Strange Brew: Day 1- July 9, 2007
Portland, OR to Victoria, BC
We met up at 7 a.m. at Mio Gelato on NW 23rd Avenue. I had a double shot of espresso to get the day started right. I filled up before we left and the odometer reading was 24,015 miles.
We rode along Hwy. 30, across the river into Longview, WA and stopped in Castle Rock, WA for our first gas stop and snacks. We then rode along back roads to Elma, WA where we stopped for gas and lunch. We met a guy there who was driving a classic Bel-Air, I think. He was very talkative and really interested in Shayne's pink Stella scooter.
From Elma, we rode a back road to connect with Hwy. 101 just south of Shelton, WA. It was four lanes of highway and not a lot of fun. Once Hwy. 101 became a two-lane road again, it was a lot better. We rode to Quilcene, WA for a gas stop again. There was a crazy lady working the register and she kept asking me if I was going to move my scooter so another car could gas up. This was while I was obviously putting oil into my tank, not just lounging around. She kinda pissed me off.
We made it to Port Angeles, WA around 3:30 p.m. and checked into the ferry terminal, bought our tickets, then walked around looking for food. I got a Blizzard at DQ, then we found a bar and had a couple of drinks before heading back to the ferry line. We met some really cool motorcyclists from Seattle & Canada. There was a woman riding a dual sport with an 8 gallon gas tank on it! I wanted that for my scooter!!! We made it into Victoria and were the last ones off the damn ferry. I made it into Canada with just my driver's license. They never asked to see my passport (which is expired) so I was kinda worried about being able to get in. We found the B&B we were staying at without any problems. However, while I was trying to park, I bit it on the gravel in the driveway. My left elbow took the brunt of the force and hurt quite a bit.
After we got settled in, we went out trying to find the Victoria scooter people. They were having their meeting that night and I had emailed them to say we would be stopping by. We didn't find them, so we headed downtown to try to find a wi-fi hotspot and an ATM. We found both. The Subway had free wi-fi and we checked my email to find out where the Victoria scooter people were meeting. We had rode right past it!!! So we hightailed it back to the bar and got there just as they were leaving. A few of them stayed and we had some dinner and drinks before heading back to the B&B to get some well-deserved rest. They also gave us patches from their rally this year, which I thought was super cool.
We met up at 7 a.m. at Mio Gelato on NW 23rd Avenue. I had a double shot of espresso to get the day started right. I filled up before we left and the odometer reading was 24,015 miles.
We rode along Hwy. 30, across the river into Longview, WA and stopped in Castle Rock, WA for our first gas stop and snacks. We then rode along back roads to Elma, WA where we stopped for gas and lunch. We met a guy there who was driving a classic Bel-Air, I think. He was very talkative and really interested in Shayne's pink Stella scooter.
From Elma, we rode a back road to connect with Hwy. 101 just south of Shelton, WA. It was four lanes of highway and not a lot of fun. Once Hwy. 101 became a two-lane road again, it was a lot better. We rode to Quilcene, WA for a gas stop again. There was a crazy lady working the register and she kept asking me if I was going to move my scooter so another car could gas up. This was while I was obviously putting oil into my tank, not just lounging around. She kinda pissed me off.
We made it to Port Angeles, WA around 3:30 p.m. and checked into the ferry terminal, bought our tickets, then walked around looking for food. I got a Blizzard at DQ, then we found a bar and had a couple of drinks before heading back to the ferry line. We met some really cool motorcyclists from Seattle & Canada. There was a woman riding a dual sport with an 8 gallon gas tank on it! I wanted that for my scooter!!! We made it into Victoria and were the last ones off the damn ferry. I made it into Canada with just my driver's license. They never asked to see my passport (which is expired) so I was kinda worried about being able to get in. We found the B&B we were staying at without any problems. However, while I was trying to park, I bit it on the gravel in the driveway. My left elbow took the brunt of the force and hurt quite a bit.
After we got settled in, we went out trying to find the Victoria scooter people. They were having their meeting that night and I had emailed them to say we would be stopping by. We didn't find them, so we headed downtown to try to find a wi-fi hotspot and an ATM. We found both. The Subway had free wi-fi and we checked my email to find out where the Victoria scooter people were meeting. We had rode right past it!!! So we hightailed it back to the bar and got there just as they were leaving. A few of them stayed and we had some dinner and drinks before heading back to the B&B to get some well-deserved rest. They also gave us patches from their rally this year, which I thought was super cool.