Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Everyday for 7 Weeks–Day 25–Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Hope was a nice quiet town. I fell asleep listening to the rain. I woke up and it was just misty, so I went for a walk around the town to explore. I found some nice wood sculptures, totem poles, and some murals. I also had a tasty breakfast at a local café.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

I loaded the gear up on the bike at a very leisurely pace, and set off. Vancouver was less than 100 miles, and I was in no rush. I just wanted to make it there by lunch, so I could enjoy more tastiness.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

It started to rain about five minutes after I left Hope. I was in denial again, and refused to stop and put on my rain gear. Thirty minutes later it did stop, and the sun briefly came out. I stopped at a rest area to enjoy the blue sky and stretch my legs.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Shortly after re-starting it started to rain again. hmm. Just before I reached Vancouver it stopped again which was good. There was a lot of construction on CA-1 just east of the city which wouldn’t have been fun in rain. An HOV lane opened up, and I was able to zip past the cars just sitting in traffic. Awesome!

I made it to the restaurant I wanted to visit, and luckily found a parking spot right in front. The food was good.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

After lunch, I headed into downtown proper in an attempt to find the park on the North side. I rode around for a bit in the general direction, but ended up missing my turn to Pacific and went back across the bridge. Ah well. I found other parks and beach with a view of downtown, so it worked out. I sat on a log in the sand watching the clouds and people move about. It was nice, but I was getting too hot! Crazy right? After so many weeks of being cold, to be too hot. It was in the high 60s and sunny.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

I got back on the bike and just road along the coastal area exploring. It was nice to ride along with no destination in mind just to see where the road went.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Eventually, I started to get hungry again, so I headed off to a café for some hot tea and scrumptious treats. I enjoyed sitting on their patio watching the people walk past. I even had a long conversation with one guy who was staring at my bike. He has been wanting an SV650 for some time, and had many questions.  It turns out he is a closet moto guzzi fan too.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

 

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Evening was beginning which meant it was time to go and meet up with Sonja. Wow, she already put up a post with a cool pic of me on my bike. Sonja and her husband graciously offered me their spare room and a dry space for my bike. It rained the entire way to her house, and it is raining even now as I write this. I guess that is why they call it the west wet coast eh? Thanks again to the HOV lanes, I made reasonable time getting across the city. We those in the city in Minnesota and not just on the freeway!

 

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

I had a great time chatting with both of them. We enjoyed some wine and stayed up quite late. This seems to happen when two bloggers (or even youtubers) get together -  staying up late swapping stories about riding and life. Good times indeed. They’ve both gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and comfortable. I really appreciate their generosity and warmth.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

More Vancouver today (5/23), and then Thursday I head to Seattle.

 

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

I think this sign is funny with the little guy falling. silly I know.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 25 - Hope to Vancouver

 

Day 25 Full Flickr Album

 

Today’s Route:


View Larger Map

 

Video: A Vancouver Beach

17 comments:

  1. More awesome pictures. Love the one of the rhododendron with a burst of color and black and white.

    That 3G restaurant looks so tasty. I had to check out all of the pictures in the flickr album.

    If you and your wife are hungry as you get South of Portland stop at the Bridgeport Village Shopping Complex. It is jJust off of I-5 to the West south of Portland and contains a Native Foods Cafe. Completely vegan and everything is made on site. We were there for the first time on Saturday and it was yummy. http://nativefoods.com/ If you check out their locations tab it is the one listed for Portland/Tigard

    It is hard to believe you have been on the road for so many days. I am glad you are having a great time in Vancouver. We haven't been up that way since 2001.

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    1. Thanks. I had fun with the cameras yesterday.

      3G was good. I just finished writing the post on my food blog for it, it will be posted tomorrow since I just posted the jungle juice one.

      Ah, Native Foods. Sojourner is an addict for that place and can't stop going on about how great it is. They have them in Chicago too. We will be visiting at least one on this trip.

      Day 26 now. I can't believe it. All I can say is more please! :)

      Hard not to enjoy Vancouver with so much to look at and tasty food everywhere.

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  2. So strange that you've crossed weather regions. No snow and warmth. Neat!

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    1. After riding 1000 miles south, I'd expect it to warm up sometime! lol :)

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  3. With the mountains and clouds, the area looks wonderful. You were here too early. Today, I walked down to the Farmers Market and it was a very warm 68°F and sunny.

    BTW, what was the tasty looking dish?

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    1. It is pretty here.

      An I say Bah to you sir. It was just the right time. :P

      Which dish? The chili tofu with sesame sauce? It will be up on the food blog tomorrow afternoon.

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  4. Ah, so it was you! Absolutely love the pictures...but you are making me hungry.

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  5. Great photos and narrative! I'm so enjoying your journey. Thanks! What deliciousness was the breakfast in the cow mug? Two blogs???!!! Hats off to you, my friend! BTW--Where is your food blog link?

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying the virtual trip. Cow mug was a granola; it was very tasty.

      Food blog is linked on the right side "Everyday Tastiness" EverydayTastiness.com

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    ReplyDelete
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    1. Sorry my first posting attempt was full of typos. Too much wine, I guess.

      Welcome to the wet coast! At least the rain is warmer down here. The picture with the kid on the bicycle is sweet. There is something in the little guy's posture that seems to tell there's a biker/rider in the make.

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    2. mmm.. that was tasty wine too.

      It was a bit warmer than snow yes. lol. I love the pic with the little kid on the bike. He expressed the look that I was feeling at the time with the view.

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  7. I am playing catch up here Chris and reading your posts backwards. Great to see you have made it all the way to Vancouver. I realised you had arrived there from just reading Sonja’s post (great picture looking down on you BTW) and from seeing your ‘Back in the USA’ post on FB.

    It’s good that you are able to meet many moto-bloggers on your trip. The evening with Sonja and Roland sounds like it was great fun.

    This last blog post looks very wet and from reading, it seems that you have been suffering somewhat from bad weather. No doubt I will discover more as I read, but just think that as you ride further south, the weather will get better.

    Breakfast in Hope looked tasty.

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    Replies
    1. Glad you are enjoying the posts. retired life sounds busy. when can I sign up? haha.

      The two nights with Sonja and Roland were good fun. Great hosts.

      I expect the weather further south to get a bit warmer, but also just an unpredictable since there is an ocean to contend with and hopefully frequent mountains.

      PS: breakfast in hope was tasty.

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  8. Once again, awesome glimpse of your trip through photos!

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