Portland

We had a late night chatting to our host Doug. Bad for him as he had to get up for work st 4.30am. We slept in till 8 then had a leisurely breakfast and chat with Poppy our hostess. We walked the 2 odd km to John's place then packed a few things on the bike and set off for Portland 500 odd km away.
There was a bit of a queue at the border crossing but after paying another $6 each for a bit more paperwork we were allowed into Trumpsville.
It was here that the zip in my jacket decided it had had enough and it froze. We had to take drastic action to get it apart so I could take my jacket off. Never mind I have had over 12 years of fun  (and the occasional not so fun) times in it.
Traffic was horrendous from about 15 miles north of Seattle till 15 miles south of Tacoma. 60 miles took nearly 3 hours. We stopped for a break partway through this nightmare and the lady at the fast food outlet said her normal 7 minute commute to work had taken 45 minutes. I couldn't do that everyday.
We spotted this cool Chevy at a gas station near St Helens. Got talking to the guy and he told us it was the actual vehicle they used to transport the Cartwright boys up to the Ponderosa for filming. How cool is that all you Bonanza fans.

We eventually arrived in Portland about 9pm. Andrew and Jon had just about given up on us. We weren't long out of bed.

Didn't take long next morning for the boys to find their way into Andrew's man cave.

Most of the day spent was shopping. Mainly for a new back tyre for my bike so Jon, Marty and I piled into Andrews car and he took us to the bike shop. All 3 we visited didn't stock the tyre we required but all was not lost as Jon had a brand new one back home in his garage.  I on the other hand was successful in purchasing a new jacket, a roll bag and new sim cards for our phones and a free T shirt for Mr H.

A very pleasant evening around the BBQ. It sure is tough being on holiday.

Sunday afternoon Andrew took us to an Art and music event where we met his sister and a brother in law. Not only is he a very talented and successful artist but he has restored a lovely 1931 Model T Ford. A real beauty with a couple of modern features well disguised under the hood. (can't find the photo)

We went out and got burritos for tea and Marty had the young guy on a bit and he made us two ginormous ones. We shared one between us and even had some left for Jon's dog Ellie. Man they were big.

Monday morning started with a phone call to the T Mobile help then a wee walk to a local store to try and sort Marty's phone. 45 minutes later we had success. Yippee now we can hit the road.  We loaded up the bikes said our goodbyes and off we went. First stop the local gas station where we discover one of my mirrors is flopping in the breeze do it's back to Andrews to tighten it up. Attempt two, and with me in charge of the GPS we attempt to leave Portland. I did it, no dramas. We missed the drama of Seattle by turning off onto the 405 which wasn't all that much fun but a little less (and I mean little) congested than the 5. Stress levels weren't too bad although I did have a mild panic attack when I thought I had got us onto a toll road that we shouldn't have been on. I hadn't. Phew.
Stopped for the night in Arlington. Did a couple of hundred miles (350ish kms) today. More than enough for my first day in the driving seat.