Where are Barb and Randall?

We are currently living in Redmond, WA which is about 2,400 miles from where we lived previously in Rochester Hills, MI.  Why on earth did we move?  Because we wanted to.  We are both originally from Kansas and our careers took us to Ohio and Michigan.  Leaving Michigan wasn't easy.  Our careers prospered there and we had a wonderful time exploring the state.  We reached a point in our lives where we were ready to "do what we want to do."  No, we didn't retire, but we did go on a little bike trip.  After the trip, we moved to our chosen city of Seattle.  Our reasons for selecting the Seattle area were abundant:

1. A new region to satisfy the hobbies/goals we have    We enjoy going to state fairs, having attended 39 state fairs to date.  We also enjoy biking (surprise!) and plan to bike 100 or more miles in all 50 states.  To date, we have 13 more states left.  By moving out west, we are closer to the states we need to add.
2. A different kind of climate    In Michigan, we biked 12 months a year.  In Seattle, we will bike 12 months a year more comfortably.  What about the increased frequency of rain?  That's what bicycle fenders are for!
3. The wonderful scenery    The Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges provide fabulous views and Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish are also gorgeous.
4. The terrain is more rugged   There are lots of hills around Seattle and we get a great workout biking over them.  Who says that tandem bicycles can't climb up a hill?!

On our first visit to Seattle, we attended the 1995 Final Four basketball tournament (our 3rd Final Four out of 11).  We have been hooked on the city ever since (we were crushed when they imploded the Kingdome in March, 2000).

How did we get from Key West, FL to Redmond, WA?

We finished our bike tour in Key West on October 31st.  On November 3rd, we picked up a rental car at the Key West airport and then packed our disassembled tandem and gear inside.  We drove the car all the way to Michigan.  In Michigan, we had no home (sold in April, 2004) but we still had our two cars that were stored in a barn.  Retrieving our cars, we moved in with Barb's friend, Marian in Clarkston, MI.  While wrapping up things in Michigan, we stayed with our wonderful host until December 21st.  Having said goodbye to those friends in Michigan and Ohio, we drove both cars to our home state of Kansas. 

After spending time with family, we left Kansas on January 4th.  Again, we drove both cars, heading west on Interstate 80 until we reached Nevada.  In Nevada, we took the back roads into southern Oregon and then onto Seattle via Interstate 5.  Arriving in Washington state on January 7th, we have been here ever since.  To get our feet on the ground, we settled in an efficiency motel in Mount Lake Terrace, WA for one month.  On February 4th, we signed a 6 month lease for a 2 bedroom townhouse in Redmond.  On February 7th, our moving company delivered our furniture and stuff that was in storage back in Michigan.

So what are we doing now?

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