Lunch in Auburn, WA and Carnation Cars

Well, what do you do when there is a Motorcycle Show in Seattle and you missed the One in Vancouver ?   You get up early and head for the Border  (USA & Cdn Border Crossing at Pacific Highway) 

Lucky thing we are Nexus registered and can bypass most of the lineup

Soon enough it is time for our first stop at the Skagit Valley Mall

where it was the Grand Opening weekend of the Hobby Lobby.   We don't have any Hobby Lobbys around here but we do have Michael's .  

They have lots of knick knacks and dust catchers here and I managed to find some car parts

and the highly coveted PIG POPPER

It wasn't long before I found the motorcycle section

and the camera department.   I love old bellows cameras

too bad this was only a prop.   It it were a realy one I would have been tempted to buy it.

After a couple of more hours on the highway heading south we ended up at one of our destinations for the day . . .  Auburn, WA

Auburn is just a bit South and East of Seattle where we were planning to have lunch

There were several other Corvette Clubs there.  They came from Spokane, WA,  Portland, OR, the Tri-Cities , Shelton, Anacortes, Bellingham and the Marque Club of Seattle.   This was a lunch hosted by Corvettes of Auburn .   We were starving by the time we arrived at 12:30pm as we hadn't had breakfast yet and my stomach was hurting

This is a restoration shop and they moved their cars out and set up tables under the hoists

They have several cars under reconstruction

I met several people we hadn't see for many years.  I used to be the US liason between our BC clubs and had arranged many meets in the past but have not gone to any of their events for some time.

After lunch and saying our goodbyes we headed to Carnation WA (Used to be known as Tolt)

to visit a place that was discovered by other members of our Corvette club.  Looking through their window, this is what you see

I thought it was a car museum but all cars are for sale

Lots of Porches were there, mainly replicas

Notice the MG Bug-Eyed Sprite on the right, behind the Harley.   I nearly bought a bug-eyed sprite many years ago for $600.  This was before they weren't worth anything.  Then I noticed one of my dream cars.  This is a  replica of a Porsche 550 Spyder

Yes, it's for sale and was the one James Dean was killed in, but his may have been haunted (read here)

This is the 3rd  Porsche 550 Spyder I have seen in the past 20 years.   They are hard to find but there are currently two for sale on eBay right now.   I can't help but to admire the sensuous curves (but I quickly snap out of my trans)

Yes, there are bikes there too and all are for sale.  I had to rub my eyes and do a double take when I noticed this SC Yenko Camaro

AW,  it was only a replica

more bikes,  nothing special, just used old stuff needing a lot of TLC

The Porsche 356 Speedster (Bathtub) was formerly my dream car

I used to have a collector car but now I prefer something more modern and reliable but it doesn't hurt to look & touch

It starts to rain and time for us to head home back to Canada where we have a decadent meal

Tender prime rib on a bed of mashed potatoes, vegetables and yorkshire pudding topped with carmelized shredded onions.  I can tell you that this melted in your mouth and was delicious.   I could have eaten two portions.   Tonight was not the time to be keeping track of your waistline and I still had one unused notch on my belt . . .   and then the dessert came . . .

some kind of toffee sauce but this just melted in your mouth.  Very light and tastly, with ice cream of course.  My mind kept thinking that I could diet tomorrow . . .  and I washed all of this down with Cola.

Sunday while out and about I saw some of my scooter friends

I've been AWOL as I don't do Facebook so I never know when they meet, nor where they go.  Nor do I ride on Sundays so I have just given up on the local scene.

It's nearly Spring here with our warmer temperatures.  Many of these riders ride year round

Rude T-shirts and a stuck scale

I am sure some of you visit Sash / Tina, the "RUDE BIKER Chick's Blog  (here) .   She's tough, outspoken and loves to party BUT don't make her mad.    She's not one to back away from a fight . . .

Just one look at her and you would be apt to walk the other way.  She looks intimidating and uses words to match.   She is a relatively new rider and has ridden across the USA which was documented on their other site  Road Pickle  (read here).    I missed them (Tina & Steve's blog here)  when I was on the East Coast last summer but my chance will come soon

She recently started to produce a new line of T-shirts made especially for females and she doesn't mince words.

I know, some of the wording is suggestive but in a playful way.   If you purchase a T-shirt, you too can be the Rude Biker Chick of the Month,  for example like Diane Somers (below)

 
 wearing "Not a Nice Lady".  

Here's a link to her  T-shirt  website  (click here).     Most of the wording was given to her from other female riders and she thought that they would make good controversial T-shirts.  If you have some time go ahead and visit her.

She also gives riding tips on her Facebook page  (here)

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I know that two of us have made resolutions to lose weight.   Two of us doesn't mean me as I have no willpower and I was afraid if I revealed my intentions that I would fail.   Richard has posted his weight challenge on his left sidebar (here)  and David is presently in "neutral"  (here)    Of course I wanted to lose some weight to so unofficially I have been monitoring their progress (secretly) .

