Prologue, almost

Mark and I spent some very memorable eighteen days together travelling crosscountry on two wheels. Mostly just the two of us, we reached a travel rhythm only interrupted by the people we met, the places we stayed and the things we saw. Visits with family (Morales) and friends (Miyazakis) and strangers along the way gave way to conversation and learning.

San Francisco was a great respite and boy was I happy Martha was there! From there we got to meet and spend time with a bunch of Haydens friends; good folks all. From Oregon to Washington we rode with friends of Scott creating a posse of about 15 people.

A week plus in Seattle got us reaquainted with Marion and Reid and I hope its not another 22 years before we get back to the Northwest.

It will be nice to get home and sleep in my own bed. I'm really looking forward to seeing daughter Marcella who has kept in touch with me by email, SMS and cellphone. Never far away, she sent needed recipes for our visit in Boulder and kept me up-to-date on her activities.

Hard to believe it will have been nearly five weeks since I saw Mom. I think I've only spoken to her three or four times in so long a time. She'll probably have something to say about that!

God bless technology and our staff at the office. Debbie, Erin, Jessica, Nadine and Martha have kept me up to date and taken care of the business for me. A testament to them that I can be gone for so long.

This trip has been a rush to say the least. All because Mark and I decided to go for a little ride.

Maybe we'll turn in the K1200Lt and Bonneville for a couple of GS1200s and see where we can go next?

See you in the Funnies!
Craig

07/21/09-0728/09 Seattle and Vicinity

Well, its the end of a very long vacation, nearly five weeks, and for the past eight days we have been staying with brother Scott, his wife Marion, son Reid and, for a few days, son Hayden and his pals.

On Tuesday, July 21st we got unpacked and largely hung out. Went to downtown Seattle and Pike's Place Public Market. Had a great lunch and did some shopping. Generally a take-it-easy day. It had been 20 years since we have been to Seattle and it all has changed. Scott and Marion's house is Northwest meets Brady Bunch. A big makeover the last year or so has it charming and really comfortable. Huge deck in the back for dining overlooking a fern-lined creek. Marky and Hayden joined a couple of pals and went out on Lake Washington wakeboarding.

Wednesday, July 22nd had us taking off on Scott's 34-foot sailboat across Puget Sound to Blake Island, a state park where you can rent a slip for the day or overnight, grab a mooring, enjoy a traditional indian salmon bake, and so on. I hadn't been sailing since Scott, brother Mark, Scott's pal Trey and I sailed in the BVIs for Scott's 50th birthday. Its not too hard when you have a very capable skipper. The sailing out here is pretty terrific, but you have to watch out for a lot of good-sized timber (driftwood) and the ferries, tankers, cargo and cruise ships. Lots of older Chris Crafts, many Trawlers and Tugs,

Mark spend the day with cousin Hayden and the kids, getting a new skateboard deck in Seattle and checking out the Market.

Thursday, July 23rd we left about 830 AM for Mt. Rainier and the Paradise Inn. Marion, Martha and Mark went in Marion's replacement car, her GLI being semi-permanently in the shop and ready for invocation of the Lemon Law. Pals Stephen, Astro and Emi went up in Stephen's M3 while Emi's roommate Ari, who we had supper with on the 16th, was my passenger on the BMW. Hayden was on his Honda and Scott on the GS1150.

It took us a long time to get to Mt. Rainier, our initial route including a washed out route and adding a few hours to the trip. The ride to Mt. Rainier had us paralleling Lake Washington out of Seattle and heading to the foothills once a little south. We stopped at the obligatory Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts not having any presence here in the Northwest. I miss my chocolate crullers. What the hell is a double-shot, extra skim late grande anyway?

Once away from the maddening crowd we were on sweepers and twisties again. Part of the road had some pretty bad tarmac require some sudden braking due to too much gravel.

