Month: November 2015

We left San Francisco and headed back to the coast. Although we had to suffer through about a 1/2 hour of freeway travel, we quickly got back onto more sensible and interesting roads. The highway turns slow and twisty as we climbed up, and then rode down, the smaller coastal mountains all the way to the sea. It’s almost redundant to keep saying, but the scenery was once again breathtaking. A short stop at no place in particular gives just a small taste.

With temperatures still way below normal (record breaking lows for around here), we once again moved into a cheap motel. And with American Thanksgiving the next day, we decided it wise to stay put for two nights. This motel is like all the others; perfectly acceptable in function and cleanliness, with just a wee hint of a cat-pee smell. Ah well, you get what you pay for 😉

We got checked in, and after a short chat with one of the other guest couples who were in the middle of a round-the-world tour to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, we headed off to explore our surrounds. A short walk took us to a nearby park, and then eventually down to the beach.

We’re now far enough south that the flora and fauna are becoming increasingly weird. Lots of palm and cacti-type plants are around, and there are odd birds of all sorts. Even the not-so-odd ones look a bit different. We saw

 

long-snouted plovers , dark coloured pelicans , and odd-ball ducks . And lots of palm trees:

Turns out American Thanksgiving is a BIG DEAL, with lots of travellers and visitors. Campgrounds threaten to be busy and hotels/motels are both loaded and expensive. After some online snooping we realized the motel we are in was our cheapest option, so we got comfortable, and booked in here for a few more days. Our room has a fridge and microwave, so we cooked our second Thanksgiving dinner of the year. Yum, yum.

 

The forecast calls for Freezing Warnings, and Hard Freezing Watches, which around here means two hours of temperatures of -2˚ to -3˚C. They warn to cover sensitive vegetation and not to leave pets or animals outside. It may not sound that cold, but this is around 10˚C below the normals, which makes it still a bit too chilly for camping. In fact, it looks like we’re even breaking some record lows.Temperatures are slowly returning to normal over the coming few days, so hopefully our tent will see some use soon. Meanwhile, we enjoy the surroundings:

       

Folks are friendly and warm here. We had one guy pass us by and comment, “You look like you’re contestants in the show Survivor.” I think he was referring to Ann. What do you think?

After leaving the Giants we headed to a nearby small town where we hoped to find a cheap, sleazy motel. Unfortunately we found almost nothing … a near ghost town. But the day was still young, so we decided to Press On! We left highway 101, which was a freeway at that point, and headed back toward the coast down highway #1.

Holy Schmoly, what a ride! Big tough bikers like us love windy, twisty roads, and we’ve had our share of them coming through BC. This road beats them all!! (yes, a double-!!). From the moment we started it was steep, it was dark, and it was full of quite literally hair-pin turns. Forget all those friendly and useful signs warning of tight curves … everything was a tight curve. The road was rock face on one side and drop off on the other. Too much fun.

We finally got down to the coast road and headed south, aiming for Fort Bragg. The fog, which had come and gone through the day, was now as thick as soup. Visibility was down to naught, but as long as we kept ocean to starboard we were all fine. All along this drive we could hear the ocean more than we could see it, which added a surreal quality to the drive. Eventually making it to town, we found a cheap place, and checked in for the night. A Happy Hour beer and dinner, checked emails, made plans for the next night, and then it was off to bed.

Weather remaining uncooperative, we planned to stay in the San Francisco area for two nights. And just for the record, the normal highs are 18C and the normal lows are 11C. Instead we are getting highs of 11C and lows of 3C. What happened to global warming 😉 In any case, we packed up and headed off for another great ride along the coast.

The first part of the day was nearly as twisty and challenging as the day before. The highway snakes its way along the coast. The mountains come right down to the water, so we were running through foothills; not massive peaks, but still significant ups and downs. Every valley and river that emptied into the ocean produced a steep switchback down and back up, with hairpin turns and steep drop offs. Much fun, but also quite taxing. Breathtaking views throughout.

