A week in the Gorge - Kus' Diary
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:35 am
Warning: This thread is likely to bore, offend or anger some. Stop reading now then, dickhead 
but some may find it of interest on a rainy day and assist with their own touristic endeavors in the Gorge. (A few pix to be added later). The top secret lot is secret to protect the innocent
Sunday, June 24th, 6 still dark 30, Blaine Wa:
Leaving Blaine 0645 after retrieving my windsurfing gear from the sailboat on K-dock. The downpour from the previous nite has stopped (which made me decide to start driving in the morning) and given way to semi-clear skies. I reach Seattle at 0830, amazed at I5 winding almost through the inert city on a Sunday morning. Drivers are nuts, passing, swerving, speeding, cutting off 12000lb motorhomes in compact cars. Their favourite trick is playing impatient in the lane behind me, tailgating for several tens of minutes, then pass at double the limit, immediately cut in front…..and I mean right in front  and then take the immediate next exit 100 yards down the road. Fuel is $3.19 Gal at the border and doesn’t fluctuate much between 3.12 and that. Heading south, the Port Angeles exit is #104 and given my health & overcast weather I ponder an immediate return loop. I find an ARCO at $2.93 in Burlington. I don’t know it’s prepay only and lose my mind and rag on the attendant to reset the damn pump til I am given the rolling eye “damn stupid tourist” treatment advising me. I press receipt but don’t get one…..for all I know all of Wash is filling up there on my bankcard until further notice. GC’s truckstop apparently has wifi at exit 71. Exit numbers correlate with miles to the southern state border, in case you didn’t know…..I hadn’t really thought about it. Exited reststop near mile 53 which has a decent distance between highway and parking/trucks area. Mile 13 rest area has a sani dump on site. All have wifi for highway conditions only but you can subscribe for 2.95/min to regular internet. Olympia at 1000, Portland 1220. No sign of BillyBob thankfully. It has been absolutely pouring in buckets/roof caving in since Vancouver, Wash. I vow not to miss the damn 84 east exit as I recall it really sneaks up on you. After noticing several warning signs of the exit I wonder what I must have been on last time, no issue. Lateron it dawns on me that I once again caught the second 84 exit, the 205/84 is a much shorter route…..live and…..well, old dog, just takes longer. The rain stops at Rooster Rock, sun arrives a few k later. I cruise into Hood River noticing wind at Viento, then Hatch on the way in. I make a B-line to the Thai food stop “Lampoei Kitchen”, nice, red pepper chicken!! That took care of lunch & dinner! I then drive over and hit Windance and spy the goodies in the store but have just spent a fortune last week on import stuff so no go, but I do take in the forecast, coastal suckage as I figured til at least tomorrow, Hatch & Doug’s the best bets, blowing 25-27 at each. Doug’s fits the Windkuschine nicely, albeit the end of the slogg row, and I do scrape the exhaust pipe on the bull rail. Careful, no gas tank leaks please! Sailing is epic. Tons of people there, parking lot is FULL but so is the rigging area. I find a spot, learn everyone is blown off the water, wind rising to 3.5. Everyone went on the forecast, most only brought 4.5’s and up. I head apprehensively out on the 4.2, EVO smallest fin and am full on-over. Swellies are huge. Long rides on the same swell or two across the whole river, am way upriver in no time. What a blast. Goon/kook factor is moderate, I am one of the goons. Start feeling sicker halfway through, leave to eat and water at the “house”, back for more and it subsides a bit. Still, lonely not knowing anyone. Some locals exchange pleasantries, nice and appreciated. It dies at 7:30, I rig the 5.0, discard the wrapping paper, rig it waaaay too full and it still performs, I like it already. Killer color pattern too, matching the EVO and all. I finish and am introduced by a local to muleberries, full, juicy, dark fruit the shape of an elongated raspberry, delicious!! Right beside the rigging area. I shower, listening to a painful oldies station for some reason, head to the reststop between Lyle & Bingen on the hilltop for the nite. Far enough from the road and railway, flat, nice spot since HR is so difficult to stay in these days. I feel crappy tho, hit the HwyGrocer that have tons of stuff for goodies back in Lyle. They inform of White Salmon Hospital up the hill from center of Bingen. I spend time in emerg with them listening and taking detailed info, drinking lotsa water, reading “becoming the kind father”, a CT scan and drugs, a stern talking to, and I’m in the deathly quiet flat parking lot outside to sleep…..and a good sleep it was. What a first day, 22 hrs.
