May 22nd and Marty’s birthday. We had a cooked brekky to celebrate then we headed off to find an RV Centre where we could get the hot water and fridge looked at. The hot water was an easy (and cheap) fix as a spider had got into the works and just needed evicting. The fridge was not so cheap and easy and we are still not 100% sure it has been fixed but at least the guy did some repairs that were obvious and then said we would need to run it for a day or so and see if we still had the problem of everything freezing - then we would need a new thermostat. We had to part with $180 to get to this point.
We then took the scenic drive to Portland up the 20, arriving about 5pm but luckily the traffic seemed to be leaving the city not entering. We parked up at John and Lucia Bouffleur. We had met John in NZ but had not met his lovely wife before. We had a BBQ that night and as most people who know me know, I like my steak very dead. Well John is the best BBQer of dead steak (sorry Tim, you’ve been surpassed) I have ever met. My steak was perfectly dealt to. We got to meet a couple of the neighbours who are both bike mad. Andrew, who lived opposite, has a nice unrestored BSA B33 amongst his collection that he has had for a few years but never had going. Marty gave it a wee look over, discovered there was good compression and was itching to tinker but as it was late he had to be restrained and taken back to Jon and Lucia’s.
We planned to leave the camper there and ride up to Vashon then ride the Olympic Peninsula. It just so happens that Jon had recently bought a Kawasaki for any overseas visitors he may have and kindly offered it to me so that I could ride instead of being pillion. I took a trip to the loo to think about this and whilst I was there the decision was made for me. As they took the bike of the stand the left hand handlebar came off. Despite attempts to repair it, it wasn’
t a happening thing so pillion I was. Jon promised to have it repaired by the time we got back so we could all go riding together or we could use it to explore the area on our return.
Jon told us that we must detour of the 5 and go to Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument. A 40km detour but well worth it. The guy who designed that road must have been a motorcyclist. The road, built after the eruption is just made for riding. Big sweeping bends all perfectly banked. It was awesome and I guess seeing Mt. St. Helens was as well. Even after 25yrs the devastation caused by the eruption is still quite apparent.
Once back down to the 5 we had to decide whether to continue on to Vashon or go back up that magic road. As we were expected in Vashon we decided we’d better continue on. Travelling on the Inter States it’s very easy to clock up the miles in a very short time. We made it to the ferry and crossed to the Island from Tacoma, a 15min trip. We were met by Tom and Katie Pluzinski, whom we’d also met in NZ and visited on the Island previously. Vashon Island is a beautiful and well worth a visit if anyone ever comes up to Seattle. We had a lovely evening with them eventually getting to bed about 2 am. It would have been nice to have been able to stay longer but next morning we were on our way again. Tom and Katie escorted us to the ferry. We caught the one that would take us to Port Orchard which was on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
We traveled up the 3 and the first stop was a naval dockyard that had several aircraft carriers tied up. Boy were they huge. Next was Port Townsend, where Án Officer and a Gentleman’ was filmed The town itself has some beautiful old buildings and lots of history. Further down the track Marty turned off at an exit for the John Wayne Marina. This will be interesting I thought as there will be lots of expensive boats in here, but alas I will never know as he just did a loop and straight back onto the 3. He explained later that he only took the exit because he was trying to find a little town that he had been told had an amazing crab restaurant. So we were equal, I never saw the Marina and he never found the crab restaurant. We did however find an Indian Restaurant in Port Angeles so we stopped there for lunch.
Tummies full we headed up to Hurricane Ridge where we had spectacular views right across to Vancouver Island. There were lots of wild deer roaming around here so we sat for a while, surrounded by the deer, snow and a magnificent view.
We spent the night in a town called Forks. My first view of the place was a homeless man sitting in a bus shelter peeing. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to stay here but it was late and we had to stay somewhere. After a hearty breakfast at a diner recommended by the motel cleaner we set off for the Hoh Rainforest.
While talking to the ranger there we learnt that NZ is one of only three countries who have a temperate rainforest. Chile and the US being the other two. We did a walk thru the “Hanging Moss Forest”, recommended by the ranger. Despite this being a rain forest it seemed very dry to us and had no bushy smell at all. The thing that interested me most was the nursery trees. These dead trees provide the garden for the new trees to grow in – and consequently we have lots of photos of these.
We had to detour off the main track to get gas and discovered that we were only a mile from the world’s tallest Spruce so we thought we might as well go and see that. It was here that Marty thought he was back in NZ and drove on the left. I never noticed but we both did when a car suddenly appeared heading straight for us. The dangers of being the only one on the road at when pulling out!!
