Pay it Forward

Well, we made it to Portland.  Not all in one piece, but pretty close. A bag got delayed, so we are currently waiting at a Wendy's for the flight to get in. Yesterday we arrived at the airport and they told us our flight was pushed up 2 hours so it was leaving right then. Somehow, we made it on the plane despite Joanna's pocketknife in her carry on. Today we loaded up a Dodge Grand Caravan with five passengers, lots of luggage (hopefully it will all fit on our bikes!), and four bikes! Quite a feat. Mike, our driver we found on Craigslist, is very patient as we wait two hours near the airport and make a claim with UPS for a broken fenders on one of the bikes.  Needless to say, this is not how we expected the trip to start, but still it has been clear God is with us.

Dan and Alison, a Houghton alum family living in Portland, graciously picked us up from the airport late last night. We arrived at their lovely home to a table set for us with food on it!  We quickly went to bed (camped out on the floor) dreaming of pedaling - probably the only time that will happen! The next morning, Alison had laid out supplies for french toast and gave us big hugs and wishes for our trip. Our time at their house was eye-opening. I realized that we will encounter so much hospitality and generosity on this trip that we will never be able to pay it back. But, we hope to pay it forward. Who knows, maybe someday we will host four hooligans that are passing through on a coast to coast bike trip...

A few more things:
-Portland is awesome. There are bike lanes everywhere, and i have never seen so many Subarus in such a small radius.
-Mike, our driver, goes to Portland Mennonite Church! Joanna is very happy.