So, we just got our US Highspeed from Verizon, so, I'm back on line, whenever they have service. We're driving through a very wet and rainy California as i type this.. but, i'll start this entry with our leaving Victoria, BC and heading into the US on Memorial weekend.. while our RV started sounding like a Westy! :)
So, our last day in Victoria we hung out in the inner harbor of Victoria, there was both a large Sailing Boat race & bike Race going on.. so, the streets where all blocked off. What should have taken 10mins to drive took us over an hour and a half. We had planned to be down there to meet up with friends four hours before our departure anyhow. Good thing, as if we had left right before our departure, we would have missed the boat! Worked out perfectly. Jerry is a master at this, he looked to see when the ferry before us was departing, and he aimed to get us there right then, so we could park the RV there and walk around. As the RV is 24ft (with the bikes) there isn't anyplace downtown Victoria (or any vibrant downtown) that we could park an RV! So, good planning all around.
We booked the ferry ahead of time, which too is a good thing, as they always sell out by the day of departure on long weekends. So, we were covered.
Our friends where caught up in traffic too, so, we walked around, we bumped into friends from home, Gweneth Jones & Bob, nice surprise. We did meet up with Lee-Anne & Norm, and went for lunch downtown, got caught up, then headed out. I'll be seeing them again in October, when i'm back out in Victoria doing my 10th 1/2 marathon with Kaily, who will be doing her second full marathon (if you add up her 1/2s and fulls, she's at 7 1/2 marathons..).
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So, we boarded and ventured across to Washington State, and headed out around the Olympic National Forest. Last year we drove around the west side of it, so, this year we drove around the east side of it. We found a camp ground we both loved. National Forest Camp Ground, where it's pay $10 to camp, honor system. This camp ground we found didn't have water, so, it was empty, we have our water, we can camp anywhere, we even have solar panels for electricity! (We're really roughing it!).
So, that night we got to listen to the forest, as this is the forest that BigFoot's been sighted in. So, we waited, we didn't see him. The next morning, Duke & I took off to find both BigFoot and the waterfalls we heard all night. We found one of the two.
So we had a very enjoyable experience. As we started off again, around 9am on the Sunday of the Memorial day weekend, Baloo (our RV) sounded louder then normal, and was getting louder. To me it sounded like a Westy (teteteteteteatatatete) but, after a while, it was getting louder.
So, Jerry started mumbling words like blown casket, muffler, spark-plugs. I said can't we just call Frank C and ask him to listen to the noise, he'd know. So, did i mention that it was Sunday on Memorial day weekend! So, we were near Shelton Washington, we stopped at an Auto Car place and asked them if they knew of a mechanic in the area, he said, down the road, 2miles back, past the airport, on the right side, a green garage with no sign, that he's usually always there. So, we turned around and tried. Sure enough John & Bill were there. Bill was the owner, he was like a thin "Larry the Cable Guy". He had me in stitches when i realized he was joking with me, at first i thought he was serious, actually, Jerry had to tell me he was joking. NICE people are they! Their shop is called Motor City Mad House! John & Jerry took a ride in Baloo to see what was wrong, i stayed behind, with Bill, his female dog named "Girl" and Duke.. Duke & Girl became friends quickly, it was clear she was a spoiled as Duke was. So, they figured out the Exhaust Gasket blew out. Then they broke two bolts trying to get off the rusty manifold, so, they had to take more stuff apart. They had to go to town three times to get supplies.. John worked on it straight for 4 hours, no breaks, while Bill (and Girl) ran into town. So, they fixed it, and it's been (knock on wood) running smooth since.. So, guess how much they charged us?? Four hours of work and Gaskets.. (those are round things, ours was missing parts of it, so, it wasn't sealing anymore..) So, did you guess? $189! THAT"S IT! Can you believe it. And obviously, those guys were doing something else when we drove up, the stopped working on that other vehicle, and payed their full attention to us. We were very lucky.
So, we left there around 4pm, and headed into Oregon!
Hugs
Sofie
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