Day 87, August 13th 2008, beginning in Anchor Bay, California

Paul and I got up at a pretty decent hour, which was good otherwise we may have been caught by the authorities in the area. We had the tent all broken down by 7:30, though the market we had intended on eating didn't open until 8:00. Paul went to a coffee shop to use the bathroom, however the town had enforced a no public bathroom policy on all of the businesses, so he was forced to walk down to the campground we should have stayed at the night before.

When the market opened we bought some food and hung out for a while. I used the bathroom after I finished eating and using the internet at the coffee shop. By the time we were ready to leave it was about 9:40. Getting ready early (for us) seemed to do no good. On the other hand, we had covered enough miles in the past few days to get us to Petaluma a day early, where we would be staying with Meghan's family to be pampered, or so we were promised 😉

We intended on riding 30 miles to Fort Ross for our first stop, but when we got there, and found no refreshments we just kept on runnnnning (Forrest Gump style). We had to go another quite hilly 11 miles to a town called Jenner. There were some beautiful vista views, including one where cows were grazing on the edge of a bluff [PICTURE]. Bet you don't see that everyday.

We arrived in Jenner, and went to a gas station to get some food. We relaxed outside for a long time in the warm sun as we dried our sweaty and dewy clothing. Ahhhh. When we finally left there, our legs were pleased that the ensuing 30 miles were much flatter. We began turning inland, and weren't sure of our exact path. When we came up to a sign that said Valley Ford, I knew we were in good shape.

We stopped there and got some quick snacks and drinks. I made a phone call to the Hosbeins to tell them we would be in town soon. Eileen informed us the beers were chilled and they had stocked up on food as well. With the good news, we quickly got back on the bikes, and headed for Petaluma. Before we left however, I noticed an extreme eyesore. Disappointing…

We arrived at the house before John got home from work and were greeted by the new and improved (less shy) Hosbein children and Eileen. It had been a while since I had seen them. It wasn't all smiles however, as we were greeted with the bad news that Tulip, the family cat, was missing. Apparently she had a run in with a madwoman behind the wheel earlier that morning, and had fled the scene. The kids, especially Grace, were not happy. We insisted that we were good luck with this sort of thing, like we were for Squishy in Oklahoma City.

When John got home we chit chatted the night away while sipping on Fat Tires (Eileen heard through the grapevines) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Eileen made my dream dinner including some steak (Tri tip "“ Cali style), potatoes, and the ever important Broccoli and cheese side, a special recipe that the Hosbeins had passed down for generations. Before we feasted, we Skyped (video phone call via the internet) with the Ceglarski's who were vacationing in Cape Cod at the time. It was fun to see them all together, the big happy, loving family that they are.

When dinner was ready, we kicked them to the digital curb quickly and rushed into the kitchen. The food was excellent, a touch better than the chocolate milk / clif bar dinner the past few nights brought. I think the Hosbeins were a little disappointed in how much we ate, but we still had time to prove ourselves as we were spending the next day with them.

After dinner, a pleasant surprise strolled in. Tulip had returned after a bit of searching for her. Eileen, a.k.a the madwoman from earlier was perhaps more relieved than Grace when the damn thing came back. Yay, mom is still a friend, not an enemy.

After the kids went to bed, we watched some olympic games for a while. I finally showered, and everyone got ready for bed. Paul and I had our cute little setup in the guest room, with one of those beds that pulls out from under the other so you can be nice and close. Lovely.

We had no big plans for the next day, and were happy to be off the bikes with friends.

Life was good.