We finally made it to the Paradise Inn which was initially constructed in 1917 and expanded in the 1920s. Its an old-style lodge with no phones, television, wifi or cell service. It is at the foot of Mt. Rainier and many folks use it as a base to take the three-day roundtrip climb.

we went for a hike down to a wonderful waterfall, up to a lake and then back. There were some serious elevation changes and we got very close to one of the deer inhabitants. When I get home its back to Body Strong. These last several weeks have me further out of shape.

Martha, Mark and I stayed in cramped but comfortable quarters after a fabulous dinner that Scott and I agreed to split, but we were preempted by Astro, Stephen, Ari and Emi. Should have had that second after-dinner drink!

Friday, July 24th

After a sound sleep we all had breakfast together with much of the same staff serving us who had served us last night. Not exactly indentured servitude, but these kids obviously work hard. It is a beautiful place to work and I can only hope they get paid adequately.

We hiked up a VERY steep trail in the morning for some great views. The walk down wasn't so easy either!

Back at the parking lot we headed toward Seattle and, after a brief lunch at Brunos (named after a 150-lb dog), we were home about 5PM.

Emi, Hayden, Ari, Stephen and Astro hosted us to a cookout at Emi's family waterfront home on the other side of Lake Washington. Emi's mom was there and a lot of Emi and Hayden's pals. Supper was magnificently prepared by Stephen, capably assisted by sous chef Astro. We ran out of Tequila real quickly so I ponied up the dough for another 1/2 of Cuervo and some much-needed ice. Much better! Chicken, beef, rice, veggies and salad. The older folks left the kids to have some fun; Mark stayed behind to supervise!

Saturday, July 25th

Martha and Marion went over to the arts and crafts fair in Bellingham. Its a pretty big deal drawing lots of local and national craftspeople and artisans.

Scott and I ran some errands and managed to take in the swap meet at Ride West BMV. Lots of nice older and newer bikes for sale, including to Moto Guzzis and a Triumph Thruxton. Afterward Scott, Hayden, Emi, Ari, Stephen, Astro, Mark and I went for a day's sail aboard Scott's boat Jammer. Hayden and crew had mercifully picked up sandwiches along the way abd the boat was stocked with sodas, beer and some Mt. Gay. Astro and Stephen got to play Captain and we had a very nice day of it. On the return leg we were in irons so used the iron genny to get us home, during which everyone under 24 years old (thats all but Scott and Me) took a nap. They just can't keep us with us older guys.

Sunday, July 26th

Scott and I were up pretty early, but it took us all of the morning to clean the bikes. Six of them including Reid's. Today was the first day of really hot weather, in to the 90s. Seattle has been suffering from a two-month drout and now the heat is kicking in. We attacked each bike one at a time and, I must say, thy came out looking a lot better than that which we started with. Hayden, Stephen and Astro drove back to San Francisco getting home pretty late while Emi and Ari checked out the fair in Bellingham before flying home.

Monday, July 27th

Scott had to work today so Martha, Marky, Marion and I headed in to Seattle to check out the EMP (Experimental Music Project) located at Seattle Center. It is a Rock'nRoll based "museum". There is a really neat area dedicated to Seattle native Jimmy Hendrix who, as it turns out, was part of the 101st Airborn! In addition to that and the history of the guitar, M.Jackson's black sequined jacked and the GLOVE were on display from the MTV Music Awards program in which he first showed the moonwalk. Pretty topical.

Later, we took the monorail (from the Seattle Worlds Fair sometime in the 1960s) downtown and had lunch at the famous Athenian restaurant.

After too late a lunch and too little exercise we returned home for a quick shower an out again to Ray's for supper. Ray's is located where the canal from Lake Union dumps in to Puget Sound after going through a series of locks. In a banquet seating we had a great view of Puget Sound ande eachother. Dinner was first rate. I had the sampler of Alaskan King Salmon, Sablefish and Halibut. The Sablefish was the best and reminded me a lot of Haddock. After a very satiating dinner we went for a walk on one of the public docks with lots and lots of beautiful boats on the slips.

Tuesday, July 28. The end is near!

