Brookings Oregon

Had a great night listening to the Ocean in Brookings.......will not get tired of that.

We traveled with Bob, Gerry, and Rita to Eureka.....or should I say they traveled with us to this point and then traveled back to Brookings to stay one more night.  Always hard to say goodbye, no matter how many times you do it......thanks again for coming with us this far you guys.

The redwoods are always amazing....will never get tired of looking at those huge giants.

Met a great Mechanic by the name of Mark yesterday, he is the owner of North Coast Motor cycles........what a wonderful Knowledgable Man!  We had bike troubles again!   We had a starter housing break, which would have cost around 600. to replace, and taken a week to be brought in.  Mark welded it back together good as new, and we were outta there in two hours.    We figured we had enough adventure for one day, and decided to stay over night here.  Stewart and I, decided to use Mark to get our oil changed this morning as well.   Tires will be the next.

Our hotel is actually really nice.   The kids have their own room attached to ours.....which is awesome!!!! Stewart and I can actually have adult time!  I was wondering how we could handle a month with the kids in the same room........(well I would have been okay...stew on the other hand..)

The kids were actually so excited about this hotel that I was a little embarrassed.  They kept yelling over the balcony, to Stew and I while unloading the bikes, how awesome the room is, and we need to check out the awesome bathroom.......Like" OMG, our shower rocks.....its huge", they would say.  People in the parking lot where looking at us and smiling.....I m apologizing to them, saying we've been on the road a really long time....their helmets must be getting tight around their brain.  They just laughed saying no problem, its all good............I really felt like we were hillbillies coming into the modern day world, and our kids finally got to use a real shower and working toilet!!!!!    

Not sure where we will end up today....Just asked the planner where we will end up, and all I got was SOUTH......no shit!!!!!!

All I want is for all of us to be safe, no more drama, and smooth sailings.  And as Dad Adams always says, keep it between the ditches!   Later.....

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Rainy Oregon

Oregon has been sunny for 4 months until we showed up, then it dumped down massively.

We got in out of the rain at Winchester Bay at the Windy Bay bakery for coffee and a cinnamon bun.  It really started coming down, so we hunkered down.  The rain was coming down so hard that it was leaking from the roof and flowing over 2 door jams.  We offered to help and ended up moving water for about 45 minutes.  It was good to help and passed the time until the rain let up a little.

We took off South in the rain and for the next 40 minutes we travelled slow and soggily.  We got into sunshine for the last hour of the trip today and then met back up with Bob, Gerry and Rita in Brookings Oregon, about 6 miles North of the California border.  We had a great walk on the beach while the kids played in the surf.

Beautiful afternoon, great evening and we are heading to bed with the screen on the balcony open and the ocean breaking outside.  Have a great night everyone.

Stew.

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Newport Oregon

I don't know where the days are flying, but this week seems to be going pretty fast!

We made it to Newport Oregon, and the sun was just starting to shine.  Would have been nice to travel in sun for awhile instead of the bone chilling fog...... it does take a lot out of you though, and Jada was starting to get tired.  We figured Newport would be a great stop!

What a mistake!!!!!!!  Seagulls kept squawking all night, heard someone coughing up a lung a few times outside......probably while having their stick of cancer......then the people sleeping beside us we farting and snoring all night.......really.......walls had to be that thin!!!!  thank god no one decided to have sex.......that would have been the last straw!  Needless to say, this momma bear is really a bitchy bear this morning.    (anyone who knows me, know the "f" bomb would have been dropped a couple times....I have been censored by the big guy)

My rant is finished for now......

Brandon took some good pics again.  will post, and will see how the next 300 miles go.....will be catching up to Bob, Garry and Rita.

Photos from Washington to Oregon......This bridge was the crossing into Oregon.....really cool and long bridge!

to be continued....

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Elma Washington

So after 2 days of waiting in Mount Vernon for Motorcycle service, we headed out last afternoon South on I-5 through Seattle.  Bad timing, we hit rush hour with 5 lanes of traffic.  At least we could take our bikes in the carpool lane, but still stressful.  No more interstates!

Today we will hit the coast and take the pacific coast highway South.  Next stop .... Redwoods!  Foggy and cold this morning though so it could be slow going.  I'm sure the sun will burn off the fog soon.

