Before going to bed I pursued Portland’s Craigslist and found an ad asking if anyone wanted a ride from Portland to Pullman. Viola! How lucky can you get. I left the guy a message and kept my fingers crossed I’d hear back.
I got up early and saw that “Wes” had replied to me. He wasn’t too sure how well the bike would fit in his Rav4, but he was willing to try.
Ashley took me back to the restaurant (where we kept the bicycle overnight), went over to the Hood River Hotel for breakfast and then said our goodbyes. I can’t express how grateful I was meeting her and having a place to stay the night.
I had told Wes to meet me in front of the hotel and about 3:30 he showed up. We managed to get the bike in without too much issue and we were off. Wes is all too familiar with the drive from Portland to Pullman. He works in Portland, but his wife and family live in Pullman. So every other weekend he makes the trip. He’s done this for four years! It’s a testament to their relationship.
The drive went by without incident except for stopping to help out a carload of kids headed to Seattle from WSU. The car was stopped in the middle of nowhere. It seems that the engine had gotten too low on oil so shut itself down. Lucky for them Wes had two quarts and we were able to get them on their way. We asked if they had contacted anyone, but they hadn’t and really had no idea what they should do or where they should have gone had we not stopped. Needless to say they were very thankful we had. We followed them for about 15 miles just to make sure they were not having further problems. Wes did this although he was desperately tired and wanting to see his family. This is a testament to the man and I’m always glad to know people like him.
We made it to Pullman around 9pm and were glad to get here. My oldest brother Greg was waiting in the parking lot of McDonald’s. We transferred everything into his truck, but I told Wes to get hold of me if he found I had left anything behind. We said our goodbyes and took off for Greg’s house.
We had a beer while waiting for Tom (Greg’s youngest) to show up. He’s in the Army Reserves and had been out of state on two different training missions for a month. He was damn glad to be home and we were glad to see him.
BrokenSpoken 