Scott and I left the house at predawn for a several hour ride. We drove north along Lake Washington to its northernmost point, picking up route 522 and heading east through rural farmland (dairy) and cherry orchards. In Monroe we headed south on Route 203 through the towns of Duvall and Carnation. Duvall is a very pretty farming commuunity now being gentrified as more and more folks are moving further out from Seattle. Carnation, still a small town, is reportedly where the "Carnation" brand foods got its name from. Skirting the Snoqualmie River, much of this area flooded a few years ago causing lots of damages to homes.

We stopped at the Snoqualmie Falls where there is a very nicely maintained state park and a lodge. There was an old hydroelectric plant at the falls, but it was a ways away to render inspection. Just down the road we turned west and in to the city of Snoqualmie. This is a planned community in the foothills of the cascade mountains which will ultimately house about 14,000 people. This was originally Weyerhauser timberland but the closing of the mill and being just about 30 miles east of Seattle made it ideal for residential development. Continuing east we picked up Rotue 90 and ultimately back home so Scott could catch a 830 conference call.

Today was packing day. Scott and I siphoned the gas out of the bikes and they were picked up about 2:30. Afterwards, we launched Scotts motorboat (he has all the toys) in Lake Union and took in the local waterfront including all the housboats!. Martha, Marion and I enjoyed the coolness of being on the water, it being 95 degrees at home! We headed up to Lake Washington, past Bill Gates' home and watched some sailbot racing back again on Lake Union in downtown Seattle. What a wonderful, water-oriented city.

Monday, July 20th. Lincoln City, OR to Seattle, WA

After eleven hours on the road we arrived at Scott and Marion's home in Seattle. Iwas dog tired, hot and of poor disposition and everyone knew it! Nothing that wasn't solved by a cold adult beverage and good company.

We left Lincoln City sufficiently close to 7AM to be considered prompt. We decided that we wouldn't chance another two-hour delay by breadfasting at that little out-of-the-way place that looks kinda "down home" from the road. That worked well when it was just Craig and Mark but now that there were fifteen of us....

It was just shy of 50 degrees when we left so I was happy to be wearing the rainsuit. As with yesterday's ride, we were on and off the coast, up and down, right and left. This section reminded me very much of upstate New York and areas of New Hampshire and Vermont. Quite a few small dairy farms; the terrain and vegetation looked and felt very familiar. We breakfasted at a brand new Denny's in Tillamook, OR.

As it was brand new, we were worried that we'd have the same problem as yesterday. When we were getting off the bikes and out of our rainsuits you could see the staff looking out with that "Oh &^%$" expression. Breakfast was good with timely services. Making it better was the birthday cake Martha and Joe had walked down the street to get for Hayden, it being his 24th birthday. Unfortunately, we didn't get icecream with the cake. Our waitress, Chrystal (with the "h") noted she'd be celebrating her 21st birthday this Thursday having some family take care of the kids, her oldest being five years old. Wow!

Tillamook is home to the Tillamook Air Museum. Tillamook was a Naval Air Station (there remains one nearby) for blimps, monitoring the skies of the Pacific Coast, just like our little bit of blimp history in Chatham.

From Tillamook it was back along the coast practically all the way to Astoria and across the Columbia River to Washington State. Along the way we took a break in Cannon Beach, an upscale vacation town with lots of shopping, dining and miles of beach; a great place to have parked the bikes for the day and taken an extra overnight.

We crossed in to Washington after gassing up in Astoria. The bridge was huge; first part was very high to allow large ships under and the second part was seemingly just above the river.

The first thing you notice about Washington is the large amount of land that is being timbered by either Weyerhauser of others. Large swaths of land are cut down, timber removed, then replanted. It creates a checkerboard effect with each section having a particular age and growth. One area had been hit by hurricane force winds (120mph) which knocked down all the trees, they all falling in the same direction. Quite a sight.