Just a note on how valuable our Scala Rider G9s have been for us (Bluetooth headsets).  We are able to talk to each other up to 1.5 km away.  This came in handy when we got separated on the I-5 because we kept in contact until we could get back together.  They have also been great to help coach Jada on riding techniques. Last evening, for example, we talked a lot about safe distance, lane position and scanning of the ditches for wildlife.  They also make the ride interesting, because we can talk about what we see.  Sorry for the advertisement, but they really do make a difference.

Gotta run, burning daylight.
Stew.

Ps. Sorry no pictures today.  Will post some more next time.

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Mount Vernon Washington

Tuesday Already!  Sorry for the late post

On Sunday we left Omak, we road on some really curvy roads through some really great mountain passes.  Stopped at Winthrope for a morning coffee and stretch, and admire this old western town.  Looked a lot like a functioning Heritage Park!  I could get used to a town like this.........someday!

Stewart finally dug out our highway bells to put on our bikes, we got them on in Winthrope and were on our way.......Brandon took some great pictures on the back of Stew's bike, will post.

I think those bells brought us bad luck, after riding for a couple hours Jada had a little bit of trouble! We were rounding a 30 mph curve, when she grabbed too much front brake and dropped the bike.............all is okay....some scratches to Jada and some scratches to the bike (and some torn saddle bags).  The Kawasaki dealership will open today, and we can hopefully be on our way later on......we'll see.

We were really lucky to meet Dan and Bonita, who helped us get the kids and luggage to Mount Vernon so we could figure out how to get Jada's bike back to a Kawasaki dealer.  Stew rode Jada's bike afterwards to get it to a safe place to leave it, so it is ok to drive, but we want to make sure there is nothing wrong that we can't see. Bonita is an emergency helicopter nurse who was so good at checking Jada out to make sure she was ok right afterwards. They are a real testament that there are really good people out there who go out of their way to help someone in need. Thank you both so much!!!!

Ok, Enough about the incident.  It happened, Jada learned something and we met some new friends.

Yesterday (Monday) we doubled up and went to the ferry to tour Port Townsend.  What a nice rustic little town.  A little disappointed that the restaurant didn't have fresh oysters or other ocean fare (other than fish and chips).  Great scenery with a couple really high bridges over the sound that open up all of a sudden for an awesome vista!

Bob, Gary and Rita our travelling companions for the week left yesterday and we will see if we can eventually meet up with them somewhere along the route.  If not, we had already said our goodbyes.  Thanks for all the help!  It was great riding with you.

We'll post again soon,

Karen

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2nd Day!

So our second day traveling was a great day.  We made it to Omak Washington thoroughly exhausted.  It was such a hot day down here. Although, 32'C will be a cool day when we get South, yikes.

The Cascade highway (#20) has been tremendous, nice curves, little traffic and wonderful views. Jada has been doing very very well.  I am so impressed with her.  

Here are some pics from today.

Stew.

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1st Day!

Buenos Noches
We are finally on our way!  We left Calgary today at 2:00 pm (a little later than we would have liked) and arrived at Cranbrook this evening.  We had nice weather to start and end the day, but we got to ride through the rain for a couple hours through the mountains (by Fernie).  Yuck!

I left downtown by noon, got everything on the bike and said some last farewells to great friends (sorry to rush so much).  There were lots of people wishing us good luck for the trip and I really really really appreciate the Saint Christopher's (patron saint of travellers - such a cool gift) and the highway bells for each of our bikes (Another cool gift).


Planning:
 - All our initial plans for how we would start the trip just flew out the window
      - Lolo pass is closed due to forest fires, so we decided to head West to the coast right away
      - A good friend gave us a tip on a route through the Islands West of Seattle that we are going to try
      - We talked about a great ride through the cascades and will head there tomorrow
 - We are still eventually heading South and will get to Panama one way or another
 - No idea where tomorrow will take us.  We will play it by ear and see how Jada is doing.


Feelings:
 - Anxious to start the trip (the whole family was up early raring to go).
 - Nervous about Jada's first long trip on her bike.
 - Hyper - Jada and Brandon after a long stressful day riding (oh my god were they annoying!)
 - Relaxed as we realize that we made it through the 1st day (thanks to corona's)
 - Odd - When filling out our rental agreement last week we had to put "Stewart and Karen Adams of No fixed address"
 - Exhausted - Big Day!

Dream of good travels and adventure for us,
Stew.

The Start

The Crew just before we left (Brother-in-law Bob, his brother Gary and wife Rita and a friend from St Walburg, Stu Gammell)

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