Day 16: Crossing the Border!

We did it! Today was the first time crossing a state line and we all stopped to take pictures at the Washington-Idaho line. Our drive to Idaho was only 35 miles so it was a short day for the cyclists. I took a nap immediately upon arriving after lunch while some of the team went on hikes, went fishing, and explored the area. We stayed in cabins for a night which was a night relief from the constant aches and pains associated with an air mattress. Oh! Before I took my nap some media showed up which was great! The guy that came to interview the team got some shots while they were in Spokane and then also came out to the camp where we were and got even more footage. It ended up being a really great two minute segment on the news! When I woke up it was almost time for dinner which was sponsored by the camp we were staying at. We had some spinach stuffed pasta that was delicious, salad, grapes, and apple cobbler. It was really delicious. Once we all finished eating we needed to make a WalMart run and some of the guys wanted to catch the Heats v. Celtics game too so we all ended up going into town and eating at this place called Crickets in Coeur D’Alene. Jonathan Faler, one of the cyclists, and I decided to split an appetizer because we weren’t that hungry. Once we were done we headed back to lodging. We didn’t have any friendship visits in Rathdrum so it was almost like another day off which I know the cyclists were thankful for. Tomorrow’s journey will take us to our second location in Idaho, Sandpoint! It will only be a 40 mile day so it shouldn’t be too bad.

I think it is also important to mention that I am not driving across the country like I assumed I would be. The insurance company has a policy where nobody under 21 can drive the company vehicles so therefore I am just a passenger all summer. However, I have been assigned van #4 all summer along with my fellow crew member, Scott Hatfield. He is originally from Indianapolis and he’s from the Alpha Sigma chapter at the University of Tennessee. He’s in charge of photography and uploading pictures to the Flickr site daily for people to keep up with. He’s really cool except for the fact he listens to country music way more than me. We often find ourselves having “country” days or “Zach’s music” days, seeing as how my music consists of many types. It’s really cool to have someone to ride with all the time. The cyclists get to switch groups every day so they’re constantly talking and learning things about each other. So it’s really nice to have Scott to talk to all the time because I get to talk to him about ritual, I can ask him questions about what they do with recruitment, wish socials, with formal, and many other aspects of Greek life.