Monday, June 25th, 1020, White Salmon, WA, Hospital Parking lot:
I awake and feel much better, awakened by repeated car alarms chirping. Sunny and hot today. I am happy to note my tightening of the heater hose has stopped the puking of coolant from the heat exchanger in the water heater. Thankful for small favors. My medical appt for referral to MRI is not til 1540. Who knows when Hood River can fit me in. Shit, so much for sailing today unless I sneak one in late at Doug’s maybe or even Bingen. I write the trip diary after having a blue plate b-fast special with crab, listen to 104.5 (classic tunes, also old, guess it goes with my checkered shirt), read the Hood River News Advisor. Lots for $50k same as several (5-10) acres of land, go figure. Excellent view from the parking lot, who needs Iwindsurf readings. Slight breeze is promising but the forecast sucked yesterday for today, too hot. Serious windgust just now, gotta check it out. (as it turned out later, back east they got 2-3 hrs early in the morning 8-11 at Roosevelt, then it died) There was a signal last nite for the laptop but it’s gone now, maybe have to cross over afterall. Feeling better this a.m. but things already start again at 11, bummer. Beneventis pizza in Bingen for great, fast WIFI connection right across from Laundromat along main drag. Coast looks to be going off today, bummer as I’m stuck here. Hot and stickey.
I go shopping in White Salmon, Thrifty something. Decent food that comes in almost exclusively Ziploc, love THAT and also comes with directions: There is a dani dump at Wilkens road past and opposite of the Gardener funeral home on the right side up after following Estes from center of town north, keep right then turn right onto Wilkens, $2. I hit the Dr.’s office at 1540 and got to wait over an hour til all was clear that nothing was clear. MRI on Wednesday. Little do they know there’s no way I’m paying unless extended health kicks in (which it ends up not doing so I cancel later). I have my doubts. I head to Klickitat, hang a left up the hill for bit after the bridge over the river, for a sleep. After shaking the crap outta the rig going down into the river spot and having both solar panels slam out of the closet onto the stove, I am relieved to find no damage….apart from all the crap all over the floor. Nobody else around except some strange looking guys fishing after parking his car high-centered over a rock in 3’ of grass, having flung his backpack into the road in disgust.... I am guessing. I try to level with limited success and already the place doesn’t feel right. As the place is mostly deserted with new signs up: “Don’t camp here!” somehow the imperative is more convincing, together with the weirdo fisherman, than the usual “as per bylaw XYZ” and I decide to retreat to my favourite new parking spot.
Tuesday, June 26th, White Salmon Hospital, Wa.:
Another great night. Breakfast ala fruit and peaches’n cream Quaker’s Oatmeal. It’s already quite hot, supposed to hit 90’s today. No doubt! Off to Beneventis again, check in with IWindsurf for free trial membership. Checked in with Travelcare (who apparently don’t) by cell and they assured me that it is likely they won’t cover anything at all afterall but still took over ½ hr to tell me this. I have records/results faxed up. I try calling Hood River but…..it’s freaking long distance, of course. After noticing my frustration and me asking for a ton of change, the gas attendant is nice enough to offer her cellphone, sweet! According to Iwindsurf, it’s outflow blowing at Stevenson to 25! Even sweeter!! Hard to believe but off I go, driving past Home Valley where I almost stopped as it was rippin’ there, nothing but white, wow. Going through the tunnels with the rig is kinda interesting given they all have different height warnings and there are tons of bikers with no (zero!!) space inside the tunnel for curb lanes. I have a great sail on my brand spanking Kult 5.3 & EVO, taking a while to get dialled. Water a bit flattish but hey, wattaya want for an E outflow?? Quite a few kites out here. Tried several exercise #1 forward loops, feels great now already. The rig feels solid but had to switch up to Jesus for some last marginal runs after 1 ½ hrs. Met Julian, Quebec dood, and we chatted about our great living in BC for a bit, relaxing on the cool grass on this otherwise mega-warm sunny day. Lotsa bikini viewings around here! Got a dash fan at NAPA in Stevenson after before heading into HR town back over the narrow steel bridge. The toll guy wanted $1.50 all of a sudden instead of $.75 cuz I have duallies, just about lost his mind when I tried to give him Canadian coins cuz that’s mostly all I had. He waved me through in disgust after he dropped two of the only US quarters I managed to find onto the road. Shouldda gone to college, asshole!, then you wouldn’t have to argue with stupid tourists with the wrong currency. Our $$ is apparently not appreciated here, off to the bank to avoid such problems in future and also caught the PADZ factory still open (just below and behind the post office off Cascade) and scored two new deck mats for $10, nice! After a huge Burritto at Taco del Mar repaired Jesus in Top Secret
parkinglot, decent field repair but I could have done a much neater job at home….grrrr…..although, wait, it’s not sunny or windy at home, forget it, all’s great. Too bad the Thai place won’t open til 11 so I could have the B-fast of champions. Another time. Charging batts, even running the air conditioner for ½ hr to solidify everything again that had melted inside the rig during the day (it is soooo stinking, literally, hot!!), watched new WS movie with Los Borrilles Dieter (invited Helmut & Erika too but they were already toast) cooled off from the heat with a shower and slept great again, no drugs this time!
