Our First Spring Adventure of 2021

I noticed that I haven’t posted for quite a while. Our adventures have been few and far between. Covid and taking care of aging parents have kept us close to home. We have finally been able to get out and do some things that have given me writing material, here is what we have done.

When Linda and I came back from Mexico two years ago, we made a decision to apply for a card that helps the reentry process through Customs. The Global Entry Card is said to make the process of crossing back into the US through Customs and Border Protection faster.  To apply you submit an application that needs to be approved, pay a fee, and then have an in person interview.

When we decided to do this, we filled out the application at the same time and paid our fee with the submission. Linda’s application was accepted immediately and she got approval to set up an interview appointment almost the very next day. My application took about four months to get approval. No rhyme nor reason to the difference, and needless to say, we were a bit worried before approval arrived.

We set up interviews in the spring of 2020 in the closest location that we could, Boise, ID. This process included going online every other day and checking for available dates and times, hoping two interview times could be set up on the same day at the same location. Linda was going crazy but she got the job done.  Covid then reared its ugly head and all interviews were canceled.

Waiting and checking went on for the next several months and finally, Border Protections eased up the Covid restrictions and we were able to set up interview appointments in Seattle at the SeaTac airport. 

Planning our interview trip Linda connected with Don and Caroline, who live in Westport, WA, and our first adventure since the Covid pandemic started was put in motion.

On the day of our interview, we drove to the Seattle Tacoma Airport, parked our car and walked to US Customs and Border Protection for our interviews.

When we arrived the agent took our names and we sat and waited. A US Customs and Border Protection officer invited Linda into the interview area and within a couple minutes a second officer motioned to me and had me take a seat at his space.  I sat down and he asked me one question, “Have you ever been arrested?” I said no and then he took my fingerprints and picture. I sat back and observed a person who definitely did not like his job and looked as if he wanted to be doing anything other than asking people these questions.

The officer took one final look at me and handed me a paper. “Read this, and your card should arrive in about eight weeks.” That was it. I was finished. It took me about three minutes and I was released.

Linda was led into the Customs and Border Protection officers area and was asked a million questions. The officer asked where she had traveled for the last several years and noted that her passport was new. It didn’t show where she had been traveling internationally so he started questioning her about specific countries she had visited. She listed about six different countries and in that list, she said we had been to Cuba. RED FLAG! “When were you there? Why? Can you provide an itinerary of your travels? How about some photos that are dated?”  She got the third degree. Finally, Linda was able to show the officer photos that were dated and proved she had been in Cuba before the TRUMP administration closed Cuba to travel. Satisfied, he took her photo and fingerprints and allowed her to leave. This took about 45 minutes.

Linda was a bit upset when she left Customs and Border Protection, but the interviews were over and we were heading to our car to continue our adventure. As we walked to the car an email came into our phones. I had passed the interview and had been accepted for Global Entry.  

Linda finally received her approval email about four weeks later. I got my card five days later (Not 8 weeks later). Linda’s card arrived about four weeks after that. In this process, there was nothing consistent comparing my experience to Linda’s. The inconsistencies were huge and caused both of us to feel like we might have done something wrong. But it is now over and we have received our cards. Now we will see if it helps. That is if we ever get to travel again.

Interviews behind us, we then traveled over to Westport where we planned to visit the coast. We wanted to visit Caroline and Don and see their new home. Our drive over was uneventful. We drove over in the “Grownup” car, the KIA, and loved the ease and comfort of our new ride. 

Caroline has worked endlessly, getting their newly built house finished during the pandemic and it has turned out very beautiful.  They have newly planted grass and are going through their list of final repairs and adjustments to complete the project. We hope they’ll be very happy there. 

We spent our time catching up on the past months, eating, and laughing. It was so great to feel a bit of normalcy. Each day Linda and I would go for a short drive and walk on the beach. It was very relaxing! The town of Westport was in the middle of a celebration of the beaches and tourism. Every few days, a local person would hide glass ocean floats so that beachcombers might find them. We went out and searched as we walked, but never found one. Caroline walks every day, so she has found several. Linda was a bit disappointed in not finding anything. When we left Caroline gave Linda one of her finds. It was a super nice gesture. 

The weather was beautiful the entire time we were on the coast. After a few days, we had to get back to Post Falls and return to our daily duties.

The pond area below Samuelson's new home.

As we drove back Linda and I talked. One topic on our minds was an expensive purchase as a reward for keeping our heads down during the pandemic. Since we have not traveled lately our budget that we put aside for this has grown and we felt we could take a leap. The past few months we have been doing research into e-Bikes. Expensive, but fun!

As a result of our research, we decided that we wanted bikes with pedal assist, the ability to ride gravel and trails, and very reliable history.  We rode several brands and styles. We did research and discussed the costs of bikes, a bike rack, and all the needed add-ons. After about two months and many visits to bike shops, we decided on Trek Allant 7S models. We had visited and talked with our local dealer several times and with the decision made, we drove to the Trek shop in Coeur d’Alene to place our orders.

The bike shop salesman took down our requests for the new bikes and plugged our info into his computer and said, “ Linda, your e-Bike will be here in September, and Dean, your bike will arrive in February.”  WHAT! We knew that they would have to order the bikes, but never thought it would be more than a couple months. FEBRUARY?  Needless to say, we were disappointed. You spend two months researching and riding bikes, visiting the dealerships, and agonizing about spending the money, you make the decision and this happens. We felt very let down.

We left the bike shop and drove home. It didn’t seem right that there were no bikes available anywhere.  We talked and decided to start searching for our bikes.  We called a dealer in Spokane and were told that they could look up their website and find available e-Bikes of the model we wanted at Trek dealerships. The person on the phone was so nice and gave us phone numbers of bike shops that might have Allant e-Bikes in their inventory.  

Linda started calling and chatting with various shops in our region.  We figured if we found one we could drive over, as far as Seattle, and buy one if it was available. 

Our first find was my bike, an Allant 7S with an extra-large frame. It was located in Kalispell, MT at Wheaton Bike Shop. We put a hold on the bike and since we didn’t have anything planned the next day, we made plans to head over and back the next day.

The trip went well except for one turn that Google had us take. It was the right shortcut, but we were talking at the time and didn’t trust the guidance. Our journey came to a halt and we turned around, driving about two miles back the way we came until we could get on track.

The new route was a bit longer and took us up the east side of Flathead Lake adding about 45 minutes to our drive.

We picked up my bike and headed back to Post Falls following the route we were planning to drive up to Kalispell. We figured out how we got lost and laughed about our lack of trust in Google.

The next day we were back on the computer looking for Linda’s Allant 7S Stagger. After many calls we located one in Kennewick, WA. Kennewick is part of the Tri-Cities and is 169 miles from home. We had the shop put the bike on hold and the next day we drove down and picked it up.

Our search for e-Bikes was over. We saved tax on my bike but spent a little more on Linda’s purchase. Pretty much a wash, but we were able to get Linda’s four months sooner and mine 8 months sooner.  They are very cool to ride and we know that we will enjoy them for a long time.  Now we are searching for a bike rack that will hold our equipment. Who would have thought that the pandemic would cause there to be a shortage of bicycles and bike racks? That is what happened and now we are searching, trying to spend more money. LOL