Day 1 - drive to Bellingham to turn in rental car, then ride to Sumas, WA to start our ride...

39 miles on the bike, 1244 elev gain, and some "Trail Angels."

We started off the day with a "senior breakfast..." 2 eggs, bacon, hash browns  and toast. The "regular size" was twice that - I can't imagine eating that much, but there were some big folks there with us.

We made it to the car rental place by 9, loaded the bikes up and hit the road.

At the first traffic signal, we both admitted we were a little nervous and excited.

The ride to Sumas from Bellingham is about 24 miles. For the last 8 or so miles, the road we were on paralleled the border. On the Canadian side, there was a terrific air show to watch as we rode - aerobatics, warbirds, skydivers, all there to distract us. 

Of course, we had to cross the border to make it an official ride from Canada...

The Canadian officer snapped a photo for us... We went to the park just beyond the gates and had lunch.

Trudy did the "Matt dance" in Canada, and I stood there.

The American officers took our lunch trash from us, then we were on our way! First stop is Kendal, WA - not too far, around 39 miles... we were surprised to see about 100 recreational bike riders headed the other direction.

When we arrived in Kendall we learned, to our dismay, that the "Giggles the Clown Campground" was closed!

"Plan B" was... 

Start asking around...

The woman at the Shell station thought the guy at the Texaco / Subway station let people camp behind his business, so we headed over there. 

While Trudy was inside trying to negotiate with the owner, I talked with customers outside, asking for ideas. The owner told us we could stay behind the Subway shop if we agreed to waive any liability.

Then, a guy walked over and asked if we needed a place to stay. His sisters' son had ridden from Vancouver to Mexico, and he was sure it would be OK to stay at her place. She was at work and wouldn't be getting home til 9:30 or 10. We were a little reluctant, but he showed us the way to the house, and made us feel at home... offering showers, snacks, the use of the computer and then... made dinner for us! We really didn't want to take advantage, so we had set up our tent in the yard, and planned to sleep there.

Then, it started to rain... Gary insisted we stay in their extra room and together we carried the tent into the garage.

I became "best friends" with their little dogs, Zephy and Zack.

Gary's sister, Patty, got home around 9:30 and was as welcoming as Gary was. Here's a photo of all of us that I took after Gary made breakfast for us...

What a start for the trip!