Wednesday June 27th , Top Secret Parking lot, Oregon:
Up early for a change, 0600 at updating the diary. Slept great again, this is starting to become the norm, wow!! Top Secret is still deserted except for us 3, no other travellers snuck in late. I’m getting outta here before any staff arrive, despite having permission don’t want to have any more than necessary see my rig obviously camping here. Don’t wreck a good thing!!! Listening to older rock from 92.7KMSW which seems is the only station apart from another fuzzy one I can listen to without getting the feeling of having to kill myself. Off to pick up hashbrowns for the king of breakfasts, postpone the MRI til I hear from TravelPayItYourselfDood, then off to the Hatchery. I even got US change for asshole this time. Going across the bridge I notice again that my bumper is almost scraping the guardrail while the mirrors narrowly pass other mirrors of trucks. Nice design, gotta love the adrenalin rush tho, ha! That combined with the 20 something gusts hitting the side of the huge Windkusschine make for interesting times. I speed over the 25mph limit to up the ante.
Hatchery turned out to be the call, all other places forecast to get a better pm didn’t so 3+hrs was good for me. Made potatoes O’Brien, wonderful, together with some sausages, eggs, French buns. Fuelled, I launch from the family friendly spot this time, better rigging, no better launch  I see Julian out and already other faces feel familiar . Decent swellies, lotsa rides, some backies, 1hand monkeys, trying new stuff, whew! Rob Warwick doing his spinny things, smiling at every opportunity, probably laughing at my feeble attempts at freestyle, ha! For a long while only three, including yours truly up at the point. Lotsa room, nice!
En route home I pay the piper again, $1.50 for duallies, this is starting to add up, damn it! Back to Top Secret for beers, Thai dinner (it’s been a few days, haha) & new out/downhaul ropes, the factory ones the booms come with SUCK! Fixing Julian’s board, met Baja (Calgary) Brian and Yoyo, not so lonely here afterall. Managed to wire in the frikkin’ fan after several faulty connectors that I just bought, Chinese CRAPPPP (yes, I am venting, I hate spending big bucks and having anything on it be crap, even if it’s a $2 rope! or some penny connector on an otherwise expensive fan) Well, except the food of course, ha! Going to devour the Thai dinner at the Marina for a change, nice breeze and grass! Where will I sleep tonite?? Wow, wind’s really up, maybe an evening sail??
Ran into OR Kiter Mike from Penticton, drank a few more beers. No sailing....Brian & Yoyo offered wine in the Marina on the way out, thx but no more booze today. The sprinkler turning on and showering the party kinda kills the mood, ha! Back into town to s/s/s. Much better!! Looking for a massage place that’s open late, no such luck. Hit Top Secret for the night, a bit noisier near the buildings from the echos.
Thursday June 28th Top Secret Parking Lot, Oregon.
Watered up. Ducked outta the parking lot at 7. Double-parked level in front of Ground Coffee house, had their eggs’n toast, 20oz of black goodness, updating logs & checking emails. Off to shop, few places open so off I go to Padz again. Picked up pamphlets & another black double density piece for the EVO, shopping for Maui Jim’s but they are MORE here than back home, crap. 2nd Wind has some killer deals on boards but I refrain with great effort. I am tempted to go for a burn up a mountainside or rent a bike at the local shop. They have great maps of local riding areas and also a wonderful trails book. I wait for "next windless day" to purchase and vow to bring my bike next time down. Barely caught the wicket ticket chicklet and talked her into a $75 parking warning instead of a fine, whew, that would NOT have made my day. Especially once they notice I'm already on their "hit & tow" data bank. Off to quickly double park in a different spot, ran in & bought kidlet some cool beach shoes, then off to the Hatch. No bother arguing with the bridge dood anymore, paying the piper. No sooner am I there, HollowBones almost mowes me down in the street….fricken tourist, ha! We had a full-on steady, swelly sesh on 5.3/ 4.7 with cute Rob, Dave’s idol, and then things got silly: 40 knots, out rippin' w/ 4.2, glass, repeat every 30 seconds. Didn’t take long to grow tired of THAT, took a few snaps of the freestyle kings while floating in the river with the new camera, off to beering we went into our chairs in our best parking spots, enjoying the last bits of sun. Trying out the new camera mounted on the pesky, sticky pine tree (don't rig near there, jeeezzzzz what a mess) with the twist-pod. Not bad for the “worst day of the week” windwise, the forecast was a wee bit under at 17-21 knots. Cute girls yelling at us from their SUV, do a double-take around, nice, nearsighted I’m sure they must mistake us for 20-somethings or they were just being cute, don’t care. Spaghetti dinner after log updates at Beneviento Pizza’s, several beers, then heading for snoozing at the Hospital. So I pull a U-turn across the highway before heading up the hill…..first car passing is a State Trooper.....nice move, X-Lax. I stuff mints into my mouth almost automatically and drive the limit plus 3. He pulls around the block, zips up behind us but follows another delinquent up the hill after we turn at the emerg entrance, thank you!!! Some trains & the log sort & plant is making some noise I hadn’t notice before, but otherwise an eventless night.
