Friday morning started much like Thursday – we were up early and I took Donna to her class on the Spyder. When I dropped her off, she put her jacket and helmet in the front trunk (frunk) of the Spyder.

Back at home, I got to work organizing the trailer – I packed the bikes and the grills and straightened things out. Then I took Donna’s jacket and helmet out of the frunk and rode the Spyder to Costco. When I was there earlier in the week, I saw 33-pound bags of Traeger gourmet wood pellets. I wanted to buy a bag, but didn’t have enough room on the Spyder at the time. With the frunk empty, I had room for the bag.

I made a stop at a Japanese restaurant called Yuki & Song at 122nd and Sandy Boulevard. They had lunch specials – I ordered their teriyaki beef plate. I was surprised to find it came with a bowl of miso soup, salad, tempura veggies, rice and of course teriyaki beef for $8.95! Nice lunch find.

Donna sent me a text and said she would be finished with her class no later than 4pm. I hit the road on the Spyder to pick her up around 3:15pm – I wanted to be there before 4pm and I wasn’t sure how heavy the traffic would be on Friday afternoon on the Fourth of July weekend.

I made good time and got there at 3:45pm. I could see the traffic heading north was heavier – our trip home would take longer as volumes were building. Just before I pulled into the lot, I realized that I didn’t put Donna’s jacket and helmet back into the frunk. Oh no! We generally don’t ride without helmets and Oregon has a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. The Spyder is legally considered a motorcycle.

If I went back for her helmet, it would take over an hour. When Donna came out from her class, I told her about the problem. We decided to take our chances and avoid any freeways on the way home. As we were riding in traffic on MLK Boulevard, I saw a police car on a side street ahead. The traffic was stopped and backed up for an entire block at a stop light. The car ahead of us stopped short to let the police car in. As the traffic began to move, another police car appeared. The driver ahead held up and let him in. Two more police cars merged ahead of us.

I changed lanes and put a large box truck between us and the police cruisers. Instead of changing lanes to move ahead in the traffic, I changed lanes when possible to put more vehicles between us and the police. Being a scofflaw isn’t much fun. We made it home without incident or ticket.

The day before, new neighbors moved into the site next to us. It was Jim and Gayle (Life’s Little Adventures). We met them before at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego. We had plans to get together for happy hour snacks and drinks. Gayle brought tortilla chips, guacamole and salsa and Donna fixed a couple of plates – there was a good spread on our new folding table. We sat and talked for a few hours – it wasn’t dark yet at 9pm. I neglected to take any photos as I was caught up in conversation.

The only photo I have is a bottle of limited release “Summer Style IPA” from Ninkasi Brewing. I don’t know what makes it a summer IPA – it was tasty but typical west coast IPA.

Maiden the Shade summer IPA

Saturday morning we prepared to hit the road. I dumped and flushed the tanks, filled the fresh water, put away the window shades and finished loading the trailer. We hitched the trailer and pulled out of the park around 11:30am. I wondered what the traffic would be like on the I-5 bridge to Vancouver, Washington. The traffic is usually crawling across it. I was surprised to find the traffic light  and moving right along on I-5.

We stopped around 1pm in Chehalis to top off the fuel tank at a CFN truck stop and had lunch at Subway. Our destination for the day was the Cabela’s store in Lacey, Washington. We stayed there overnight two years ago and found it to be a good overnight dry-camping spot.

We claimed a spot in the large west lot which was nearly empty. They have signs advising “No Overnight Parking” however, these signs were here before and they allowed us to stay. To be sure I went to the customer service desk and asked. I was told it’s no problem – they have the signs so they can keep people from setting up for more than one night.

Dry camp at Cabela’s

Donna shopped for hours in Cabela’s and found shorts, tops and sandals she couldn’t do without. Since losing weight this past year, she’s had to buy new clothes. But I haven’t heard her complaining.

This morning, Donna went out for a run. I’m watching the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria, then we’ll head up to Arlington, Washington. Our destination is my oldest daughter Alana’s driveway in Arlington. We’ll moochdock in her driveway for the next week or two and spend time with her and our granddaughters.