 

Unfortunately we had to leave the coast to head inland to pick the freeway into San Francisco. Freeway travel is fast, efficient, and no fun at all. 65 mph is 105 km/hr which is fine for our bikes, but no joy for this rider. But it did get us into town fast. The highlight, of course, was coming up to, and then driving over, the Golden Gate Bridge. I wish I could include a picture of us doing this, but it can’t be done. Just imagine the big bridge, then imagine tons of fast moving traffic, and then imagine two little motorcycles putting along in the midst of all the mayhem. It was kinda scary, but pretty cool.

Our route took us through the heart of San Francisco, so we got a good view of the city. Our cheap motel was actually in San Mateo, which is a suburb of San Francisco. With Ann leading the way, and a little luck, we managed to find our way through the city and to our new home. It is quite close to a freeway, but it is also within an easy walking distance of the bay and a great park.

   

Tomorrow we plan to leave the city. Not sure where we’re going  …

Ahhh, do you feel the warmth? The warmth of the California sun?? Actually, I didn’t feel it either as the weather continues to be unseasonably cold along our route. We’ve been moteling it since we left Victoria, which was definitely not the plan. Checking the seasonal norms for our areas confirms it. We’re supposed to be in the mid to high teens for highs, and the low teens for overnight temperatures. Instead we’re getting cold front after cold front, bringing lots of rain and temperatures 10 degrees C below normal.

All this is to say we’re not complete wimps 😉

Anyway, we said goodbye to Oregon and crossed into the great state of California. Just over the border we came to a check stop which looked every bit like an international border crossing. The signs warned that everyone had to stop for an agricultural inspection, but we were just waived through. I suspect the “agriculture” they are looking for has something to do with Oregon decriminalizing marajuana. I guess we didn’t look hippyish enough 😉

We passed into the Eureka state unsearched, but with a little bit of sadness. Oregon has been so amazing, it felt sad to leave. But we have to get south, and the famous giant Redwoods of California beckoned. And we were soon rewarded as we passed through Redwood National Park. These trees are immense. When we camped on Vancouver Island near Parksville we lived in the midst of huge Douglas Firs, but they would be dwarfed by the Redwoods. Some looked to be three meters in diameter, and a hundred feet tall. Just amazing. And this was just a small taste of what was to come.

After lingering for a while in the midst of these giants we got back on the bikes in search of the night’s temporary home. Unlike most days, we had set out without a specific night’s plan. We booked no rooms, and didn’t know where we’d end up. Eureka the City (as well as the state’s slogan or motto or something…) looked promising on the Google, but when we got there it turned to be rather ugly. “Let’s Press On!” says I, so Ann our fearless leader for the day, took us off into unknown lands.

Highway 101 that we’d grown to love since Washington was slowly transforming into a freeway, complete with multi-lane traffic and speed limits of 65 mph, which translates into WAY TOO FAST! Ann spots a turn off, and we head into the unknown; towards a place called Ferndale. Turns out Ferndale is a touristy getaway for those who crave a victorian lifestyle. Most of the downtown buildings have preserved this old design, making it a quaint little city.

Our hotel had the same Victorian charm, luckily at off-season prices. It was charming, as was the owner who notices our Canadian accent. A very friendly fellow, just like virtually everyone we’ve met along this journey so far. That evening was spent in the local tavern, sipping area IPAs, and enjoying the company of friendly strangers. We finished the night with a takeout pizza and a glass or red wine.

The next day we headed off to drive the “Avenue of the Giants” through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I figured we had already seen the big ones, but as is so often the case, I don’t know squat! The park claims to contain the world’s largest remaining contiguous old-growth forest of coast redwoods. I believe it.

It’s simply impossible for me to adequately match words and images to the immense, awe inspiring nature of these trees and this forest. You can feel their size; their sense of history. It is where myths are born. It is simply amazing.