Friday June 29th, White Salmon Hospital, Wa.:
At 8 I figure it’s time to bolt for breaky, HollowBones is marking the parking lot already and agrees: He’s hot’n heavy looking for a crapper. Bingen Station Coffee House (also antique emporium of the world)- two businesses down from the B-Pizza on the main drag- has what we need: Breakfast Burrittos with sausage & avocado, coffees $1!!, refills $.75, clean washroom, Wifi, can’t beat it. We fuel, belabour the computers forever waiting for the 8 gusting 30 winds to mellow out at Doug’s and the Hatchery. Finally it looks like Doug’s…..and it was: full-on or over 5.0, finally figured out how to rig this thing and it rips like its cousins. Holey after a while so I come in…..then up to ridiculous windspeeds. We run into San Carlos Mike and gab. I’m recognizing other familiar faces, Yoyo is picking muleberries like there’s no tomorrow. I contemplate 4.2 and see another hole, screw it, 1 hr swellies on the 5 til my outhaul packs it in, booooom. 10 minutes of waves breaking over head while repairing the boom. I quit, having had a great day. HollowBones rigs 3.7 and is happy on his new sail. Back at the ranch, the rig is shaking like crazy even with other RV’s blocking it, man it’s windy today!! Hot & sunny from the early clouds too. Nice. I type this, worry about Windkusschine’s battery power as it’s dropping like I have never seen before, shit!, and consume brown pops. What a great holiday so far, whew. I contemplate a new shortie, the old one’s pretty embarrassing and also too tight (must be all the working out on the water, he thinks)…..which can be even more embarrassing, ha! The water’s cold afterall . I take a few snaps of Dave w/ 3.7 while the solar panels do their worst to try to recover the voltage dumpage. I de-rig my gear only to discover with dismay that the muleberries have stained my new sail, grrrr, maybe not so great having these trees around afterall. TrendDoc, wifey & 4-legged show up at 1800. No sooner does he get out, he breaks his carbon boom & harness, a quick re&re and he’s back at it having a rippin’ time. We beer for a while longer on shore & I’m off to catch the Thai man and recharge batts for real. On route across the bridge I hear loud thrumming sounds and veer away from the steel wall….it stops…..I go close again and it starts again. OK, so that confirms likely it’s ME doing that….hadn’t noticed it before soooo…..This may not be good, Einstein ponders, trying to recall which panel doors did I leave open?? Am I getting a flat? I speed up, doubling the limit on the bridge….If I have to go out, I want flames! I get to Top Secret to discover when I popped the fuse for the electric stairs to monitor voltage….well….it can’t retract without the fuse in, can it?? Nice shiny, freshly ground bottom step, thanks for not having it rip right off the rig, big guy, I’d have deserved THAT. Would be too funny if it wasn't so moronic, not to mention lucky. Stupid tourist driving around with his stairs out, good thing there were no bikers on the road, that would have been a bigger ooops. Maybe no “bowl” necessary for this cowboy tonight, alcohol is the last thing I need apparently. Thai for one last time for dinner, yum, then off to bed, no gravel pit party for me!!
