I’ve heard the ride through Spokane, Idaho and into Montana is really nice. Let’s hope it is. It got cold last night and the ride this morning will be a chilly one. My stop tonight is West Glacier. I didn’t really want to hit this place on a weekend. I have a feeling it’s going to be wall to wall RVs and tourists.

The weather looks ok. Maybe a thunderstorm in the afternoon. And not too cold at night. I’ve got a 350 mile ride on US Route 2 today.

Here we go!

I didn’t take a TON of pictures while in Seattle, but here are 60 or so.

Click to see them!

I’m pretty excited about moving here. It’s a nice town and there’s some fun things to do. Mostly, I’m moving here for the friends. My friend Sarah (the one who visited me in SLC) is planning on moving out here as well (actually, we’ll probably just make it a joint effort). That should be fun. Corby was thinking about it too. That would be wacky fun.

I’m going to take all the fun people from the Lewisburg area and move them to the west coast. That is my plan.

Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
-Aliens

Starting tomorrow (night), this blog will go back to the regular daily on-the-road updates that you used to be used to.

Tomorrow night: Spokane area. Hang onto your seats!

Ok folks, just letting you know I’m not dead. I’ve been busy here in sunny Seattle (seriously, it’s been sunny everyday that I’ve been here except one!).

And I’ve decided to leave on Thursday morning. That should get me home around August 3th. We’ll see if that actually happens, but if all goes well, it should.

I’ve also decided to make Seattle my home. While I’m not completely in love with the place, it’s close. A bunch of my friends are here and I’m pretty thrilled about that. Sarah will also be moving out here, so that will be pretty cool too.

Portland was a very very close second, and I could see myself ending up there in a year or so and staying there “forever.” Albuquerque was also in the running and I could see myself there too. We really really dug Albuquerque. The east coast wasn’t on the radar. Winter and humidity… nah, you guys can keep it. I want mild, sunny summers and not freezing cold winters. I want to (and will) ride year round.

The rest of my summer plans are to get to the beach in early/mid August, head to New England in mid to late August and a possible gratuitous jaunt to Florida in early to mid September. Moving will happen in October.

The two main things I have to do while in PA is sell my Yaris and put a new engine in the Stella. Also, I have to figure out how I’m moving out to Seattle.

When I return to the road on Thursday, I’ll be blogging like I always have. I might even blog about the trip to New England (though not the one to Florida).

When I return to the road, it will be Day 78. I should return home on Day 95. Nearly three months of straight travel (with occasional stops in wonderful places). I pretty much love my life.

Ok, I realize this makes for some boring blogging, but I’m staying a few more days.

Basically, I’m just not feeling up to traveling just yet. Not sure why, but I’m pretty beat with the road. I think that will change soon, as I’ve felt a few twinges of wanderlust last night and already this morning.

I’m thinking that it’ll be Thursday. That should bring me home in the beginning of August. And that’s fine. I’ll spend a few weeks in PA and then head to New England on the Vespa. That should take me into September.

Just thought I’d let you know.

Sorry about this. I feel bad. I really wasn’t planning on staying in Seattle this long. Actually, I was planning on coming here at all! It’s funny how these things can change. But no worries, I’ll be back on the road soon enough, heading back across the country.

Woo! I can’t wait till I can’t wait!!

Well, one of the reasons is the IWFL Championship Game. IWFL is the Independent Women’s Football League. The Seattle Majestics are taking on the Dallas Diamonds this Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Seattle.

I’m fairly excited about this. Most folks don’t know that there are minor league football teams, let along minor leagues womens’ football leagues. So on Saturday, we’ll go watch them womens play the football. Fun!

Incidentally, there is a Central Pennsylvania team called The Vipers. They didn’t do as well this year as they had hoped. They didn’t win a single game and actually didn’t even score a single point. Better luck next season, gals!

And on another note, PCN now has the Gettysburg DVDs for sale. It’s a right rip off, if you ask me, but I’ll probably end up getting them once I get back. Here and here.

It’s looking like I’ll be getting home on the 25th.

It doesn’t look like I’m leaving Seattle just yet.

Today, while riding in the car with Ryan, I accidentally dropped my phone into a cup of water. Needless to say, it’s fried.

I’ll be getting a new one tomorrow morning and leaving… well… I’m not sure about when exactly.

Right now, the idea is to leave on Wednesday. But there’s something fun that I’d like to see on Saturday. More on that later if it happens, ok?

I’m getting ready for my last full day in Seattle, and honestly, I don’t want to leave. I’m having a wonderful time here.

It’s not that I’m sick of traveling, I’m really really not. But I am ready to settle down for a bit. I guess I’ll be doing that in Pennsylvania when I get back, but I don’t have my own place and that’s pretty rough and still feels vagabondish.

Tuesday morning, I’ll be pulling up the stakes and rolling out. I figure it will take me about two weeks.

My tentative schedule looks like this:

July 8 - Opportunity, WA
July 9 - West Glacier, MT
July 10 - Malta, MT
July 11 - Minot, ND
July 12 - Aberdeen, SD
July 13 - Pipestone, MN
July 14 - West Bend, IA
July 15 - Bridgeport, WI
July 16 - Kenosha, WI
Day off in Kenosha?
July 18 - Plymouth, IN
July 19 - New Vrndavana, WV
Few days off in NV
In PA around July 22 or 23

For the first part, I’ll be on US 2 and then US 12 around Aberdeen. From West Bend, I’m taking the Straight Story route.

After Kenosha, it’s US 30 or US 40 to Wheeling/New Vrndavana.

-

And for the rest of the summer? Not sure. It’s looking more and more like the Cannonball Run is out. Money alloted for travel is running out thanks to the $700 I gave the scooter shop while in Seattle. I have enough to get home and a few smaller trips, but I don’t have enough for another trip across the country.