 

 

We finished the visit with lunch in the park, then packed up and headed towards our evening home which had yet to be determined…

 

 

We spent a couple more wet and wild days huddled in our Rockaway hideaway , but eventually the storm abated and the sun came out . It was time to move on. So we packed all our worldly belongings back onto our two small bikes, and once more headed south. On friends Cathie and Joe’s recommendation, we planned to drive the three-capes route out of Tillamook, but when we got to the town we were halted by barricades and police cars. Turned out the main street of Tillamook, including numerous other roads, were flooded. This is highway 101 — our route! Luckily there was a non-flooded detour that took us around the town and past the cheese factory. We did manage to pick up the scenic route around most of the capes, and only had to drive through one short section of flooded road — still kinda scary though.

The whole coast is absolutely amazing. Beaches as far as the eye can see, with stunning vistas, craggy “haystack” rocks, and big rolling seas. It became hard to photograph, because it’s all so amazing.

The wet and windy drive this day took us to our next cheap motel on the outskirts of Yachats. We pulled up and were greeted by a couple of cute corgi dogs, and two very friendly women who turned out to be mother and daughter and owners of the place. Ann had booked us the cheapest option, but we’d hardly started chatting before being asked: “Would you mind if we upgraded you to an ocean view, for free of course.” Did we mind??? Well let me think… 🙂

After settling in we walked the short hop down to the beach. This area of the coast has what looks like sandstone cliffs lining the shore before it drops down to the beach and ocean . Strolling down the beach in the rain we noticed this circle of gulls around what looked like a log or a rock on the beach. As we got closer it became clear this was no rock. It was a beached whale!

We learned from the motel owners the whale had washed up on the beach about a month earlier. It was left, as per the law, to naturally rot, and from the odour it was definitely doing just that. I’m sure a whale person could tell what kind it was. All I know is it was big, and beautiful in a dead-and-stinky sort of way.

The beach held other wonders as well. The recent storms had beached a dead seal, a large round fish, and tons of large kelp structures. It’s a constant reminder of how alive the oceans are.

 

 

The next day brought another drive along the coast, with days end at Brookings near the southern edge of Oregon. As usual we had booked a cheap room via one of the online tools. This motel, like many that we end up in, is run down and old, with just enough spit and polish to make it presentable. But the beds and rooms are clean. It’s warm, dry, and relatively cheap. And the mushroom dealer who’s set up shop below is just a bonus 🙂

Actually, it was quite interesting … this dealer is a travelling mushroom buyer who sets up temporary shop in various locations from Alaska down through BC, Washington and Oregon to buy mushrooms from local pickers. And no … it’s not THAT kind of mushroom. He buys the fancy, weird looking ones that mushroom aficionados rave about: morels, chanterelle, cauliflower, etc… We got a guided tour of his operation. Fun, fun.

After settling in for the evening we took a stroll around the town, taking in the sights and looking for good, cheap beer and food. Ann’s new addition is IPAs. It’s not the booze she craves, it’s the bitter crisp taste of a tangy tough ale. We’ve also discovered the joys of Happy Hour! From about 1600 to 1800 bars discount booze and nibbles. Beer is 2/3rd the price and they usually have a selection of cheap appetizers, which strung together can make a very satisfying meal at a fraction of the cost.

But on our way to IPA bliss two wonderful things happened. First is that we saw our first naturally-growing palm trees. Ya Who! And the second was that Ann decided to try and earn some extra bucks with a strip show in the bar. Actually, it was just a hot flash, but it was FUNNNNNNYYYYYYYY.

Another nights slumber and we were off to California to visit the Land of the Giants.

The weather did indeed turn wet and wild. So much so that our three day hotel stay has now turned into a six day refuge. This whole coast has been battered with one front after another, including gale-force winds and rain levels measured in inches! Luckily our little “resort” is quite cheap in this very off-season, it has a full kitchen, and there are nearby food & beer stores with a good selection of local craft IPAs, so life is good.