Saturday June 30th Top Secret Parking lot, Oregon:
Another great rest in the dust bowl. Clear, sunny and already hotttttt. Recharged batts last night but something is still eating them. It’s gotta be that new fan shorting out somehow, I wonder where it has been assembled and imported from?? I have Potatoes O’Brien, eggs, crab, toast, wickedly brewed java. Off at 8 to seek more gifts for the not-so-needy back home. 1st things first: 24 Full Sail for the fridge back home and a new Frisbee. Then I score front row level parking at BigWinds parking lot, the only way to go for an RV unless you got tons of change for two meters, 6+” lifts for the wheels and are willing to block two spaces at risk of the wrath of other parking-space needy- I stick over the parking space markers by 1 foot and the wicked witch of parking laws will nail me if she sees me. I connect with Ruskie first who floated into the Walmart parking lot overnight. Then arrive the twins HollowBones & Doc to join the shopping throng for a while. I score skate shoes at Doug’s Sports, lose the gang (or they gave me the slip cuz I clothes-shopped too long), fondle that FreestyleWave Quattro 104 in 2nd Wind again heavily and reluctantly put it back, have absolutely no luck in finding something non-mega-over-priced touristy item. I see Ruskie again who guides me out of the now-filled to the rim parking lot and gives the farewell wave. I make good time mostly on 60mph cruise to Bellingham - 6 hrs flat despite a few stalls on I5 near Olympia (small accident), Seattle (downtown madness for 4th of July) and Everett (construction angst). The fan is working overtime! I stop once for a brown pop and examine the free sani dump at one of the rest stops, nice touch Washington Highway department, but I’m sorry to say your concrete highways suck hard, especially it seems the cracked and poorly repaired slow lane!!! I block traffic going the limit in the fast lane and smile. BellisFair is a great mall to shop some more (more shoes), apparently open til 9 on Saturdays (so my pedal-to-the-metal to catch the mall at 5:30 was unwarranted), I again control myself not purchasing those Maui Jim’s I really want. Cruising into Blaine I can barely make the offramp due to a wicked line-up at the crossing, 3 hours they tell me. Wow, glad it’s not me. What’s much preferred is: Catching evening drinks and a sunset for an hour with parents on the sailboat where the trip started. I decline to overnight and bail before they ply me with more martinis etc. (especially since no chewable dinner was forthcoming likely before midnight) in an effort to catch the rest of the family awake in A-town. Beautiful evening and the air on H-street enroute to Abbotsford is absolutely gorgeous and sweet, the pink sky and mountain vistas breathtaking. I cruised across the Aldergrove border crossing almost without taking the foot of the gas, nice: “Where’s home, how long were you down, how much did ya spend, have a great evening”. It’s good to be home!!
but some may find it of interest on a rainy day and assist with their own touristic endeavors in the Gorge. (A few pix to be added later). The top secret lot is secret to protect the innocent Sunday, June 24th, 6 still dark 30, Blaine Wa:
Leaving Blaine 0645 after retrieving my windsurfing gear from the sailboat on K-dock. The downpour from the previous nite has stopped (which made me decide to start driving in the morning) and given way to semi-clear skies. I reach Seattle at 0830, amazed at I5 winding almost through the inert city on a Sunday morning. Drivers are nuts, passing, swerving, speeding, cutting off 12000lb motorhomes in compact cars. Their favourite trick is playing impatient in the lane behind me, tailgating for several tens of minutes, then pass at double the limit, immediately cut in front…..and I mean right in front  and then take the immediate next exit 100 yards down the road. Fuel is $3.19 Gal at the border and doesn’t fluctuate much between 3.12 and that. Heading south, the Port Angeles exit is #104 and given my health & overcast weather I ponder an immediate return loop. I find an ARCO at $2.93 in Burlington. I don’t know it’s prepay only and lose my mind and rag on the attendant to reset the damn pump til I am given the rolling eye “damn stupid tourist” treatment advising me. I press receipt but don’t get one…..for all I know all of Wash is filling up there on my bankcard until further notice. GC’s truckstop apparently has wifi at exit 71. Exit numbers correlate with miles to the southern state border, in case you didn’t know…..I hadn’t really thought about it. Exited reststop near mile 53 which has a decent distance between highway and parking/trucks area. Mile 13 rest area has a sani dump on site. All have wifi for highway conditions only but you can subscribe for 2.95/min to regular internet. Olympia at 1000, Portland 1220. No sign of BillyBob thankfully. It has been absolutely pouring in buckets/roof caving in since Vancouver, Wash. I vow not to miss the damn 84 east exit as I recall it really sneaks up on you. After noticing several warning signs of the exit I wonder what I must have been on last time, no issue. Lateron it dawns on me that I once again caught the second 84 exit, the 205/84 is a much