Day 2

• Thursday, June 23
• Crescent City, CA to Seattle, WA
• 531 miles (Paul, Jeff & Eric)

After spending some time exploring the Redwoods, the guys head North up the Oregon Coast, some mighty fine motorcycling riding indeed. They cross the Columbia River at Astoria, Oregon and cruise into Washington State.

They could head Northeast to Olympia, Washington at the Southern end of Puget Sound and zoom up I-5 to my house but that is not possible. Ever since I turned the guys onto the Puget Sound ferry system, they have this irresistible need to either arrive or depart the area on a ferry boat. Personally, I think it is a direct result of spending way too many years in all that dust and heat in the Arizona desert but it’s a lot of fun and well worth it.

After toiling for days to get things squared away at work so I can take two weeks off, I wrap up the last task at 9 PM and logoff. I suit up and ride my 1977 Honda CB750F2 to go meet the guys as they arrive on the 10 PM boat in Elliott Bay in downtown Seattle. I pull up to the ferry dock and everything’s been barricaded off. I can’t figure out where to park and wait so I putt around back and forth. I finally decide to enter the exit lane where I do a u-turn and pull over to the side. When the guys disembark, they’ll come right past me. Good plan until a cop comes over to investigate. He explains that due to Homeland Security, access to the ferry dock is tightly controlled. I pull off my helmet, show him my license and explain my dilemma. He smiles as he looks me and my bike over and says since the ferry I’m waiting for is unloading right behind us, he’ll just stall a bit longer by asking me a few questions about my restored 1977 CB750. As my brothers and Pork Chop roll up along side us, the cop sends me on my way and wishes us well.

Click here to return to the ride summary.

Click on a photo below to launch the slide show.