Our hotel is right on the beach, although our room only has “partial” view … at a “partial” price. Still pretty stunning, and the shore is only a 100 meters or so away. The truly lousy weather has kept us room-bound most of the time (me more than the Mighty Annabelle), but we have been out on the beach many times. The wind and waves have been tremendous. The huge beach pretty much disappears during high tide. It is ferocious, and powerful, and dangerously beautiful.

     

It rains, it pours, the wind howls, and it even hails, but we remain warm and dry … except when Ann ventures out for more beer:

 

Yay! Ann!!!

At this point we’ll be here for a couple more days. A weather window opens at that point and we’re going to run south. Winter is starting to catch up to us, so we must get south, South, SOUTH!

We left Ocean Shores and made a quick stop at a couple of banks. We tried the same one from the previous day, and it still gave us the big thumbs-down on our debit cars. Okay… a little concerning. But at the next ATM a few blocks away all the lemons lined up and we hit the jackpot! Looks like we can access our cash. Costs a crazy amount in fees and exchange rates ($360 US = $480 CND), but whaddyagonnado?

We headed down highway #101 once again, this time aiming for the famous Cannon Beach. But to get there we had to first cross the mighty Columbia River on the border of Washington-Oregon. The ride was once again a great one, with snaky roads and amazing forest and ocean views. The crossing to Astoria, which is the first place in Oregon, was via the Astoria – Megler Bridge, a 6.6 km expanse that rises 60 meters (at high tide) above the river. According to Wiki, the bridge is “the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.”

Astoria looked like a rather interesting city, although we didn’t spend any time exploring. A quick lunch and we were off again, heading to Cannon Beach. The days are short right now, which means we have about five hours of quality travelling time. As has also become the norm, we are looking at a rather bleak weather forecast, with heavy rains and winds predicted for the next few days. This was enough to convince us to seek luxury shelter once again in a motel. We found another inexpensive place online, right in Cannon Beach with a view of Haystack Rock.

Cannon Beach is stunning. Our friends from Rossport (Selim to be exact) told us we had to spend time here. And we always listen to Cathie and Joe. As always, they were so right. Haystack Rock towers some few hundred feet up from this wide Pacific beach. But it’s not the only structure. There are “Needles” all around it, and both directions there are more rugged islands and promontories. It truly is a wondrous part of the world.

    

We spent three nights tucked into our comfy little apartment on the main street in Cannon Beach. We had a little kitchen, so managed to cook our own meals, while sipping wine/beer, all the while getting a great view of the Rock and some of the beach. It was a rainy few days, which was our excuse for further luxury living, but it was well worth it.

Over the last few days Ann had been noticing a slight wobble developing in her front end. Added to that, her bike was doing some weird things too 😉 so we reluctantly decided the wise choice was to head into Portland and find a motorcycle shop to take a look at it. This would take us away from the coast, and into the colder, urbany areas. But wisdom won out over Mike’s fears, so the next day we loaded up and headed inland.

Ann found both a Vespa shop and a pretty cheap hotel just outside of Portland in a place called Oregon City. The drive over took us through some stunning lush forests, although things got rather cool as we passed over various heights of land. There were signs warning “Entering Snow Country”, which signals that we can’t stay here long. It’s approaching mid-November, and we may be pushing our luck with the weather.

The bike shop was closed the day we arrived, so we booked the hotel for three days, and settled in for yet another comfy few nights. Gotta love this easy life. The view from our balcony overlooks the Willamette River, a tributary of the Columbia that runs through Portland all the way down to the ocean. Turns out we’re not that far from the Pacific because there are real tides here of over 10 feet at times.

We took a stroll around our area. There’s a small commercial area right next to our hotel, complete with pubs, small shops, and a city elevator to take people up the hill. 

Turns out Oregon City is home to Willamette Falls, “the largest waterfall in the American Pacific Northwest by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the world,” according to all things Wiki. Unfortunately it seems to be surrounded by old industry, including a working paper mill. We did manage to get a view of it, but just.