Somewhere around Elma or MMcCleary our group split. The Vokey clan with Stephen and Astro in the M3 headed up route 101 to connect with 106 near Union which runs along the Hood Canal. 106 was in the process of being re-paved using the old oil and gravel technique. Mark gave me cause for pause as he slalomed around the center-line markings. In Port Orchard we picked up highway 3 among commuting traffic. We stayed on 3 up to Poulsbo and then took the 13-mile ride down route 305 to catch the Seattle ferry from Bainbridge Island.

Everyone was tired and I, particularly, was in a foul mood. Enough traffic, heat, missteps and antics to put me on edge. Rules to live by: there is a left side and a right side of the handlebars, they are meant to be held on to at practically all times. Road motorcycles are meant to be sat on, not stood on. If you need to stand frequently, its time to get off the road and take a rest. Crash bars are to protect the engine, not a great place to hang your legs when the pipes are hot. There is a two-second rule for a reason. Probably to prevent one accident from becoming many. Without sufficient space, everyone is in danger.

The ferry ride provided a much-needed break and a wonderful view of Seattle. Bikes get on and off first which was very convenient; I need to pay Scott for the fares. We got off in downtown Seattle, and Reid came along in a few minutes to ride with us (some of the way) back to Scott's.

We reached our destination about 630PM. It being Hayden's birthday, a number of his pals stopped over including his oldest friend, Joel, who is a deepsea diver down in the Gulf.

Joel had helped Marion all afternoon get the appetizers and meals prepared.

Emmie and her mom were also here to greet us.

A long day, the Myers on the rocks hit the spot.

George, Jane and Elroy.

Sunday, July 19th Brookings to Lincoln City, OR

We were looking to get an early start at about 7AM. As everyone except Charlie and David had gassed up the night before, it looked like we could have done it. But what can you say about people from the OC and Nevada. Seriously we were on the road about 715 or 730. That would be shortest delay of the day.

Route 101 principally follows the Oregon coastline. If Saturday was about Fog, this day was about WIND!!!!

Gusts had to be up to 50MPH - no exageration. We all worked real hard, particularly entering the bluffside twisties at speed and having the wind force you either further in to the lean, or away from it. Lots of clenching!

Somewhere around Gold Beach we stopped at a nice looking little restaurant about 815. We werent served until after 10AM. Unbelievable. The food was good, but not worth the wait. Ed, very generously, picked up the tab. I think he wanted to make sure our waitress didn't get stiffed on the tip. Wasn't her fault.

The delay in the breakfast just compounded the wind issue as it had a chance to work itself up for an extra hour or so. Temps remained in the 50s throughout the day, although it looked like it should have been warmer. We'd see people in shorts and tshirts down on the beach, but they must be visiting from Alaska!

The wind out of the north and west continued to pummel us throughout the day making the ride not nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. The coastline, is dramatic with huge boulders and the surf was UP!

We had lunch and roadstop in Florence which is where the Siuslaw river flows in to the Pacific. A little commercial fishing, the waterfront sported a newer marina which was almost entirely devoid of watercraft. It blew, and blew and blew. The girl at the coffeeshop explained it was either sunny and windy or cloudy and rainy. I think I would have preferred the rain at this point. The 45-minute break was enjoyed and they had a little craft fair/ farmer's market thing going on. One guy was selling handmade violins for $100 each!

A 100 miles later we arrived battered and tired at the Nordic Oceanfront Inn in Lincoln City, Or.

The view from the rooms was terrific and there was a wide beach down the bluff about 50 feet. The adults suppered about six blocks away at Maxwells while the younger set enjoyed beers and pizza. Not having had any adult products pass his lips, Stephen had Mark drive the M3 home from their supper!

Hayden discovered the alarm system on my BMW, having tried to move it during the evening as a prank.

There was some discussion as to whether or not we would head inland if the wind prevailed the next morning.

Tucked in pretty early with a sore back from fighting the wind all day long.

Oregon got the better of me, but there weren't any incidents so it was a good day.