shorter route…..live and…..well, old dog, just takes longer. The rain stops at Rooster Rock, sun arrives a few k later. I cruise into Hood River noticing wind at Viento, then Hatch on the way in. I make a B-line to the Thai food stop “Lampoei Kitchen”, nice, red pepper chicken!! That took care of lunch & dinner! I then drive over and hit Windance and spy the goodies in the store but have just spent a fortune last week on import stuff so no go, but I do take in the forecast, coastal suckage as I figured til at least tomorrow, Hatch & Doug’s the best bets, blowing 25-27 at each. Doug’s fits the Windkuschine nicely, albeit the end of the slogg row, and I do scrape the exhaust pipe on the bull rail. Careful, no gas tank leaks please! Sailing is epic. Tons of people there, parking lot is FULL but so is the rigging area. I find a spot, learn everyone is blown off the water, wind rising to 3.5. Everyone went on the forecast, most only brought 4.5’s and up. I head apprehensively out on the 4.2, EVO smallest fin and am full on-over. Swellies are huge. Long rides on the same swell or two across the whole river, am way upriver in no time. What a blast. Goon/kook factor is moderate, I am one of the goons. Start feeling sicker halfway through, leave to eat and water at the “house”, back for more and it subsides a bit. Still, lonely not knowing anyone. Some locals exchange pleasantries, nice and appreciated. It dies at 7:30, I rig the 5.0, discard the wrapping paper, rig it waaaay too full and it still performs, I like it already. Killer color pattern too, matching the EVO and all. I finish and am introduced by a local to muleberries, full, juicy, dark fruit the shape of an elongated raspberry, delicious!! Right beside the rigging area. I shower, listening to a painful oldies station for some reason, head to the reststop between Lyle & Bingen on the hilltop for the nite. Far enough from the road and railway, flat, nice spot since HR is so difficult to stay in these days. I feel crappy tho, hit the HwyGrocer that have tons of stuff for goodies back in Lyle. They inform of White Salmon Hospital up the hill from center of Bingen. I spend time in emerg with them listening and taking detailed info, drinking lotsa water, reading “becoming the kind father”, a CT scan and drugs, a stern talking to, and I’m in the deathly quiet flat parking lot outside to sleep…..and a good sleep it was. What a first day, 22 hrs.
Monday, June 25th, 1020, White Salmon, WA, Hospital Parking lot:
I awake and feel much better, awakened by repeated car alarms chirping. Sunny and hot today. I am happy to note my tightening of the heater hose has stopped the puking of coolant from the heat exchanger in the water heater. Thankful for small favors. My medical appt for referral to MRI is not til 1540. Who knows when Hood River can fit me in. Shit, so much for sailing today unless I sneak one in late at Doug’s maybe or even Bingen. I write the trip diary after having a blue plate b-fast special with crab, listen to 104.5 (classic tunes, also old, guess it goes with my checkered shirt), read the Hood River News Advisor. Lots for $50k same as several (5-10) acres of land, go figure. Excellent view from the parking lot, who needs Iwindsurf readings. Slight breeze is promising but the forecast sucked yesterday for today, too hot. Serious windgust just now, gotta check it out. (as it turned out later, back east they got 2-3 hrs early in the morning 8-11 at Roosevelt, then it died) There was a signal last nite for the laptop but it’s gone now, maybe have to cross over afterall. Feeling better this a.m. but things already start again at 11, bummer. Beneventis pizza in Bingen for great, fast WIFI connection right across from Laundromat along main drag. Coast looks to be going off today, bummer as I’m stuck here. Hot and stickey.
I go shopping in White Salmon, Thrifty something. Decent food that comes in almost exclusively Ziploc, love THAT and also comes with directions: There is a dani dump at Wilkens road past and opposite of the Gardener funeral home on the right side up after following Estes from center of town north, keep right then turn right onto Wilkens, $2. I hit the Dr.’s office at 1540 and got to wait over an hour til all was clear that nothing was clear. MRI on Wednesday. Little do they know there’s no way I’m paying unless extended health kicks in (which it ends up not doing so I cancel later). I have my doubts. I head to Klickitat, hang a left up the hill for bit after the bridge over the river, for a sleep. After shaking the crap outta the rig going down into the river spot and having both solar panels slam out of the closet onto the stove, I am relieved to find no damage….apart from all the crap all over the floor. Nobody else around except some strange looking guys fishing after parking his car high-centered over a rock in 3’ of grass, having flung his backpack into the road in disgust.... I am guessing. I try to level with limited success and already the place doesn’t feel right. As the place is mostly deserted with new signs up: “Don’t camp here!” somehow the imperative is more convincing, together with the weirdo fisherman, than the usual “as per bylaw XYZ” and I decide to retreat to my favourite new parking spot.
