A Short Trip across the Border

Once again we drove down to Seattle, where towers are spacey, and cafe's are plentiful.

We were excited to be able to see our friends Guido and Andrea again, who came up from sunny California and brought some nice weather along.

We stayed at The Maxwell, a very nice contemporary hotel, just a block away from a certain popular Thai restaurant, where we met the two for dinner to eat and to make plans for the next day.

Friday was meant to be spent outside and involved a lot of walking. It was a bit nippy in the morning but nothing a good cuppa couldn't fix.

This plantlike installation is part of the Chihuly Garden and Glas Exhibition, a beautiful piece of art.

A metal forest at the EMP museum.

Our walk around town lead us down to the ocean and along the shoreline walkways. The water was calm and blue.

We noticed lots of newer buildings at the waterfront, alas train tracks would hint at living not being as peaceful and quiet as it looked.

We took a desperately needed break from walking at Starbucks' first Cafe, before we continued our tour. 

Guido wanted to shop for some new gear after his got damaged in a recent encounter of the deer kind, and we ended up at Touratech, the leading brand in motorcycle equipment. Touratech is German, need I say more? The shop had a world traveler's bike on display. It's owner, Mason Huffine rode 90,000 miles in three years on his BMW F650. Good for him!

 I like orange!

Our day came to its spectacular end at the probably best Italian restaurant at the Pacific Westcoast, the Serafina. We were too busy chatting and too hungry taking pictures, but believe me it when I say that the food was molto delizioso authentic Mediterranean cuisine.

The next day we visited Mount Rainier National Park expecting to see some sights of the gorgeous volcanic mountain itself.

We had to cross a single line bridge that was in very questionable condition, and swayed when cars drove over it.

Nevertheless we bravely stayed long enough for a quick picture.

At Carbon River the riverbed indicated that the stream would swell immensely during springtime.

We followed a logging road uphills and were rewarded with a gorgeous view on Mount Rainier. That was before we got distracted by another attraction: The familiar noise of two dual bikes, the riders waving at us while climbing further uphills. It was a good day for motorcycling.

A mountain called Rainier.

Alas, we could not dwell, as Guido needed to catch a flight home in the afternoon. It was fabulous however, that we were able to spend a few wonderful days with our friends. Life is good.

Ein Wiedersehen in Seattle

Unsere Freundin Andrea war auf einer Tagung in Seattle und brachte ihren Gatten Guido im Schlepptau mit, der die Stadt noch nicht kannte. Somit bot sich eine gute Gelegenheit, die beiden mal wieder persönlich zu treffen. Die letzte Begegnung war ja schon wieder fast ein Jahr her.

Donnerstag nachmittag fuhren wir also nach Süden und trafen uns bei hervorragendem Essen im Bahn Thai, welches nur einen Block von unserem schicken Hotel The Maxwell entfernt lag.

Am Freitag hatten wir, wie auf Bestellung, fantastisches Wetter. Es war fast windstill mit strahlend blauem Himmel und Sonne ohne Ende. Diese Zeit mussten wir einfach draußen verbringen. Nach einem gesunden Frühstück im Cafe Bella erkundeten wir, angezogen von den tollen Farbspielen das EMP Museum an der Space Needle. 

Danach liefen wir hinunter zum Ozean und flanierten am Wasser entlang. Inzwischen war es so warm geworden, dass wir uns aus unseren Jacken schälen konnten.

Ein Muss ist in Seattle immer der Pike Place. Wegen massiver Bauarbeiten war es dort leider recht ungemütlich. Dennoch, die Kaffeepause im ersten Starbucks Cafe ließen wir uns nicht nehmen.

Und weiter ging es dann durch die sonnendurchflutete Stadt, bis wir uns die Füße platt gelaufen hatten. Das Highlight war das Abendessen im Serafina, dem wahrscheinlich besten italienischem Restaurant der pazifischen Westküste. Es war köstlich.

Samstag gabelten wir die beiden Kalifornier an ihrem Hotel auf und fuhren ein wenig durch das Hinterland von Seattle Richtung Mount Rainier. Wieder wurden wir von grandiosem Wetter begleitet. 

 Es hatte noch gegen Mittag immer noch Bodenfrost.

 Diese Brücke würde nach deutschem Standard als unpassierbar gelten.

Wir fuhren nicht nur darüber, wir wagten uns sogar zu Fuß auf diese Konstruktion, welche durch vorbei fahrende Fahrzeuge mächtig anfing zu vibrieren. Uns war etwas mulmig dabei.

 Der Blick hinab in die Schlucht des Carbon River

Am Fluss

Da Guido's Rückflug für den Nachmittag gebucht war, war unsere Ausflugszeit zwar begrenzt, aber wir haben dennoch eine monumentale Aussicht auf den Berg genießen können, bevor wir Guido dann am Flughafen und Andrea wieder an ihrem Downtown Hotel absetzen mussten. 

 Überwältigende Panoramabilder

Danach fuhren wir wieder Richtung Kanada und kamen dank Nexus-Karte bereits drei Stunden später zu Hause an. Was für ein schöner Tag mit Freunden.

One man. One bike. One direction.

The next best thing a rider will turn to when confined to indoors is to read travel books, travel blogs, watch travel videos and plan road trips while waiting for the weather to improve.

And there it sits, a shiny temptation on my coffee table: France in America

4 1/2 months, 21,000 miles, 27 US states, over 400 pages of bliss. 

I had the recent pleasure to receive an early copy of Gary's book France in America. Since its arrival I would read two chapters each night after work, and had something to look forward to the next evening. This book became my lifeline during the past couple of weeks of rainstorms and dreary weather at the Pacific We(s)t Coast.

This book is a treasure, and well written (he is British after all...). Its glossy pages are bursting with photos, and have valuable maps added to be able to follow his route. When Gary invites the inclined reader to join him on his journey of a lifetime, one feels like riding pillion.

So I hopped on the backseat of his custom painted Harley Davidson "The Leading Ladies" and let it roll. I enjoyed the fair weather, and felt threatened by adverse weather conditions. I worried with him about lost keys or broken gear. I got to meet the people he met, and marveled at the sights that he documented with tons of his own pictures. I felt the loneliness when he mentioned how much he missed his wife during his solo trip and I rejoiced when she could join him for a stretch of the tour.

Gary showed me places I haven't seen before, and refreshed my memory of the places I had previously visited. So, when his book came to its inevitable ending, I felt a void in what had become a routine of my day, and wanted to shout at Gary: Turn around! Take the Southern route and go back East! I simply didn't want it to be over.

Two things stroke a chord with me. Gary said that he wasn't much of a nature lover, and that living in a big city didn't help, but that traveling through the US on a motorcycle - quote:"...made him appreciate our planet for the marvel it truly is." Darn right, Sir!

The other interesting fact were the friendly encounters along his journey, with Americans wishing him well on his journey, pleased with him being able to undertake this trip, and telling him this completely free of envy. Gary worked hard his whole life, and this adventure had been on his bucket list for the longest time. He certainly earned it!

Here is what I have for you, Gary: Respect, admiration and gratefulness. You planted a seed in my mind, and I hope that I will also be able to venture out one fine day to undertake such an epic journey like yours. Thanks for this wonderful book.

Certainly a must read for anyone who loves travels, motorcycles and America!