Sunday, August 26, 2012

Day 6 - Washington to Oregon


Day 6 - It’s the Simple things…….

Ellensburg, Washington. Probably a really nice place with really nice people. On a motorcycle though, the most compelling reality is how darn windy it is! But at least it didn’t rain, which was a very welcome change of pace. Setting out for Waldport, Oregon today. Leaving east Washington, what a difference from the perception of Washington’s geography. Rather than the trees and forests of the other side of the State, the rolling plains really were not nearly as pretty. At least there wasn’t any traffic, which was quite the opposite as we experienced going through the Bellevue area. Maneuvering through the miles of heavy stop and go (mostly stop) traffic, Tim and I got separated from Pat and Sean. We pulled over to wait, and after several minutes, and no sign of them, our wonder of their whereabouts transitioned into worry. Heavy traffic and motorcycles aren’t always the safest combination, and it wasn’t like them to be separated from us for this long. We were about to turn around when we spotted the two headlights coming our way. Turned out Sean had a littler mechanical problem with the clutch and the speedometer, but they were safe. Our wonder to worry had now evolved into joy and we counted our blessings again. All perspective. And trust. 

Beautiful coast in Oregon. If there was a “weirder” place than California, Oregon would probably be it. Nice chatty people in Oregon though, seemed everywhere we stopped, people talked to us. Bikers and especially non-bikers alike. Surprised to find all the gas was “full” serve. Well, they didn’t actually do anything other than hand us the nozzle, but other than on the Indian reservation, we weren’t allowed to grab the nozzle from the pump. Some strange remnant from a long ago effort to stimulate the economy….seems some things never change. 

Our camp site was dirt and not grass for the first time. No rain though, so wouldn’t be a problem. We did find a quaint Mexican restaurant in town and the food was fabulous. Best chimichanga ever. Learned today that our brother Mike would be having his foot amputated in the next couple weeks.  Ultimately will be the first “step” in helping him get back to good health. Hard to imagine what mental gymnastics much be going on in his head though. Once again, just another reminder to identify and cherish every blessing we have, and there are so many every day. Trust, trust, trust…….

Ok, making the turn south tomorrow, heading back to California!

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