Our next bit of excitement came just past the Indian Casino at Shoalwater. Neither of us saw the highway patrolman with his radar there, nor did we notice that he pulled out after us, or that he had called up 2 of his buddies to help stop us when we failed to respond to his siren, which neither of us heard as we were too busy enjoying the scenery. When (about 5 miles later) we did notice our escort and pulled over he was none to happy with u
s and approached us with hand on gun yelling, “Show me your hands”, which we of course could not hear with helmets on. All got as bit testy there for a while. He called off the State Troopers coming from the other direction, which was a relief to know, and once he had checked out all our paperwork and given us a ticket for speeding he seemed quite happy. He let us off the charge of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. We told him we hadn’t seen an ambulance or fire truck and he informed us that he was the emergency vehicle because he had his lights flashing. So I guess we were quite lucky to get away with a $100 instant fine for doing 50mph in a 35mph zone and not to appear on your screens in an episode of America’s most dangerous car chases!!
We arrived back at Jon’s about 8.30pm without further incident having traveled 380 miles that day. The round trip was just over 800 miles.
We weren’t tired of being on the bike so the next day after a visit to the Farmers Market and the Rose Gardens in Portland. Jon and Lucia took us riding on some wonderful roads around Portland (including visiting a National Motorcycle Legend (self proclaimed) Cliff Majeur, the 'Sandy Bandit') and thru the Columbia River Gorge.. We went over a bridge called “The Bridge of the Gods”. Just like any other bridge until you look down and realize you can see the world below you. We went on the old highway, now a scenic drive and saw a couple of spectacular waterfalls and some amazing views of the Columbia River. Another great day out.
Next day Jon and Lucia had to go to Washington to collect the new member of their family, a little Bernese Mountain dog. We packed the snitzel sandwiches Lucia had made for us and after tightening the hand grip on the Kawasaki we set off for the Oregon gardens near Salem. I rode our BM and Marty took the Kawasaki. The gardens were really nice and we spent a couple of hours there before heading off to the Silverton Falls. We walked to two of the falls but didn’t have time to do the loop. This would be a great day out for the Sewing Circle. (How about it girls ?) We got back about 6pm to find the proud parents totally besotted with their new addition. 
She is gorgeous and I did threaten to kidnap her when we left the next day. This didn’t actually happen as by the time we got ourselves organized the next day Marty remembered that he wanted to do oil and filter on the bike and by the time he was finished it was too late to go. A ploy I think on Marty’s part as he knew that BSA was still across the road just waiting to be bought back to life. So while Lucia and I played with the puppy and a board game, which name escapes me (probably because I did the honorable thing and let Lucia thrash me) Marty and Jon disappeared over the road. An hour or so later I heard the unmistakable sound of an old British bike roaring up and down the road. Mission accomplished and boy was Andrew a happy chappy.
Jon proved the cooking of my steak the first night was no fluke when he cooked us all buffalo burger steaks for tea. They were yummy.
We then took the scenic drive to Portland up the 20, arriving about 5pm but luckily the traffic seemed to be leaving the city not entering. We parked up at John and Lucia Bouffleur. We had met John in NZ but had not met his lovely wife before. We had a BBQ that night and as most people who know me know, I like my steak very dead. Well John is the best BBQer of dead steak (sorry Tim, you’ve been surpassed) I have ever met. My steak was perfectly dealt to. We got to meet a couple of the neighbours who are both bike mad. Andrew, who lived opposite, has a nice unrestored BSA B33 amongst his collection that he has had for a few years but never had going. Marty gave it a wee look over, discovered there was good compression and was itching to tinker but as it was late he had to be restrained and taken back to Jon and Lucia’s.
We planned to leave the camper there and ride up to Vashon then ride the Olympic Peninsula. It just so happens that Jon had recently bought a Kawasaki for any overseas visitors he may have and kindly offered it to me so that I could ride instead of being pillion. I took a trip to the loo to think about this and whilst I was there the decision was made for me. As they took the bike of the stand the left hand handlebar came off. Despite attempts to repair it, it wasn’
t a happening thing so pillion I was. Jon promised to have it repaired by the time we got back so we could all go riding together or we could use it to explore the area on our return.Jon told us that we must detour of the 5 and go to Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument. A 40km detour but well worth it. The guy who designed that road must have been a motorcyclist. The road, built after the eruption is just made for riding. Big sweeping bends all perfectly banked. It was awesome and I guess seeing Mt. St. Helens was as well. Even after 25yrs the devastation caused by the eruption is still quite apparent.