Tuesday, June 26th, White Salmon Hospital, Wa.:
Another great night. Breakfast ala fruit and peaches’n cream Quaker’s Oatmeal. It’s already quite hot, supposed to hit 90’s today. No doubt! Off to Beneventis again, check in with IWindsurf for free trial membership. Checked in with Travelcare (who apparently don’t) by cell and they assured me that it is likely they won’t cover anything at all afterall but still took over ½ hr to tell me this. I have records/results faxed up. I try calling Hood River but…..it’s freaking long distance, of course. After noticing my frustration and me asking for a ton of change, the gas attendant is nice enough to offer her cellphone, sweet! According to Iwindsurf, it’s outflow blowing at Stevenson to 25! Even sweeter!! Hard to believe but off I go, driving past Home Valley where I almost stopped as it was rippin’ there, nothing but white, wow. Going through the tunnels with the rig is kinda interesting given they all have different height warnings and there are tons of bikers with no (zero!!) space inside the tunnel for curb lanes. I have a great sail on my brand spanking Kult 5.3 & EVO, taking a while to get dialled. Water a bit flattish but hey, wattaya want for an E outflow?? Quite a few kites out here. Tried several exercise #1 forward loops, feels great now already. The rig feels solid but had to switch up to Jesus for some last marginal runs after 1 ½ hrs. Met Julian, Quebec dood, and we chatted about our great living in BC for a bit, relaxing on the cool grass on this otherwise mega-warm sunny day. Lotsa bikini viewings around here! Got a dash fan at NAPA in Stevenson after before heading into HR town back over the narrow steel bridge. The toll guy wanted $1.50 all of a sudden instead of $.75 cuz I have duallies, just about lost his mind when I tried to give him Canadian coins cuz that’s mostly all I had. He waved me through in disgust after he dropped two of the only US quarters I managed to find onto the road. Shouldda gone to college, asshole!, then you wouldn’t have to argue with stupid tourists with the wrong currency. Our $$ is apparently not appreciated here, off to the bank to avoid such problems in future and also caught the PADZ factory still open (just below and behind the post office off Cascade) and scored two new deck mats for $10, nice! After a huge Burritto at Taco del Mar repaired Jesus in Top Secret
parkinglot, decent field repair but I could have done a much neater job at home….grrrr…..although, wait, it’s not sunny or windy at home, forget it, all’s great. Too bad the Thai place won’t open til 11 so I could have the B-fast of champions. Another time. Charging batts, even running the air conditioner for ½ hr to solidify everything again that had melted inside the rig during the day (it is soooo stinking, literally, hot!!), watched new WS movie with Los Borrilles Dieter (invited Helmut & Erika too but they were already toast) cooled off from the heat with a shower and slept great again, no drugs this time!Wednesday June 27th , Top Secret
Parking lot, Oregon:Up early for a change, 0600 at updating the diary. Slept great again, this is starting to become the norm, wow!! Top Secret
is still deserted except for us 3, no other travellers snuck in late. I’m getting outta here before any staff arrive, despite having permission don’t want to have any more than necessary see my rig obviously camping here. Don’t wreck a good thing!!! Listening to older rock from 92.7KMSW which seems is the only station apart from another fuzzy one I can listen to without getting the feeling of having to kill myself. Off to pick up hashbrowns for the king of breakfasts, postpone the MRI til I hear from TravelPayItYourselfDood, then off to the Hatchery. I even got US change for asshole this time. Going across the bridge I notice again that my bumper is almost scraping the guardrail while the mirrors narrowly pass other mirrors of trucks. Nice design, gotta love the adrenalin rush tho, ha! That combined with the 20 something gusts hitting the side of the huge Windkusschine make for interesting times. I speed over the 25mph limit to up the ante. Hatchery turned out to be the call, all other places forecast to get a better pm didn’t so 3+hrs was good for me. Made potatoes O’Brien, wonderful, together with some sausages, eggs, French buns. Fuelled, I launch from the family friendly spot this time, better rigging, no better launch  I see Julian out and already other faces feel familiar . Decent swellies, lotsa rides, some backies, 1hand monkeys, trying new stuff, whew! Rob Warwick doing his spinny things, smiling at every opportunity, probably laughing at my feeble attempts at freestyle, ha! For a long while only three, including yours truly up at the point. Lotsa room, nice!
