Rushys update 08 April

Rushy

Well-known member
UKGSer Subscriber
Joined
Feb 2, 2003
Messages
13,347
Reaction score
122
Location
Cheshire ....somewhere on my bike
Hi everyone,

No recent posts on the website because its almost impossible to find any internet cafes here. The assumption is that everyone has laptop so WI-FI is creeping in lots of places especially here in Redmond – home of Microsoft.

Have been to some very pretty locations around the Seattle area. The weather has been amazing. Only rained on one day since I have arrived and most days have been gloriously sunny. Visited Mount St. Helens, awesome ( Americans says this a lot ) views , went to the top of Space Needle and there was 90+ mile viz.

Took a long drive out, 220 + miles , last weekend around Mt Baker and Snoqualmie National Park. Only saw half of it but got to West Summit and Stevens Pass both of which still had snow 5 to7 ft deep in places. Went to take a picture of myself in the snow and ended up knee deep in it. Saw Snoqualmie Falls, not as impressive as Niagra but apparently higher.

Tried to take a seaplane ride around the Seattle area on Saturday but it was booked up due to the nice weather so visited the nearby Hooters instead. The views there were almost as impressive as the Olympic Mountains! Also test drove a supercharged 400bhp Harley Davidson F150 Lightning King Cab pick up truck. Will never forget doing a rolling burnout in a local park and ride in it. Salesman happy to oblige at first but them seemed to get worried about the cops/the cost of new rears.

Spent quite a bit of time, hanging out & mixing with the locals who are just SO friendly. As a result I have ended up at a childs 1st birthday party, met some great people there and learned a lot about real estate acquisition, and also ended up playing poker at 2am in the basement “den” of the Seattle home of two waitresses!

Picked up the bike last Sunday and it seem to be a good un. Slight problem with a sticking throttle now rectified. Have also modified a GPS mount to take a new Sony Cybershot camera I bought, my larger digi has been playing up. Ended up at a biking event at a local sports bike and Harley dealership. They had one of those “dragrace” trucks and all the local boys were out racing each other on the rolling road fitted to the trucks trailer. Pretty clever actually as it recorded, bhp produced, reaction time, standing quarter time and speed PLUS maximum speed I witnessed was 192.7 by a Hyabusa giving 175bhp at the back wheel.

Yesterday saw my first decent ride on the bike, 230 miles. I headed north to towards Vancouver, thought about visiting there until I realized I had not got my passport, and buzzed around the country side before heading to a great spot called Fidalgo Island and then across onto Whibdey Island which is the largest contigious island in North America. You cross two bridges over “Deception Pass”, as the bit of water between the two islands is called. Its then about a 40 mile drive down the island to the ferry which takes you across to the mainland at Mulkito. A quick stop at the worlds largest building , the Boeing factory near Everett and then back to the hotel for 8pm.

Bryan, who’s hotel suite I’ve been staying in for the last week, returns from Chicago today and his family fly in from Manchester a few hrs later. I think they will move into there new home in a week or two. On Saturday morning I will leave them and head south on my travels proper. First few days will be spent exploring the Columbia Gorge and the Oregon Coast which has some dramatic clifftop scenery and amazing sand dunes apparently. Then its off to Tahoe or Yosemite!!!! Mileage so far is about 800.

78 days to go.

Loving the American people!

Ian
 
Ian,

all public libraries have free access to the Internet. If you're anywhere near an international border, carry your passport - you could get stopped by a Border Patrol stop check (it's happened to me 3 times) - dunno what the result would be if you didn't 'haff your papers' - best to carry it with you all the time, really...

Mike:)
 
Rushy said:
Then its off to Tahoe or Yosemite!!!!
Ian

you probably already know this, but just in case you don't... many of the mountain passes in California are closed for the season due to snow. To reach Yosemite from Tahoe hwy 88 west is really nice (50 is a decent alternative) then take 49 south to 120.

You can check on California road conditions here.


tohoe-yosemite.gif
 
Re: Re: Rushys update 08 April

tgrrdr said:
you probably already know this, but just in case you don't... many of the mountain passes in California are closed for the season due to snow. To reach Yosemite from Tahoe hwy 88 west is really nice (50 is a decent alternative) then take 49 south to 120.

You can check on California road conditions here.

I'll second the nomination for this route. And add that the roads
sometimes don't open until June. Especially Hwy 120 through
Yosemite. You also need to be prepared for snow through
May--at least keep an eye on the weather.

Also, don't forget Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Just South of
Yosemite.

Ian
 
I'm in San Francisco from April 25th to May 7th if you fancy a beer.

Mike
 
mikebelch said:
I'm in San Francisco from April 25th to May 7th if you fancy a beer.

Mike

Mike,

I should be in SF around the 17th to 21st. Not sure if i'll still be there when you arrive. If i'm having fun I may be.

Send me a text on 447973226540 and i'll reply.

Cheers.
 
Local info

Thanks for the local info. Had my frist major disappointment today when I had to cancel plans to get to Crater Lake due to bad weather.


Ian
 
Being a foreigner in the states how did you go for insurances and rego
Cheers
PS nice report
 
Mariposa

Rushy. Seeing tgrrdr's suggested route to Yosemite would take you through Mariposa thought you might be interested in a hotel suggestion. Might be useful if you plan to stay in the Yosemite area for a few days without actually sleeping in the park.

A few years ago i stayed at the Mariposa Lodge .
It was very pleasant, clean and friendly.

I also see that they've added wireless Internet in every room since I was there.
Good luck, stay safe. :beerjug:
 


Back
Top Bottom