Day 7 – Kalaloch Lodge to Seattle
Well, that went quickly.
The last day dawned early. And saw us up early, also. It was time to hit the road, and being to a close our little odyssey. It was gorgeous to wake up to a view of the ocean. A cup of coffee in the cabin before breakfast got things started, and then we packed up and headed up to the main lodge for breakfast.
Day 6 – Lincoln City to Kalaloch Lodge
Well, that was epic.
We started the day in Lincoln City. The hotel that we were staying in, romantic as it is, lacks a restaurant. So the first order of business was to forage for food. This took us a little further down the road to the Wildflower Grill, one of my favorite restaurants in town.
Day 5 – Crescent City to Lincoln City
Without question, our accommodations of the previous evening were on the spartan side, but serviceable. This would also be an apt description of the continental breakfast. As such, we opted to get on the move earlier, and have our first stop of the day be our source for first breakfasts, rather than our usual second breakfasts.
Day 4 – Point Arena to Crescent City
Today dawned a little earlier than expected. A night of weird dreams had me up a little earlier than my alarm required. Actually, I attempted complex time zone calculation at several times in the night, but I finally figured out when I was close, and chose to get up. A cup of coffee, a bath and trying to sort out my technology gremlins (yes, all at the same time) and I was mostly ready to start the day.
Day 3 – Monterey to Point Arena
Today was the day it all came together. It was going to be a long day. We had about 250 miles to go, and many of those would be intricate and technical. So your basic “miles at freeway speed” calculation falls pretty much by the wayside.
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Day 1 – Getting to Santa Barbara
The first ride of the season is a journey of acclimatization. You are reacquainting yourself with your bike, and with riding in general. You are shaking out the cobwebs, finding equilibrium and generally embracing the rhythm and balance of life on two wheels. As a general rule, then, starting out on an LA highway just before Friday rush hour on someone else’s motorcycle would at the best of times be considered unadvisable.
Day 2 – Santa Barbara to Monterey
Saturday started off a little bit foggy. There was also some pretty heavy mist outside. Both fogs promised to burn off later in the morning.
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Day 6 – To Edmonton
This morning dawned hot and blowing. And I was alone, thank you very much, so get your minds out of the gutter.
There is very little open at 6:30 in the morning for breakfast in Kamloops (should you ever find yourself in this situation, you may want to keep this in mind). Several establishments open at 7:30am, of course, but I had a long day ahead of me and my goal was to actually be on the road by then. Read more…
Day 5 – To Kamloops
This morning, I decided to grab a quick breakfast at a coffee shop. Of course, given that I was staying at the Fairmont in Seattle, this isn’t just any coffee shop. Belle Epicurean is run by a Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef, and they’ve won a raft of ‘best of Seattle’ awards. A brioche and an egg and ham sandwich on house-made croissants, along with one of the better Americanos I’ve had on this trip, and I’m ready to hit the road. There are really much worse ways to start the day. Read more…
Day 4 – To Seattle
After a shorter night, I packed up and headed out to breakfast at the Wild Flower Cafe in Lincoln City. Dianne and I had breakfasted here last time we were through, so I had a fair idea of what to expect. It’s an excellent thing that I got there when I did, because by the time I left there were at least six parties waiting for tables… Read more…