Seattle, Washington
Leaving Whitefish, Montana, a growing valley town of about 8,500, wasn’t easy. It’s a fine settlement with many wonderful amenities, like clean air, an outwardly happy citizenry, majestic scenery, a bustling down town, four active seasons, a very good ski area, a railroad station, regional airport, and a fab national park. Plus, it has an amazingly tolerable climate that lacks extremes, and cozy neighborhoods with pretty homes. If it only had the Atlantic Ocean! If I only just had the balls to move there. It touched me.
Just before leaving, I met, L-R, Phil, Marj, and Bob, who were staying in the same motel, The Pine Lodge, which is highly recommended. Phil is from Ohio, and an energetic man who turned 78 the day this photo was taken. He rides one of the world’s fastest bikes, a Suzuki Hyabusa, capable of 180+ mph. Bob and Marj, were riders as well but rode this more sedate yet very smart looking Harley Trike.
Just like Matt and Patsy Peyerl, the fine young couple I met from from Bismarck, ND, Phil, Marj, and Bob, were all great folks, and exemplifiy one of my visions of what makes a good American.
The Road to Bonners Ferry, Idaho is a fast two-lane highway of the old fashioned variety conducive to head-on collisions due to a lot of passing. I kept the camera in my pocket, my hands on the bars, and eyes on the road.
As you ride west the mountains become less imposing and more like the Appalachians with beautiful valleys and rivers, and Bonners Ferry is nestled in one of these picturesque scenes.
I went there because I thought my mother’s last husband, a very fine gentleman and retired Mennonite minister, named Dan Byler, was buried there, and I wanted to pay my respects. Sadly, I came to find out from his son, Rudy, who lives in Bonners Ferry with his wife, Ester, and extended family, that Dan was buried in Missouri! But what a treasure Bonners Ferry turned out to be. A lovely small town of 2,500, it is the quintessential clean and neat American small town with lots to offer.
I stayed in a very charming B&B, the Northside School Bed & Breakfast which has been converted from its academic background, by Ruth Perry, and her architect husband. They provide a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere, and fabulous breakfasts! I felt completely stress- free and spent one entire day doing nothing but writing. http://www.northsideschoolbandb.com/
At the B&B, I met Christine, a delightful woman from the East who was in town to inspect a near-by private school for one of her children. One of the privileges of being on the road is making the acquaintance of people you might not ordinarily meet. Like Sue Funk who prayed on my gimpy left leg in an auto parts store in Sheridan, Wyoming, or the Croatian waitress Laila, in West Yellowstone, who sweetly advised me to avoid Serbia, or Homer Kutz, a human bouquet of genuineness from Medicine Lodge, Kansas; Christine, was yet another gift of the road. Deeply metaphysical and measured, she was a feast of contrast to my ordinarily bold personality. Our two evenings of having dinner and philosophical discussions together was a treasure of learning, amusing repartee, and mutual respect.
Rudy and Ester Byler generously invited me to lunch. I had no idea what to expect; they are of the Mennonite faith, and their home was outside of town deep in the country. Though never having met them before, I had a genuine feeling of being kin to them because my mom had been married to Rudy’s father. I found their living conditions to be enviable, to say the least. They live in a semi-wilderness paradise, surrounded by gentle beauty, in an exquisitely decorated, grand log home that can only be described as tasteful western chic. Rudy heads up commercial building projects in the western states.
His son, Dave, lives right down the road, and owns one of the finest custom log home and commercial log building manufacturing companies in the USA, Caribou Creek Log Homes.The quality of the work is stunning, and, they deliver nationally.
See: http://www.cariboucreekloghomes.com/
The sweet genuineness of Rudy and Ester’s behavior and the simplicity of their attire did not mask the sophistication of their life. A fascinating example of how hard work, talent, honesty and faith, are blended together to create a bountiful existence, in a beautiful setting. I thought about my life in New Orleans, which by contrast has become gaudy, and sometimes pointless. My time spent with Rudy and Ester was priceless.
Onward to Spokane, Washington! The ride to this largest city between it and the Mississippi, was a crank-it- out grind through eastern Washington, which looks a lot like Kansas, flat and plain. But at about 50 miles from Spokane the lay of the land softens and huge amounts of fertile rolling acreage dotted with farms, sets the perfect stage for producing potatoes, wheat, timothy, alfalfa, and sweet corn. This state also produces mass quantities of cattle, apples, cherries, and apples.
Did you ever wonder who collects the coins from parking meters? Wonder no more! I finally caught up to one of these people in Spokane…he looked pretty relaxed.