Another surprising thing we got a view of were a couple of lounging sea lions or perhaps female elephant seals. We first saw this brown gunny-sack looking thing on a raft and thought it was just a bag … but then it moved! And then we saw a second one swimming lazily nearby. Neither had a care in the world, except to be annoyed by the two of us yapping and gawking at them from above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann’s front end looks great — as usual 😉 so with a clean stamp of approval from the Vespa dealer, who didn’t even charge anything for his 1/2 hr of time – thanks Vespa Milwaukie! We were once again ready to resume our trek south. Looking at the forecast once again brought a tear to my eye (and the sense of pending rain in my pants). 

Our area is facing a RAINFALL WARNING over the next few days. For a place used to getting lots of rain, this is significant. Amounts up to 5 inches — that’s over 12 cm — of rain are predicted. Oh joy… So, we’ve wimped out again, and have booked yet another hotel room for the next few days. At least we’ll be back on the Pacific shore.

Ocean Shores captured us. Well, to be more accurate, we looked at the coming weather, and given the unmovable and ineradicable desire by certain travellers of the female persuasion to spend days in Cannon Beach, we found ourselves staying another night here on “the shores.” A wonderful choice it was. It forced us to upgrade to a room with a view, and let us go a-wanderin’ around the little town.

After blowing all our American $ on breky, and then discovering our debit cards are not working 🙁 we found a local grocery store, then went wondering down on the beach. What a stunning place this is.

 

The beach is a long sloping swath of sand that goes on for miles and miles (not km and km … I’m learning to speak “American”). We hit it near low tide, so could walk a long way out. As always, the life, the smells, the breath of it all, is just amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it’s back to the hotel for dinner, good beer, and yummy times with my sweets.

We finally said goodbye to the Ramada Inn, which had become home for us for a bit too long, and loading up all our worldly possessions, we zipped downtown to catch the Black Ball ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, WA. We arrived early for the 3pm sailing, so had time to wander downtown Victoria one last time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clearing US customs turned out to be almost a pleasant experience. The nice young fellow who did ourinitial clearing had recently moved from Grand Marais, MN. Ann swears she even recognized him from one of our times we went down from Thunder Bay … of course Ann swears to a lot of things, so who really knows 😉

We boarded the ferry, saying goodbye to Canada , and hello to the US of A . The ferry ride itself was smooth, stunning, and rather gorgeous … just like my Annneeeeeeee .

By the time we arrived on the other side the sun had set and darkness was rapidly taking hold. Luckily we had no trouble finding our little motel for the night. It was close, cheap and, er, well, did I say cheap 🙂 Anyway, it was fine. We found a great local pub with wonderful beer and good food. Then off to bed.

The next morning we found highway #101, which will be our asphalt “yellow brick road” for many days, weeks and maybe months now. It was great to be back on the bikes, and the windy, twisty road down from Port Angeles to the ocean was a reminder of how much fun it is to drive a motorcycle. The road goes through Olympic National Park, with some amazing forests, including overhanging trees that nearly envelope the entire roadway. As we got closer to the coast the air warmed and the smells of the ocean made itself known. We had to stop to take it in: the open Pacific Ocean!

We decided to end our first day’s Washington journey on a peninsula called Ocean Shores. It’s a complete tourist mecca, but in the off-season is quite wonderful. Rooms are cheap too, so we grabbed a small one, did a quick wander down onto the beach, had a great meal, and went to bed not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

Our first couple of days on Vancouver Island were spent in a cheap Victoria hotel. We did a brief tour of the beautiful city, found Donna & Sam’s house, and watched the end of the Nameless Evil known as Stephen Harper’s government. We also officially bought our extended health coverage, and decided to start it for November 1st. This meant we had about two weeks to hang out and explore the island.

After two nights in Victoria we headed north to Parksville area, setting up our nylon home in a nearby provincial park. The park protect a grand old forest of huge coastal trees, some of them with at least 2 meters diameter trunks, and towering far into the sky. We found a site near the shore and settled in for what turned out to be over a week. The weather was mostly damp and cool, but we had a fine setup with tent, tarp and fire pit, so managed to stay mostly dry and relatively warm … at least most of the time.

