All geared up in front of Morri and Pete's home in Renton, WA.

May 31, 2008, at the Pacific Coast - boardwalk in Long Beach, WA. I'm trying to smile, but I'm as nervous as can be... "What in the world am I getting myself into...?"

At Kress Lake, near Longview, WA, filling my camping shower with the needed water for showering.

My first camping site... I had never tried camping on a cycling trip before and still had to get into routine...

In the tent... one tired cyclist with 4 panniers... the bike has to wait outside - locked to a tree.

It is easy making new friends - a loaded bike draws a lot of attention...

Along the Columbia River on Washington Highway 14, heading East.

Getting into Eastern Washington... a rapid change of color from green to brown... and services getting fewer and fewer.

Not the Grand Canyon... but Eastern Washington, about an hour to go till Walla Walla.

Green prevails again... heading towards Pomeroy, WA, not far from the Idaho state line.

Hungry Boy - I'm well known for my healthy appetite! All-you-can-eat places wouldn't like me as a customer...

Idaho state line near Lewiston, ID... it feëls great to start a new state and progress my journey east.

Running into a couple riding from the East Coast to Astoria, OR... they were so happy to be only a few days from the Pacific Coast, while I still had a very long way to go to reach my goal.

I wasn't too comfortable camping out along the Lochsa River... unwanted visitors might be in the area.

A night in a Motel due to lousy weather... trying to dry all my gear...

At Lolo Pass, approaching the Montana state line... even though it is June, there is still snow up here...

Entering into Montana... and into Mountain time zone...

Bad weather again in White Sulphur Springs... I warmed up in the Hot Springs Spa...

Central Montana... blue skies, green pastures, the mountains gone and the traffic very low... except a few heavily loaded trucks avoiding Interstate 90 (about 40 miles south of Highway 12).

No man's land... I can park my bicycle in the middle of the road to take a wheez...

Civilization ahead... approaching Miles City, Eastern Montana.

Not my favorite moments... but unavoidable. In order to work on the bike, I have to unmount all the luggage...

Post office in the middle of nowhere... Volborg, MT... home of the postmaster and his wife...

Entering South Dakota, a few miles out of Belle Fourche, SD.

A welcome sign, especially during hard times... during this trip I've experienced not only some of the best moments of my life, but also tough times... tears of joy and tears of despair are often not far from each other...

I expected South Dakota to be flat, but the hills keep rolling along...

Busy intersection near Fort Pierre, SD, just before crossing the Missouri River and entering zentral time zone.

The rolling hills stop and the country becomes as flat as can be... in Wessington Springs, SD, heading east.

Preparing to hide from the rain... a few miles out of Sioux Falls, SD.

Entering the state of Iowa... one of my favorite states for cycling... small towns every few miles and very friendly people!

Too late to compete, but worth a picture... the small town of Marathon, IA.

Getting spoiled in a home in Hampton, IA. Thank you so much, Sam and Cindy - who crossed the U.S. on their bicycles many years ago...

Reaching a milestone... the Mississippi River in Dubuque, IA, crossing over into Wisconsin.

Shullsburg, WI, one of the cutest little towns I've ever seen...

Swiss colony in Monroe, WI.

Entering Chicago...

The laid-back midwest is definitely behind me... from now on east, the population density is a lot higher...

Leaving "the windy city"... heading south towards Gary, Indiana, where I try not to stop... I don't like areas where there is bullet-proof glass at the registers of gas stations and convenience stores...

On the waterfront bike path near Chicago.

Indiana.

Indiana Dunes State Park... looking back across Lake Michigan to the skyline of Chicago in the background.

"Mom, what's this guy's problem?"

A short visit to Michigan... soon I'm heading back into Indiana and towards Toledo, Ohio.

Camping inside a barn to seek shelter from rain (by permission, that is...), thanks for the shower and breakfast, dear people!

Toledo, Ohio.

Kite surfers at Maumee Bay near Toledo, OH.

Camping inside a vacant house. Everything is trashed up, but it still provided shelter from possible wind, rain and unwanted visitors.

Vacant house as seen from the road... near Bono, OH.

At Lake Erie near Vermillion, OH.

While shopping for a new tire in Lakewood, OH, I met Raymond, one of the mechanics at the shop, who invited me to spend the night... Cheers, Ray!

Boulevard of 1000 flags, well, 1001, including mine... in Eastlake, OH.

Camping in the woods about 10 miles east of Erie, PA.

Niagara Falls, border between Buffalo, Upstate New York and Ontario, Canada.

Celebrating July 4th at the lakefront in Buffalo, NY.

Niagara Falls, this time on the Canadian side...

Looking across Lake Ontario towards Toronto... still quite a few miles to cover before spending the night at the Hostel in Toronto...

Private Island in the St. Lawrence River, as seen from 1000 Islands Parkway, Ontario, Canada.

Probably my nicest camping site ever... at the St. Lawrence River near Mariatown, ON.

On parle francais... getting into Montreal, Quebec.

