The next day was July 4th. I went to REI to get some gear I was unable to buy in Europe and spent an awful lot of time in that store just seeing what they offer. I also bought a first part of resupplies/food.

That evening there was a big firework announced to celebrate this day. I had gone back to the hotel in the meantime. So I rented an Uber bike to get to Lake Union. The firework was nice and lasted for approx 25 minutes. Once finished, I got the same bike back to the hotel and went to bed.

The next day I was picked up by Ken, whom I was connected with via the Tall People Association. He drove me to his house, to which I had ordered some other gear and spare shoes. I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of gear that was piling up on my bed. How the heck should I carry all of that in my backpack? After a lot of planning I found a system of which I thought might work. That evening we went out for dinner at a fine sea food restaurant.

After a restless night (because today was the day were I was flying to Redding, CA) I packed my backpack for flying, prepared some boxes and at 2 p.m. we went out for lunch and to the airport afterwards. Thanks a lot again to Ken for being so helpful and being my first trail angel 🙂