I stopped in Spokane to see my Godson, Francis Luerssen, and his lovely wife Tina. They are both from the East, so I asked them how in hell did they wind up in Spokane! Tina said, “Find Your Spot.Com”! I said, “What the hell is that”? “Well, she said, it’s a website. You answer a bunch of questions about yourself, your lifestyle, weather preference, preferred activities, city or country preference, etc…then push the button, and presto, names of contenders pop up”. I couldn’t wait to try it…Uh Oh, New Orleans wasn’t on the list. The day spent with with Francis and Tina was a delight; you couldn’t meet a more lovely, hospitable, and positive young couple.
The road to Seattle was a motorcyclist’s paradise…Harvey and I loved the big sweeping turns, hills and valleys, and more natural beauty.
Once across the Columbia River, the big mountains surrounding Seattle begin to come into view and they give you some idea of the natural splendor for which the area is well known.
My lovely and talented daughter Kirsten lives in Seattle along with her terrific husband Mark, have treated me to the grand tour!
For More Information About Seattle See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle
The ferryboat ride from Bremerton to Seattle was wonderful. I stood on the bow of the ship inhaling the fresh salt air and taking in incredible views of the 14,400 ft., snow covered stratovalcano, Mt. Reiner, which, if it erupts, will remove much of the Pacific Northwest. Wherever we are, we live at God’s mercy.
The Seattle skyline looks like it means business and at the same time, very welcoming. It’s an attractive city to be sure, and considered to be quite literate; it is also quite politically liberal, not to mention having big time traffic congestion because the city has expanded outward rather rapidly, but public transportation hasn’t kept up with the increased demand. See Atlanta, but, with a better climate and, according to Wikipedia, a generally smarter people. Quote: Researchers at Central Connecticut State University consistently rank Seattle and Minneapolis as the two most literate cities among America’s largest cities
My main interests in Seattle are simple: Seafood, and Seafood.
But Pikes Market, dark chocolate coated cherries, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream shop where I had a triple scoop cone, brunch at Salty’s Restaurant on Alki Beach, shopping at R.E.I., (L.L. Bean is better), and eating as much smoked Alaskan King Salmon as possible, also satisfies.
When I first arrived in Seattle.
Just before leaving Seattle.
Below are a few more photos of the incredibly abundant offerings of seafood in Pikes Market. Valhalla!
That’s me and Gerry Kingen, the entreprenurial, Harley riding owner of Salty’s Restaurant on Alki Beach, which by the way has the most opulent and quality drenched brunch on the planet! We bonded over our love of Harley’s, and living well.
Salty’s also has one of the most spectacular waterside views of Seattle. This is not to be missed.
Salty’s manageress, Jada Wood, who has a PhD in smooth charm, and efficiency.
http://www.saltys.com/seattle/index.asp
This is an active and seemingly affluent area to be sure. Boeing and Microsoft, and numerous other large companies provide the economic fuel, and the areas natural beauty delivers the drag to be here. The climate is year round useable, and there’s non- stop access to i nteresting, intellectual, and active, things to do.
Speaking about Boeing, we went on the factory tour. There’s no photos because that’s not allowed, but seeing the process of manufacturing a big assed airplane, especially the brand new 787 Dream liner, is fascinating. The combination of project enormity and the absolute dedication to system installation perfection, is fascinating to behold.
At the end of the tour you are deposited in an area that has a factory store, and a number of additional exhibits, including a flight simulator that costs eight bucks to take a spin. Mark and I asked for details about the “ride” and we were told that several options were available, the Biplane simulator being the most gentle, and the Star Wars space fighter chase, the most violent. We asked for the Biplane ride thinking we were going to recreate something Orville and Wilbur might have done. So the stupid ass operator screwed up and activated the fucking Star Wars ride! I almost hurled, Mark almost passed out, and I finally had to hit the emergency stop button, reachable only with my cane, before we were both hospitalized!
Instead of just turning around and going back to New Orleans, I used that quarter that guy in the fishing supply store in Wyoming gave to me. I flipped the coin and Tails, it was! So, I am turning right, and riding back across the continent, Northwest to Northeast, into the Canadian Maritime Provinces, then down the east coast. I’m leaving tomorrow, with Sturgis, Mt. Rushmore, and all that hoo-ha, and then on to Milwaukee and the Harley-Davidson factory for a tour and a lunch with one of its managers. Though it doesn’t look like there’s much going on in some of the areas I’ll traverse, God only knows what will be encountered between here and there!
Today, I’ll map out the trip, make reservations, and prep Harvey for the ride.
XO
Middie