Since Christmas I have been going up and down like a yoyo.   It also doesn't help when we started to have rice, perogies, spaghetti with meat sauce, and then have to go out for dinners and brunches.  I continued on my merry way trying to eat less and choose more healthy options but I like my chocolate and cola.   All was fine until I noticed that both of them were heading to the low 193/194's.  I thought to myself that I can't let them beat me so I made a more determined effort.   I have a small supply of 2L bottled coca cola.   I haven't opened one for two weeks.   I stopped having burgers for lunch on Saturday's.   I have been drinking more water . . .    I have cut down my food portions.

I actually cut my lunch intake and this week I switched over to meal substitutes.  I am hungry all the time so I thought I was doing well, but still the weight doesn't go down.  Last week we started to have salads again

Today at work I was feeling really hungry so I made a choice between a chocolate granola bar or an apple.    Notice that I chose the apple.   I like to cut them into small pieces and eat them in one gulp, well, maybe in two gulps.   Anyway, after the apple I was still hungry so I also had the chocolate granola bar and a glass of hot water.    I only have one coffee a day and that's at 9:30am

No, that scale reading was last month.  I was doing well back then but last week I was up to 186 but today I am down to 184.    That's unencumbered weight right out of the shower.   Perhaps I am wearing heavy 5 lb glasses

I think my scale is stuck . . .

Lack of Snow & Perogies

I notice from the news and weather reports that there are storms all over the Continent.  Of course it always snows back East but here on the Coast snow is a rarity, except that for the past few days it has been dumping snow just a few miles south of us.   So far we have escaped unharmed.  We have had record low temperatures.   Yesterday it went down to minus -8.8°c which is the lowest recorded temperature since 1939.  We are not used to the cold so I have to gloat before it starts snowing later tonight

    Yesterday afternoon  (Saturday)

Yesterday afternoon it was nearly shirt sleeve weather and I could feel the warmth of the sun.  Not so warm in the shade though but it felt like early spring with temperatures just above freezing

    Today  (Sunday)

I just had to gloat at our good fortune of being in a snow free place, at least until the forecast storm arrives later tonight.  

Saturday found me experimenting in the kitchen and getting a bit frustrated with making dough (not the $$ kind)

Nothing fancy, 2-1/2 cups of flour, one egg, dash of salt and a cup of warm water, kneeding, blending rolling and then using a beverage glass to roll it out and other glass to cut out the circles.  The dough was so sticky and I had to keep dusting with flour to keep it from being stuck together

In the meantime I was boiling 2-1/2 lbs of russet potatoes until soft, then mashed .  I blended one onion in my Cuisinart and cooked them in butter until they were reduced and then added them to my mashed potatoes.  After they were mixed, I then added another 1/2 lb of Cheddar cheese into the mixture which turned the mashed potatoes to a nice yellow colour.  It was smooth and very tasty, if I don't say so myself

I put a dob of mashed potato mixture into the centre of my cut out dough circles and then pinched them together to form my  perogies.    I love potato cheddar & onion perogies

It took me a while to get a production line moving.   I took the scraps, rerolled to recycle the dough

If you ask me the hardest part about this whole process is making the dough.   The mashed potato mixture is a "piece of cake"

To minimize "sticking" I had to be generous with the flour and I put the finished ones on separate plates so they wouldn't all stick together

After I cleaned everything up it was time to cook them.  I like them with bacon bits and tons of sour cream.  You boil the perogies until they float, and then keep them in there for a few minutes longer.

I cut my bacon strips into small pieces, put them in a frying pan and tried to carmelize them and I was generous with the sour cream.   That bowl of congee was also cooking all day in our slow cooker.  It's sort of like a very thick rice soup with pork.   Another variation is to use fish instead of meat

MMmmmm,  potato, onion and cheddar Perogies . . .  You should try some . . .

There are many sales promotions offered in the USA but NEVER offered in Canada.  I see the deals all the time but we cannot participate as we do not have a USA address to send rebate cheques/checks.   Canon USA has been promoting camera/printer combos since before Christmas and then put on another promotion whereby you can buy a Camera and Printer, get a $400. rebate when you send in the UPC code from the Box.  Many buyers buy the combo and then sell the printer for a nominal cost.  I bought my last printer this way several years ago.   Basically they get the printer FREE and then sell it to further reduce their camera cost.  

I noticed a few new factory sealed printers for sale on our local Craigslist and was humming and hawwing talking myself into and out of buying this printer, but in the end I decided to buy it as it would enable me to print Black and White,  has WiFi built-in and is also an Air-print printer for iOS

Here it is, all 54 lbs of solid mechanical perfection.  I struggled to have it fit into my meagre trunk and it nearly killed me as I had to carry it from the street into the house.

It also came with a 50 pack of 13" x 19" photo paper

I kept rationalizing to myself that for the price of the paper and the ink cartridges alone this would mean that this printer was Free.   I have read only great reviews for this printer as being simply the best dye printer on the market.  It has 3 black cartridges so it can print "real" black & white using the Epson B&W print driver

I have also been busy learning Windows 8.1    It's a bit different than what I am used to but my new computer also has touch screen so it is like having a really big iPad.

