Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the weather man or woman because today they pretty much nailed it. When I went to bed the skies were mostly clear and it was a very pleasant evening. The forecast by morning, rain. Bingo, this morning it was raining. So I packed and hit the road donning my best weather gear along with my trusted heated suit to keep those tootsies warm.
I had to make the Ferry in Victoria by 3pm today. I also had to be there no later than 1:30pm to start the check in process. So this morning the alarm was set at 5:30 am and I was out of there by 7. The first 150 miles it rained and sometimes fairly hard. Suit was working really well and eventually I had to turn on the toe warmer just a little bit to knock down the chill. Ahhh! By Parksville, I was ready for a stop and a coffee.
Now with half of my required ride complete to get to the Ferry, I could relax a little. The skies were starting to clear but the chill was still in the air. Traffic started building as I approach Victoria and so did the road maintenance. For a bit, I was thinking it was going to be close, but I arrived in time to get my tickets and grab a bite to eat. When I paid the bill for my meal, I gave the waitress my last $5 Canadian bill and paid the rest with American cash. That leaves me with $1.50 in Canadian coin cash. I wanted to keep the loony for reasons unknown to even me.
This whole ferry process burned up a lot of my day. I arrived at the ferry location at 12:30 and once I got my ticket, ate, rode the boat to Port Angeles and disembarked, it was 5:20 to 5:30. I rode the rest of the day to my hotel in Bremerton, Washington and arrived about 6:35. It was a long day.
So where is the humor? It all started yesterday when I lost Dixie. I got some pretty funny remarks that you may or may not have read. They made me laugh out loud a few times and people around me where likely thinking I lost it or was a little loony. Yes, pretty much true. Then Doug Picard went above and beyond the call of duty. He, like me felt it a shame that Dixie would not complete the journey so Doug stepped up. Doug reported the incident to the Vancouver News Facebook, correct me if I’m wrong Doug, and they contacted him. Doug in turn contacted me. Then I get a call from Chandler Grieve and he wanted to know more about my trip and Dixie. Then he requested pictures and map locations. As I was giggling typing the email, I sent pictures and maps. Doug what have you gotten me into? They also requested that I install Skype so they could do a I-phone interview. I have no idea whether they will actually call me tomorrow for the interview or if I can find the time to do it, but you have to admit that it is a cute and funny story. Would it not be fantastic if someone actually sees the story and turns her in? How great would that be. Why did Doug do it? Who knows, but it might be related to this story. CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY.
So tomorrow I really need to get the oil changed on the motorcycle because she rolled over 10,131 miles for this trip to date. The tires I want to change just to make it ride better but those dirt tires are not quite burned off yet. What to do, what to do? I will start the calculations on what I have left to do and see if that distance is not greater than 6,000 miles. If I’m in range, I will switch the tires. If I’m outside that parameter, I will wait.
When I peeked out my hotel window tonight, look what I saw.
Rumor is the guy that owns this incredible boat, use to own Netscape. It’s yours for a cool 95 million.
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