Vancouver, BC to Birch Bay, WA - 67.5 miles

Started off at the Space Museum in Vanier Park. It was 48 degrees with a light shower. After some emotional good-byes, I started off on the Cypress bike route through the city. The route was great and other than some confusion in crossing the bridges, things went smoothly. As I rode down the Fraser River, it was interesting to watch the tugboats manuever giant logs chained in big sections down the river. One to pull and two on the sides to navigate the turns. I got pretty lost once and ended up on a bike trail through a bog. When I finally found a road again, a very kind Canadian-Irish lady put me back on the right track. Just before the border, a 13% + grade hill forced me off the bike. I could barely push the bike up the hill, much less ride! That extra 50 pounds sure is good for the upper-body work-out. :) The border crossing was interesting as I navigated the trucks and cars on Highway 15. I had to park my bike and go into a building and was about to opent the door when I realized there was a bottle of pepper spray in my hand bag! Oops... Once across, I was on my way to Birch Bay for the night. I was chased by my first dog, but with some persistent yelling, he finally quit trying to take a bite out of my heels! I met up with my grandparents again and received some news that put a giant big hole in my heart. My dad's twin brother died a day or two ago. It will take some time to work through that. I spent the night at the Birch Bay State Park and enjoyed a brilliant sunset. Pretty exhausting first day.