We eventually reached the town of Dayton and stayed in our first converted-trailer motel. This is a new concept to us. Basically a trailer gets divided into several sections. For some reason, I always assume that I am in an Easy Bake Oven and have heightened awareness of my surroundings in these structures. I think far too much about becoming a chocolate chip cookie as I bake in my metal surroundings.
At least, there is a nice brewery in town. Check out my visit with the brewmaster at the bottom of the original post.
http://www.portlandtoportland.com/invisible-snakes/
I can’t believe that I forgot to take a look at the hops plants.