Once back down to the 5 we had to decide whether to continue on to Vashon or go back up that magic road. As we were expected in Vashon we decided we’d better continue on. Travelling on the Inter States it’s very easy to clock up the miles in a very short time. We made it to the ferry and crossed to the Island from Tacoma, a 15min trip. We were met by Tom and Katie Pluzinski, whom we’d also met in NZ and visited on the Island previously. Vashon Island is a beautiful and well worth a visit if anyone ever comes up to Seattle. We had a lovely evening with them eventually getting to bed about 2 am. It would have been nice to have been able to stay longer but next morning we were on our way again. Tom and Katie escorted us to the ferry. We caught the one that would take us to Port Orchard which was on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
We traveled up the 3 and the first stop was a naval dockyard that had several aircraft carriers tied up. Boy were they huge. Next was Port Townsend, where Án Officer and a Gentleman’ was filmed The town itself has some beautiful old buildings and lots of history. Further down the track Marty turned off at an exit for the John Wayne Marina. This will be interesting I thought as there will be lots of expensive boats in here, but alas I will never know as he just did a loop and straight back onto the 3. He explained later that he only took the exit because he was trying to find a little town that he had been told had an amazing crab restaurant. So we were equal, I never saw the Marina and he never found the crab restaurant. We did however find an Indian Restaurant in Port Angeles so we stopped there for lunch.
Tummies full we headed up to Hurricane Ridge where we had spectacular views right across to Vancouver Island. There were lots of wild deer roaming around here so we sat for a while, surrounded by the deer, snow and a magnificent view.
We spent the night in a town called Forks. My first view of the place was a homeless man sitting in a bus shelter peeing. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to stay here but it was late and we had to stay somewhere. After a hearty breakfast at a diner recommended by the motel cleaner we set off for the Hoh Rainforest.
While talking to the ranger there we learnt that NZ is one of only three countries who have a temperate rainforest. Chile and the US being the other two. We did a walk thru the “Hanging Moss Forest”, recommended by the ranger. Despite this being a rain forest it seemed very dry to us and had no bushy smell at all. The thing that interested me most was the nursery trees. These dead trees provide the garden for the new trees to grow in – and consequently we have lots of photos of these.We had to detour off the main track to get gas and discovered that we were only a mile from the world’s tallest Spruce so we thought we might as well go and see that. It was here that Marty thought he was back in NZ and drove on the left. I never noticed but we both did when a car suddenly appeared heading straight for us. The dangers of being the only one on the road at when pulling out!!
Our next bit of excitement came just past the Indian Casino at Shoalwater. Neither of us saw the highway patrolman with his radar there, nor did we notice that he pulled out after us, or that he had called up 2 of his buddies to help stop us when we failed to respond to his siren, which neither of us heard as we were too busy enjoying the scenery. When (about 5 miles later) we did notice our escort and pulled over he was none to happy with u
s and approached us with hand on gun yelling, “Show me your hands”, which we of course could not hear with helmets on. All got as bit testy there for a while. He called off the State Troopers coming from the other direction, which was a relief to know, and once he had checked out all our paperwork and given us a ticket for speeding he seemed quite happy. He let us off the charge of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. We told him we hadn’t seen an ambulance or fire truck and he informed us that he was the emergency vehicle because he had his lights flashing. So I guess we were quite lucky to get away with a $100 instant fine for doing 50mph in a 35mph zone and not to appear on your screens in an episode of America’s most dangerous car chases!!We arrived back at Jon’s about 8.30pm without further incident having traveled 380 miles that day. The round trip was just over 800 miles.
We weren’t tired of being on the bike so the next day after a visit to the Farmers Market and the Rose Gardens in Portland. Jon and Lucia took us riding on some wonderful roads around Portland (including visiting a National Motorcycle Legend (self proclaimed) Cliff Majeur, the 'Sandy Bandit') and thru the Columbia River Gorge.. We went over a bridge called “The Bridge of the Gods”. Just like any other bridge until you look down and realize you can see the world below you. We went on the old highway, now a scenic drive and saw a couple of spectacular waterfalls and some amazing views of the Columbia River. Another great day out.
Next day Jon and Lucia had to go to Washington to collect the new member of their family, a little Bernese Mountain dog. We packed the snitzel sandwiches Lucia had made for us and after tightening the hand grip on the Kawasaki we set off for the Oregon gardens near Salem. I rode our BM and Marty took the Kawasaki. The gardens were really nice and we spent a couple of hours there before heading off to the Silverton Falls. We walked to two of the falls but didn’t have time to do the loop. This would be a great day out for the Sewing Circle. (How about it girls ?) We got back about 6pm to find the proud parents totally besotted with their new addition. 
She is gorgeous and I did threaten to kidnap her when we left the next day. This didn’t actually happen as by the time we got ourselves organized the next day Marty remembered that he wanted to do oil and filter on the bike and by the time he was finished it was too late to go. A ploy I think on Marty’s part as he knew that BSA was still across the road just waiting to be bought back to life. So while Lucia and I played with the puppy and a board game, which name escapes me (probably because I did the honorable thing and let Lucia thrash me) Marty and Jon disappeared over the road. An hour or so later I heard the unmistakable sound of an old British bike roaring up and down the road. Mission accomplished and boy was Andrew a happy chappy.Jon proved the cooking of my steak the first night was no fluke when he cooked us all buffalo burger steaks for tea. They were yummy.
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