Making friends at the Hostel in Montreal, QC.

Montreal, QC.

Ok, guilty as charged... I didn't observe non-camping signs all the time... like here in Deschambault, QC, but the French-Canadians seem to be taking it easy...

"Look Mom, I do eat some greens!" I ate the strawberry hulls as well... in front of a supermarket near Quebec.

The City of Quebec as seen from the other side of the St. Lawrence River.

The St. Lawrence River is getting very wide close to the Atlantic Ocean...

Time to leave the St. Lawrence River and head south towards Maine, back into the United States.

Northernmost point of Maine.

At Lac Baker, New Brunswick.

Re-entering the United States at Fort Kent port of entry, Maine.

Beautiful country... near Stockholm, ME... a Swedish settlement.

The rear tire is ready to retire...

In Boston, Massachusetts.

I found a flag I know... in Boston, MA.

Spending the evening in Boston, MA, close to the Hostel.

In New London, Connecticut, after passing through Rode Island... catching the ferry to Orient Point, Long Island, New York.

After the ferry ride, it is almost dark and I have no choice but to camp right off of the ferry port.

Early start... ready to roll at 4:45am in Orient, NY... 100 miles to go till New York City.

Times Square, 42nd and Broadway, New York City.

Taking the Staten Island Ferry out of Manhattan.

Manhattan was fun on a bicycle, but getting in and out of Manhattan is a nightmare. After taking the Bayonne Bridge, I'm on the Lincoln Highway Bridge towards Newark, NJ... not much space for me as you can see... and the traffic is driving me crazy!

Not all highways are open for bicycles in New Jersey... some detours are necessary...

Getting towards Atlantic City, the Las Vegas of the East Coast.

Atlantic City, NJ.

The southern part of New Jersey turned out to be very rural and much friendlier than the north... now catching the ferry across the bay to Cape May, Delaware.

Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, where I took a shower...

...before camping in a forest near Berlin, MD.

Toll pay station for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Bicycles have to be loaded on trucks from the bridge authority.

A big nail damaged my shiny new Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire... but I keep using it... this is German quality and better lasts for another couple of thousand miles...

At the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in Buxton, NC.

I used 4 ferries that connect the Outer Banks of North Carolina: Knott's Island - Currituck, Cape Hatteras - Ocracoke Island, Ocracoke Island - Cedar Island and Fort Fisher - Southport.

Boarding one of the ferries... even though cyclist have to go last, there is always space available, whereas cars have to queue and often wait for the next ferry.

Roadside repairs in progress...

One of my favorites: Caesar Salad and Iced Coffe at McDonalds.

Meeting up with the Longanecker Family in Mt. Pleasant, SC. We met in Micronesia several years ago...

Crossing the Ravenel Bridge from Mount Pleasant to Charleston, South Carolina.

The only "hills" between New York and Miami are the bridges... for instance the Talmadge Memorial Bridge leading into Savannah, Georgia.

Starting to look like Hulk...

Celebrating Swiss National Holiday (August 1st) with Esther and Larry in Brunswick, GA. Here's how we met: I was riding, minding my own business, when a crazy American pulled me over, pulled out his cell phone and called up his Swiss friend... Well, some people actually recognize the Swiss flag I'm pulling along... others think I'm a lifeguard on patrol...

Crossing the last state line for this trip... let's go have some fun in the sun...

Blue Angels F/A 18 at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

Meeting up with Ken in Orange Park, FL. We met years ago when Ken served in the Navy in Micronesia.

Daytona Beach, FL.

The Florida Coast has lots of peninsulas and the last exits to the mainland are not to be missed...

Crossing a bridge into Melbourne, FL.

Summer is not the best time of the year to be cycling in Florida...

Fort Lauderdale Beach in the evening.

At Fort Lauderdale Beach the next morning, ready to ride to Miami and on to Florida City.

Waiting at a draw bridge in the Miami-Dade area.

Miami, FL.

U.S. Highway 1 leading south from Florida City is not very safe for bikes, but after Key Largo, there are bike paths all the way to Key West.

Ok, I was scared of crocodiles jumping out of the nearby boonies... but I was told later that only alligators are the agressive ones, and they don't live in the Keys, but up north in the Everglades.

The Florida Keys look a lot like some of the Micronesian Islands...

On the 7 mile bridge, just a few miles out of Marathon, FL.

Only a few miles to go until Key West, FL.

Entering Key West...

The official "end of the road", mile marker 0 of U.S. Highway 1... I'm glad the road doesn't go any further and I can finally relax...

Monument at the southernmost point of the continental United States... I've been waiting to have my picture taken here for a long time...

Mallory Square, Key West, FL.

Mallory Square, Key West, FL.

Everything is packed up in the 2 boxes next to the bus... ready to ride back to Seattle, WA. The bus ride takes 4 days and left me with swollen feet from all the sitting. This was a great trip! (The bike trip that is, not the bus ride... but the bike trip made the return all the more rewarding...).