Well at last the end has come. I am here in Vancouver awaiting my flight to London and have been parted from my trusty steed till this coming Monday. The past several weeks since my last post have been a whirlwind of activity, planning, shopping, and taking care of replacing documents. After I left Prince George (without a tire unfortunately) I headed south as rapidly as I could on my decrepit rear tire. I have to say that crossing the border gave me a lift that helped me manage the next 5 hours on the bike. It has seemed that through my trip that I have seen only a handful of LEO's and generally when I am just heading through scenic areas, however this night I was stuck at speeds just over the limit as I ran across more cops around Seattle and the state of Washington in general that I think that I have seen my whole trip. This would have been one thing if the weather had been poor but as it was a clear cool night it was ideal for making up lost time and cursing at much higher speeds. Also after sitting at or around 100mph for days through northern Canada I found that 60 was torturous. When I crossed into Oregon I was once again beset by rain. Lots of it. As I crossed the bridge between Washington and Oregon I came upon a cop who had hydroplaned into the wall of the bridge and totalled his cruiser. And I was still on a very bald back tire. Arriving at Alexa's doorstep I felt the long miles of riding slip off my shoulders like letting down a heavy pack. A hot shower and a warm bed were like nirvana to me.
Over the next few days I hunted down all the documents I needed for my Visa to the UK and readied myself to return to Hawaii to settle some banking needs brought on by my lost check book. Once in Hawaii Alex picked up Alexa and I and took us out to go and retrieve my Mom's Jeep so that she and I would have a set of wheels for our duration on the island. Leaving the top behind Alexa and I headed out around the island to soak up some warm sun and hit some of the more beautiful beaches. The trip was like a dream of warmth, food, friends, and good times. As we headed back to the mainland we had found that we had become very close during our time together and were both loath to have to return to the "real" world. The next week was spent attempting to make sure all my documents would be where I needed them when I needed them. However all the best plans always seem to go to waste. On Monday I headed to LA to apply for my visa only to get to the office to late to apply. As I had to leave for Vancouver on Tuesday I did not have time to spend in LA getting my visa the next day. I decided that I would head to the UK and then head back in a week or two to Chicago to get my visa there.
On Tuesday my shipping documents had still not arrived and I was forced to spend another night with Alexa (not that I was complaining.) On Wednesday my documents had finally arrived and I headed north to Vancouver. Arriving at the shipping office at 630 pm I found that the office had closed at 6pm. Seems that this was just not my week. After checking in to a hotel that evening I proceeded to get drunk in the hotel bar and hit the hay. In the morning I hit the Shippers once more and finally got my bike accepted to get on a plane. Now it is Friday and I am just waiting for my flight and looking forward to my new life in the UK studying at Loughborough University.
Ill be posting one or more wrap up posts in the next month or so once I have settled into life in England so keep reading and waiting for news of mike.
Posted by Mike
at 12:03 AM BST