I've still got enough Potato, onion & cheddar perogies left for another meal.   Maybe tomorrow, and it's something I am looking forward to.  Did I mention that I love perogies ?

Redwood Highway: Hwy 101 Northern California

August 15th, 2013:   It was mid to late afternoon by the time I headed north towards Crescent City, CA

There was another construction zone but it wasn't long before we started rolling.    It is mostly a 2 lane road as we neared Redwood National park

 It was dark as we entered the tree canopy but I managed to record some video of this section.  I wanted to stop and explore but I wanted to set up camp before nightfall so I continued on.  I was a bit disappointed that the traffic was traveling so fast, and also that there were no places to stop

More info  here1  and   here2





I wished I had more time to explore more of Northern California, perhaps next time

At only 455 miles, it wasn't my longest day but I was glad to find my home for the night

and have a simple meal before it got too dark

From the Atlantic to the Pacific: I Made it to California

August 15, 2013:   It was a long day.  I was nearly 12 hours on the road.  I left Fernley, NV

    Motel in Fernley, NV

and ended up in Crescent City, CA.   I wrote about it  click here.

My route took me north on US395 to Susanville, CA where I was stopped for construction

 and then CA44 through Lassen Volcanic National Park

I remember that it started out fairly cool but reached about 100°F when I reached Redding.  I had really wanted to ride CA36 but I was short of time so I continued on to CA299
 

which would have been a terrific motorcycle road if not for the heat and horrendous traffic, not to mention the construction zones and I think the heat was getting to me and making me tired.   I stopped for a quick snack and beverage but it wasn't that refreshing due to lack of air conditioning and having to brush the flies away.  I may have been overheated as I couldn't even finish half of my hamburger

There were so many twisties and I was getting fatigued.  In retrospect I should have taken more rest breaks because of the heat but I was trying to reach my planned destination for the night and I was chasing the sun

I finally made it to the coast and headed north on Hwy 101 north of Eureka

It was nice to feel the cool breeze off the Ocean and the temperatures became more bearable

I stopped to say hello to Paul Bunyan and Babe  (click here for info) .   I find that the hardest part of riding alone is finding a home for the night.   The sun was getting lower and I still had an hour to go

I pulled over at a viewpoint to look at the scenic coastline.   It was hard to imagine that just a few weeks ago I was looking at the Atlantic Ocean and today I was here on the Pacific.   I had made it both ways and in a couple of days I would be home

My BMW R1200R didn't miss a beat.  It worked flawlessly without any problems

I also recorded some video of  Hwy 101




I was tired and tried to find a motel for the night but some were full and others were charging too much so I headed to the campsite where I just managed to set up before it got dark.   I was hungry and didn't feel like riding back to town so I reverted to my emergency rations

I had now camped on both sides of the Continent.  For some reason on this night I felt so alone.  Perhaps it was because my journey was ending but I was looking forward to seeing familiar faces the next day and being in more familiar territory

Meet Kedgi, and other stuff

You may have noticed a new blog on my sidebar   Kedgi's Ride Report  (click here)

 
Here we are in Shediac, New Brunswick where he calls home

and here's Vstar* Lady.  Kedgi  (ie Dwight) was kind enough to host us for a night and let us dry out our camping gear

He is currently on a ride to Mexico to see the dentist on his new KTM  990 Adventure

Last summer we were lucky to see his new bike in the flesh

He is new to the blogging world and would love to hear from you.   It gets lonely on the road and makes a difference when you know that people are following along.

I am single-handedly keeping the world afloat.  A few weeks ago I received another package in the mail

I recently woke up my dormant Printer and was going to use non OEM inks from Precision Colors  (click here)     I've done a lot of research into refilling your own ink cartridges and these are basically the same formula as the factory ones.   I ordered a refill kit a couple of years ago  .  .   .

but forgot to get the kit which included the syringes.  You need one for each colour to avoid ink contamination.    I should have bought  THIS ONE  which included the syringes, but I bought this one by mistake.

I also received another package from China a few days ago

  It was freight prepaid but somehow the vendor shipped it via DHL Express and now I had to pay their service charges, instead of shipping by Express Mail  (regular courier)

The item came in its own aluminum protective case

which was also dented on two sides

My item was neatly resting in it's own cut-out, surrounded by dense foam, luckily not damaged so the case did its job

This is a special panoramic bracket which will enable me to take VR  360° spherical stitched images

I mounted my camera to try and figure it out.  Of course there are no instructions but now I have to figure out the Nodal Point for my lens.   It is critical to eliminate parallex when taking sphericals in rooms, not so critical for scenics where you are focusing at longer distances, generally as in over 50 ft

You cannot use the tripod mount on most cameras if you want smooth stitching, especially at close distances, like in a normal room.    You can read about Nodal Point   click here   

Last week I snapped the following photo which caught my interest

    Under the Cambie Street Bridge

I know, bland symmetry . . .   what else to do on a Winter's day when it's cold but not snowing