Keep on rockin'

Barney, Betty and Bamm-Bamm

Saturday, July 18th. Ft. Bragg, CA to Brookings, CO

Sorry for the delay in posting. The last few days have been busy and I haven't been able to get the downtime in the afternoon to work on the post. Enough excuses.

Hayden rode out from San Francisco on his Honda CBR 954RR; a sportbike with lots of umph! Astro and Stephen drove out in Stephen's 2009 M3; another quick ride with four doors and trunk space. Our new chase car allowed us to travel a little lighter on the bikes. We suppered on wings and nachos, tequila, beer and wine. Then we second-suppered about 10PM on burgers and grilled cheese with fries.

We were up and out of the Quality Inn around 730AM. Not a bad start. Ft. Bragg was fogbound and that would be the nature of our ride for the entire day! Temperatures remained in the mid-50s all day so it was chilly, as well.

Hayden took the lead, followed closely by Mark and Ian. After they hit the second 25mph posted hairpin at about 50mph Martha and I decided we couldn't watch and wouldn't want to keep up. So, we held back and proceded at a more leisurely, mature pace. Nervously I scanned the roadside and canyons for debris left from any of the three bikes. All three youngsters must have been in good synch and of good charma. No debris!

Route 1 followed the coast along the bluffs and beaches. Once merging with Hwy 101 in Leggett we were a bit more inland until Eureka. Beautiful wooded mountains with towering, straight redwoods. We were again out on the coast by Eureka and starving for lunch.

In Eureka we caught up with the boys and checked on the GPS and figured there would be a good place in Westhaven where we agreed to eat. Well, the turnoff to Westhaven was small and, at their pace, they missed it. Martha and I found it but there was nothing there. The road was about 20 feet wide and went through some really rural areas. Martha and I rolled in to the lovely ( I mean it) town of Trinidad which has a fabulous bay, a few B&Bs, fishing business, and a couple of restaurants. Martha and I continued back on 101 and caught up with the boys in Orick where Ian found La Hacienda on his Iphone. This family-owned restaurant had the best salsa fresca I have ever had, outside of my own kitchen. The guacamole was as good! The boys chowed down on Burritos and Chimichanges, except Mark with his Cheeseburger and Fries. My fish taco with refrieds and rice was excellent, but a bit wet. Martha had a taco, as well.

Once again on 101, more in need of a siesta than more miles, we were on and off the coast; lots more elevation changes, cliffs, bluffs and twisties along the shore. Where we were inland it was more mountains and redwoods. Hard to describe how beautiful it all is, but a little challenging two-up.

We were able to connect in Crescent City with brother Scott and his posse who were coming down Route 199 from Bend, Oregon. They had covered almost 700 miles in two days. Accompanying Scott were a number of Weyerhauser folks: Joe and Ed had flown in to Seattle from Houston; Charlie had flown in from Nevada; David had flown in from the OC; Bill and Mark were from Seattle. Representing Scott's former employer, Noble House, was Jazz who is now in Seattle but grew up in New Orleans. She had a little trouble with Blues, her Harley, on the way down from Bend; it was electrically challenged and would randomly shut down. Hayden, the McGuyver of the group, was able to diagnose the problem as being with one of the fuses and, with a little aluminum foil, made a quick fix. So, we now had twelve bikes and the M3.

We made quite an impression as we rode in to Brookings, Or to spend our first night at the Brookings, Inn. This was a nice, clean property owned by one of Scott's former law partners and I'd recommend it for its on-site family restaurant which served a complimentary breakfast, as well. We ended up having supper across the street at Ponchos. The food was good and the company was great fun.

Mark, Ian, Stephen and Astro packed in to the party room for the night and, surprisingly, would be up and adam for the 7AM rollcall.

More to follow...

Jim, Margaret and Bud (Anderson). Missing our "Kitten" at home.