 

One morning I was awakened by what my groggy brain initially thought was loud barking dogs. Damn annoying dog owners to let their dogs bark away so early in the morning, I thought as I rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.

The next morning the same thing happened … which is when I realized it wasn’t yapping dogs, but harping sea lions that I was hearing. It sounded like they were right outside the tent, so I hopped out of bed (well, more liked slowly crawled out), and went down to the shore. It was low tide, so I walked out 1/2 km to observe the antics of seals, loons, herons, sea lions and porpoises. Amazing!

We had thought about heading over to Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park, but chatting with a few locals convinced us to stay on the eastern side of the island. Apparently the west is a lot wetter, windier and colder at this time of year, and our goal to stay warm and dry was becoming harder.

In the end we stayed put for over a week at the campsite, which was enough time to get into the rhythm of the tides and sea life, and also get to know the park, and nearby Parksville. Ann also visited Qualicum Beach a couple of times to relive her early toddler memories of nearly floating away with the tide, and also to go swimming and take a shower. Since I naturally smell like roses, I declined the shower.

Winter is definitely starting to take hold, but a winter on Vancouver Island is nothing like a winter in Northern Ontario, or Alberta, or even southern Ontario. It’s cool, and damp, but so far no hint of snow or real cold. Despite this, we discovered the joys of the local Public Library, and spent a few days camped out at their study carrels. This was great to stay warm and dry during the rains, charge up all our doo-dadds, and finally get started on this bloggy thing.

With our travel health insurance scheduled to kick in for Nov. 1st, we had planned to move back into Victoria for a couple of nights to prepare to cross over to Washington. We both needed showers by then (especially Ann), and it was time to do laundry. A prediction of four days of rain encouraged us to move under cover even earlier, so we packed up and drove back to Victoria.

It was sad leaving the park after all that time. It was just over a week, but it already felt a bit like leaving home. But warm showers and soft beds beaconed, so off we went. Amusingly, we ended up back at the same cheap hotel that we stayed in the first nights. It’s a fine place, although the booking system never seemed to know who we were, or how long we were staying. Funny.

Tomorrow we take the ferry across to Washington. We’re now on the wrong side of the jet streams, so the weather is cooler and wetter. This will make travel and camping more difficult, but we’ll figure it out. Tomorrow night we’re planning to be in a cheap motel in Port Angeles, WA. After that, who knows…

 

Vancouver is a great city … if you like cities. To me, they’re all pretty much seem the same; noisy, smelly and fast. Lots of people and traffic, with everyone running around in a hurry going nowhere. But we were on a mission; a mission of epic proportions. We were coming to meet Donna and Natasha. It was a lucky happenstance that we managed to snag a cheap hotel room at the same place Donna was staying. Arriving there first, I checked in and asked if Donna had arrived. “There’s no one registered in that name here,” says the clerk. Hmmm says I. Perhaps we’re at the wrong hotel. Oh well… But all was well, and we connected even before we got into our room.

Later that evening we met up with Tasha, where we got a tour of her fancy little apartment in the heart of the city. We then headed off to this snazzy restaurant across the street called Brix. Yummy food, great wine, and even better company. We heard about Tasha’s life in corporate hell, and her plans to come back from the land of the dead. Donna talked about her ‘whoo-whoo’ studies, and also about her deeply held secret desire to update her iPhone. A grand time was had by all.

The next day was spent strolling around False Creek, doing laundry, and hanging out with Donna. She and I always seem to get into fascinating discussions about meaning and mortality. And Ann generally seems amused. So in the end, we’re all entertained.

The day we left turned out to be the exact time Vancouver was holding it’s spook-fest parade. Naturally the route encircled our hotel, with all the streets we wanted to drive being blocked off. Ann fearlessly led us through back alleys and dark, scary places, eventually finding our way towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

On our way to Vancouver Island, the City of Victoria, and places beyond.