But we’ll see.

Hi folks! Sorry for the lack of updates. I’m in Seattle and having a really great time with Ryan, Jaime and Jeff (Taviri and Arcadi, RyJa’s kids, too!).

Arcadi is great. They mostly call her “Pretty Pretty.” She’s fun and giggles a lot at the goofy noises and faces I make. She’s a big gal now and sometimes they speculate that she’ll be a tough broad when she grows up. They make her say, in a really gruff voice, “When you get to hell, tell ‘em Pretty Pretty sent ya!”

These are fun people.

On the scooter-front, it’s again not so great. The cost of drilling out and retapping the bolt came to roughly $340. That’s quite a bit of money. I threw about $700 at the scooter while in Seattle. It’s a lot more than I thought it would be. Money for the Cannonball Run is becoming a concern. I’m seriously considering calling it off.

There’s always 2010, right?

I’ve been checking out Ebay and Craigslist for what the Toyota Yaris is bringing on the market these days. Turns out that if I’d sell it now, I’d actually make $2000 on it!

Anyone want a 2008 two-door Yaris? I’m serious. I get 42 mpg!

Good chance I’ll be selling the Vespa too, but that won’t be till later - maybe Spring ‘09. I’ll still have Whitey Will Pay, of course. And I’ll probably have another one (a vintage) by then.

I’ll be leaving for the east on Monday or Tuesday. I’m ready to get back on the road, but also ready to just move in with RyJa. They’re great and I’ve missed them quite a bit. We’ve known each other for around 15 years and I think they, with Jeff, are the folks I’ve been closest to the longest.

It’ll be sad to leave them, but definitely more exciting as far as the blog thing goes.

Today was not a good scooter day.

I’m still in Seattle (which is a good thing - with friends, that part is really great). But I went to a scooter shop for a rear tire change and rear brakes. They asked if I wanted an oil change and a few other things. I did for sure.

The total came to $350ish. Is that a lot? Yes it is. But is that normal for a modern Vespa? Yes, it sure is.

During the service, they informed me that the bolt holding the exhaust on was broken off in the case. The mechanic said it was either the last place that worked on it or I hit something. Either could be possible with the roads I’ve been taking. It’s hard to say. I certainly don’t want to accuse Scooter Lounge of anything like that.

Anyway, I have to bring it back in on Friday. They’re going to drill it out and re-tap it. I’m not thrilled that it will cost me $210 (though I’m betting closer to $250). But it needs to be done. If the exhaust comes loose, it won’t fall off, but it will melt my brake line.

The more I think about how all of this could be avoided by riding a vintage Vespa, the more I’m disliking the modern Vespa.

On the vintage, I could change the tire myself (split rims), forgo the oil change (it’s two-stroke), do the gear oil myself, the exhaust attaches in a way that makes some sort of sense and about a billion other things.

Sure, vintage does need a bit more attention, but I can do that myself and it doesn’t cost nearly as much.

Will I end up selling dear Ruby II at the end of my travels? It’s a good possibility. Especially since I’ll be putting a 200cc engine in Whitey. And for around-the-town, I hope to get a small frame Vespa. I’m really excited about both prospects.

I’ve been thinking more and more about Cannonball Run and if I wanted to do it for charity.

Turns out that I do, but I’m not sure how to go about that. I’ve picked the charity I’d like to support. It’s a food-relief one. I’ve contacted them and hope to hear back soon.

I’m going to be asking for donations for the charity (and the charity only - no money for me, ok?). Folks can donate by-the-mile (or rather, by the 100 mile segment) or can give whatever they can. The money, again, won’t be touched by me.

My folks suggested that I park the scooter out on the west coast, fly back to the east - then back west for the Run. It’s definitely something to think about.

But I doubt that I’ll do that. I want to ride. And if I get back to PA, what will I ride? I have the Stella, but that’s my next project and not street legal anymore.

Anyway, I’m 95% sure that I’m doing the Run. And I’m 75% sure that I’m riding to PA and then back to the west coast.

I’ll have to secure service work somewhere in the upper mid-west, in PA, somewhere in the middle of the country and then somewhere on the west coast (San Jose?).

This is going to be a lot of work, but I’m really really excited about it.

Maybe I’ll head up to New England for a week while I’m in PA.

Now, about “66″.

Several blogs have mentioned me of late and that’s just dandy and a little weird. I want to clear a few things up.

1) I know Route 66 doesn’t go through Idaho. The Route 66 portion of Scoot 66 was over a long time ago.

2) Someone mentioned that this is basically an extended vacation and not a real big deal. I agree. It’s not a big deal and really is an extended vacation. Why should you care? You really shouldn’t. Why do folks care? I’m not exactly sure, but I’m glad they do.

3) The point isn’t to make it across the states and back in 66 days. I’m not behind schedule. I’m exactly where I want to be. It’s Day 55 today and I won’t be home till Day 70 something. At that point, Scoot 66 will be over. In mid-August Scoot 66 II: Electric Boogaloo will start.¹ That will take about a month and will include the Cannonball Run.

Schedule?

My schedule is pretty foggy right now, but to the best of my knowledge, I should be back in PA in Mid (Carson) July. I’ll be leaving for the Cannonball in Mid-August. I’d like to take a week to go up to New England, but I’m not sure about that one. I’ll return from the Cannonball on Sept 22nd-ish. After that. Oh I’m gettin’ plans!

All in all, I’ll probably have a 20,000 mile summer.

Now that that’s cleared up, go and do something fun, ok?

1. That’s not really the name that I’m calling it - I probably won’t call it anything. Just Scoot 66 or something boring like that. [↩]