Monday, June 30- Nick Gets Grumpy and My New Decision

What a day. I'd like to say it was hell, but I think bad days on the Oregon Coast are non-existant.

The first half of the day, I was stagnant and craving a smoke. I felt stuck. I was hoping my package would come today so I could get the hell out of here, but it didn't. In hind-sight, I think I should have kept heading north and then picked up the package on my way back down the coast instead of killing time here at Ft. Stevens by waiting 5 days. So earlier today, I basically felt like shit.

Then Josh invited me to ride up to Seattle with him, with our arrival being the 4th of July, and after mulling over my options, my decision to join him broke alot of my uneasiness and settled my stress. I'm so glad about this decision. I've always wanted to see Seattle, and what better way than on a bike.

I bought a train ticket that leaves Seattle on the 5th, which will bring me back to Portland where I'll get on a bus back to Astoria and tackle the coast South-bound from there. So much to see, so little time, but I finally feel good about my choice.

I mailed a bunch of my backpacking stuff back to Denver today. After that, I hit the library and bought the aforementioned tickets.

When I got back to camp, Nicholas and Josh were fixing dinner. When Nick and I sat down to eat, Nick started yelling at Josh to get the hell out of the campsite so Nick could "eat in peace". Poor Josh left the camp and moved his tent to the other side of the camp ground.

Nicholas was pleasant the rest of the night (probably because he realized that he was an asshole earler and wanted to prove to himself that he really wasn't) and he gave me one of the five trout that he caught in a near-by lake.

The rest of the night, Nick tried to convince me to stay and camp with him instead of riding up to Seattle. Poor guy. I think he gets really lonesome. He's a travelling war veteran who lives off of his pension. No family, nothing. I told him I'd stop in at the Seaside Hostel to pick up my package and stay a night when I get back from Seattle. He said he'd be waiting to see how it went.

Anyhow, I've got to be up at 6:00 tomorrow to ride 60 miles north into Washington. Good night.