Friday, July 17th; San Francisco to Ft. Bragg, CA

The morning came early, but we were on the road by 7:30. Taking our cues from the cab ride to the restaurant last night, and the ride home from Hayden, we negotiated our way towards the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way we stopped to gas; first at a Chevron then an adjacent Shell. These damned California emissions pumps made it difficult to fill up the Honda Shadow Ian is on and Mark't Triumph. Fortunately a local showed us how to hold the collar back and get gas into the tank!

The Golden Gate Bridge, like nearly all the shoreline we would travel today, was shrouded in fog. Sometimes so thick you couldn't see the third or fourth car in front of you. We exited on to California 1 just outside of Sausolito. The roads were really twisty, some cases calling for a 15mph speed sign. These aren't just advisory, they are recommended.

Up and down, left and right, in and out of the fog, we worked our way to breakfast in Point Reyes. Ian and Mark had a terrific egg, ham and cheese sandwich with house-made buns. It had warmed up (falsely) to 72 degrees so it looked like the fog would burn off and we'd have a sunny ride. Wrong!

Temps hovered in the mid-50s as we skirted the shoreline on Route 1. Our travels took us through Eucalyptus groves, cattle ranches, horse ranches, surfing communities and past some pretty fine looking resorts.

Cold and about 60 miles short of Ft. Bragg, we stopped at the Sea Ranch resort. We all needed a break negotiating hairpins and tight twisties. The coffeee and hot chocolate was welcome. Three coffees and the hot chocolate (made from the espresso machine's milk steamer and real chocolate syrup) cost all of $10.56!

About 50 miles later we stopped in Little River for a sandwich and break. The gas station/deli/grocery was okay, but the adjacent Petite Rive Restaurant looked really good. Unfortunately they are only open for dinner and we're not backtracking.

With radar up, I was looking for our evening destination, the Pine Beach Inn. On our left we passed this forlorn looking place which didn't appear to have its restaurant open, so we continued in to Ft. Bragg proper and got some rooms at the Quality Inn and Suites. Its a 1970s era property, but clean and it has a restaurant (serving 'til 10, bar closes at 11) on premises.

We were also able to cancel our reservations at the Pine Beach Inn without penalty.

Well, its a little after 6:30 and we are waiting for Hayden, Astro, and another of Hayden's pals who is accompanying Astro in the Chase Vehicle.

Maybe later tonight or tomorrow a blog from the mystery writer.

Adios from Foggy Bottom!

Henry, Alice and Dennis (the Mitchells)

San Francisco, July 16, 2009

A morning of relative rest, Martha did some laundry while we let Mark sleep in. We ended up getting a second room so nephew-in-law Ian Cox was to bunk with Mark. Ian arrived at the Courtyard by about noon and we went out and around the Fishermen's Wharf area.

Down at Pier 39 we had lunch at the Wipeout Cafe. Really good fish tacos, tequila and Anchor Steam Ale.

After some window shopping we worked our way back up the Fishermen's Wharf area and took an hour boat tour of the harbor area, under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. It was a little choppy; we had started on the bow area and moved aft to get out of the wind and the spray.

Stopping at Lou's, we had some wings and cocktails alfresco on the sidewalk and watched the street scene. There are a couple of guys who have makeshift bushes and, as an unsuspecting pedestrian walks up the sidewalk, they kind of jump out at them. Its pretty fun to watch folks' reactions; some aren't very happy but the observers tend to tip the pranksters.

There are all sorts of street performers including one guy who just walks around in a mirror-like tinman outfit.

The late afternoon and several drinks called for a nap before joining nephew Hayden, his girlfriend Emmie, her two roommates and another friend of Hayden who is joining us in his chase vehicle in Ft. Bragg.

The nine of us had a terrific dinner at Absinthe, then walked back to Emmie's apartment; very nice quasi victorian with high ceilings and nicely maintained. Hayden and friend Astro gave us a ride back to the hotel where we gave them most of our gear, keeping that which we needed for the ride to Ft. Bragg. It was a late evening, but a great time.

A guest blog for the 17th.

Ward, June and the Beaver