Day 22 – June 27, 2008
We arrived in Belingham, WA. aboard the “Columbia” at 0700 Alaska time (0800 Washington time) this morning to clear skies and 80 degree temperatures, a banner weather day for otherwise cloudy Washington state. We bid our waiter "Robb" farewell and schlepped our luggage back down to the lower car deck where we spent considerable time un-securing our motorcycles from the steel deck. I’m happy to report that our efforts to secure them several days ago paid dividend; they suffered no damage. Our biggest challenge today was where to secure our bulky cold weather gear that we had been wearing for the majority of the trip. Thank Harley-Davidson for their six-hook cargo nets. I believe that one could just about secure anything to a motorcycle with cargo net. One look at Sylvia’s back seat and fender will confirm my suspicions.
We were previously warned that the Bellingham police like to stake out the ferry terminal road with radar guns for those errant drivers who may be somewhat overzealous to return to the highway. So, we enjoyed a leisurely pace to nearby Interstate 5 where we got gas and continued our journey south toward Seattle. WA.
About thirty minutes later we stopped in Mt.Vernon, WA., where we met Sylvia’s brother John, who is in the Navy, and his son Johnny at Steel Dreams, an large Honda Motorcycle, Big Dog, Vespa and Piaggio scooter dealer and restaurant. They even sold lawnmowers and portable generators, go figure. It was a nice spacious store though, and the food was good and generous.
Continuing south on Interstate 5 through Seattle we had clear sailing to Centralia where we met my sister Cherie and two of her daughters, Stephanie and Rebecca, who reside there, for soft drinks and a long overdue conversation. It’s always nice to see family that one has not seen for some time.
Back down Interstate 5 we crossed the Columbia River arriving in Oregon and on to Portland. Once again, we managed to enter a major city at rush hour, 1700 hours (5:00 PM). It took us ninety minutes to travel 20 miles through Portland. What a rude reminder of what commuter traffic is like. There are no rush hours in the State of Alaska, no congested freeways, and no rude drivers that we encountered during our travels.
We pressed on into the evening finally stopping at Cottage Grove, OR. for supper at Stacy’s Covered Bridge Restaurant in the heart of town on Main Street. Our goal was to always try to sample local dining establishments on our trip. Stacy’s was no exception. Our first positive clue was that they had while linen table clothes and a full bar, both good signs. We were not disappointed. Dinner was excellent and the help was friendly and accommodating. We recommend Stacy’s Covered Bridge Restaurant in Cottage Grove. Cottage Grove touts their town as an All-American Town. True to tradition, as we dined the locals were lining up along Main Street for the annual Electric Light Parade. It was like children waiting for Santa Claus at Christmas. It was truly an American small-town event, anxiously awaited by all.
With our two family visits and losing ninety minutes to traffic congestion in Portland, we had to bend one of our pre-ride agreements, no night riding. We rode at night for about thirty minutes to Roseburg, OR., where we “camped out” at the new Motel 6 in town. I don’t recommend riding motorcycles at night in deer and Elk country. We did see a deer adjacent to the road just before sunset. Fortunately, all is well that ends well and we survived the ride without incident.
We rode nearly 450 miles today. Tomorrow we have to contend with the increasing heat and smoke from the reported 800 California wildfires.
We arrived in Belingham, WA. aboard the “Columbia” at 0700 Alaska time (0800 Washington time) this morning to clear skies and 80 degree temperatures, a banner weather day for otherwise cloudy Washington state. We bid our waiter "Robb" farewell and schlepped our luggage back down to the lower car deck where we spent considerable time un-securing our motorcycles from the steel deck. I’m happy to report that our efforts to secure them several days ago paid dividend; they suffered no damage. Our biggest challenge today was where to secure our bulky cold weather gear that we had been wearing for the majority of the trip. Thank Harley-Davidson for their six-hook cargo nets. I believe that one could just about secure anything to a motorcycle with cargo net. One look at Sylvia’s back seat and fender will confirm my suspicions.
We were previously warned that the Bellingham police like to stake out the ferry terminal road with radar guns for those errant drivers who may be somewhat overzealous to return to the highway. So, we enjoyed a leisurely pace to nearby Interstate 5 where we got gas and continued our journey south toward Seattle. WA.
About thirty minutes later we stopped in Mt.Vernon, WA., where we met Sylvia’s brother John, who is in the Navy, and his son Johnny at Steel Dreams, an large Honda Motorcycle, Big Dog, Vespa and Piaggio scooter dealer and restaurant. They even sold lawnmowers and portable generators, go figure. It was a nice spacious store though, and the food was good and generous.
Continuing south on Interstate 5 through Seattle we had clear sailing to Centralia where we met my sister Cherie and two of her daughters, Stephanie and Rebecca, who reside there, for soft drinks and a long overdue conversation. It’s always nice to see family that one has not seen for some time.
Back down Interstate 5 we crossed the Columbia River arriving in Oregon and on to Portland. Once again, we managed to enter a major city at rush hour, 1700 hours (5:00 PM). It took us ninety minutes to travel 20 miles through Portland. What a rude reminder of what commuter traffic is like. There are no rush hours in the State of Alaska, no congested freeways, and no rude drivers that we encountered during our travels.
We pressed on into the evening finally stopping at Cottage Grove, OR. for supper at Stacy’s Covered Bridge Restaurant in the heart of town on Main Street. Our goal was to always try to sample local dining establishments on our trip. Stacy’s was no exception. Our first positive clue was that they had while linen table clothes and a full bar, both good signs. We were not disappointed. Dinner was excellent and the help was friendly and accommodating. We recommend Stacy’s Covered Bridge Restaurant in Cottage Grove. Cottage Grove touts their town as an All-American Town. True to tradition, as we dined the locals were lining up along Main Street for the annual Electric Light Parade. It was like children waiting for Santa Claus at Christmas. It was truly an American small-town event, anxiously awaited by all.
With our two family visits and losing ninety minutes to traffic congestion in Portland, we had to bend one of our pre-ride agreements, no night riding. We rode at night for about thirty minutes to Roseburg, OR., where we “camped out” at the new Motel 6 in town. I don’t recommend riding motorcycles at night in deer and Elk country. We did see a deer adjacent to the road just before sunset. Fortunately, all is well that ends well and we survived the ride without incident.
We rode nearly 450 miles today. Tomorrow we have to contend with the increasing heat and smoke from the reported 800 California wildfires.
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