En route home I pay the piper again, $1.50 for duallies, this is starting to add up, damn it! Back to Top Secret
for beers, Thai dinner (it’s been a few days, haha) & new out/downhaul ropes, the factory ones the booms come with SUCK! Fixing Julian’s board, met Baja (Calgary) Brian and Yoyo, not so lonely here afterall. Managed to wire in the frikkin’ fan after several faulty connectors that I just bought, Chinese CRAPPPP (yes, I am venting, I hate spending big bucks and having anything on it be crap, even if it’s a $2 rope! or some penny connector on an otherwise expensive fan) Well, except the food of course, ha! Going to devour the Thai dinner at the Marina for a change, nice breeze and grass! Where will I sleep tonite?? Wow, wind’s really up, maybe an evening sail?? Ran into OR Kiter Mike from Penticton, drank a few more beers. No sailing....Brian & Yoyo offered wine in the Marina on the way out, thx but no more booze today. The sprinkler turning on and showering the party kinda kills the mood, ha! Back into town to s/s/s. Much better!! Looking for a massage place that’s open late, no such luck. Hit Top Secret
for the night, a bit noisier near the buildings from the echos. Thursday June 28th Top Secret
Parking Lot, Oregon.Watered up. Ducked outta the parking lot at 7. Double-parked level in front of Ground Coffee house, had their eggs’n toast, 20oz of black goodness, updating logs & checking emails. Off to shop, few places open so off I go to Padz again. Picked up pamphlets & another black double density piece for the EVO, shopping for Maui Jim’s but they are MORE here than back home, crap. 2nd Wind has some killer deals on boards but I refrain with great effort. I am tempted to go for a burn up a mountainside or rent a bike at the local shop. They have great maps of local riding areas and also a wonderful trails book. I wait for "next windless day" to purchase and vow to bring my bike next time down. Barely caught the wicket ticket chicklet and talked her into a $75 parking warning instead of a fine, whew, that would NOT have made my day. Especially once they notice I'm already on their "hit & tow" data bank. Off to quickly double park in a different spot, ran in & bought kidlet some cool beach shoes, then off to the Hatch. No bother arguing with the bridge dood anymore, paying the piper. No sooner am I there, HollowBones almost mowes me down in the street….fricken tourist, ha! We had a full-on steady, swelly sesh on 5.3/ 4.7 with cute Rob, Dave’s idol, and then things got silly: 40 knots, out rippin' w/ 4.2, glass, repeat every 30 seconds. Didn’t take long to grow tired of THAT, took a few snaps of the freestyle kings while floating in the river with the new camera, off to beering we went into our chairs in our best parking spots, enjoying the last bits of sun. Trying out the new camera mounted on the pesky, sticky pine tree (don't rig near there, jeeezzzzz what a mess) with the twist-pod. Not bad for the “worst day of the week” windwise, the forecast was a wee bit under at 17-21 knots. Cute girls yelling at us from their SUV, do a double-take around, nice, nearsighted I’m sure they must mistake us for 20-somethings or they were just being cute, don’t care. Spaghetti dinner after log updates at Beneviento Pizza’s, several beers, then heading for snoozing at the Hospital. So I pull a U-turn across the highway before heading up the hill…..first car passing is a State Trooper.....nice move, X-Lax. I stuff mints into my mouth almost automatically and drive the limit plus 3. He pulls around the block, zips up behind us but follows another delinquent up the hill after we turn at the emerg entrance, thank you!!! Some trains & the log sort & plant is making some noise I hadn’t notice before, but otherwise an eventless night.
Friday June 29th, White Salmon Hospital, Wa.:
At 8 I figure it’s time to bolt for breaky, HollowBones is marking the parking lot already and agrees: He’s hot’n heavy looking for a crapper. Bingen Station Coffee House (also antique emporium of the world)- two businesses down from the B-Pizza on the main drag- has what we need: Breakfast Burrittos with sausage & avocado, coffees $1!!, refills $.75, clean washroom, Wifi, can’t beat it. We fuel, belabour the computers forever waiting for the 8 gusting 30 winds to mellow out at Doug’s and the Hatchery. Finally it looks like Doug’s…..and it was: full-on or over 5.0, finally figured out how to rig this thing and it rips like its cousins. Holey after a while so I come in…..then up to ridiculous windspeeds. We run into San Carlos Mike and gab. I’m recognizing other familiar faces, Yoyo is picking muleberries like there’s no tomorrow. I contemplate 4.2 and see another hole, screw it, 1 hr swellies on the 5 til my outhaul packs it in, booooom. 10 minutes of waves breaking over head while repairing the boom. I quit, having had a great day. HollowBones rigs 3.7 and is happy on his new sail. Back at the ranch, the rig is shaking like crazy even with other RV’s blocking it, man it’s windy today!! Hot & sunny from the early clouds too. Nice. I type this, worry about Windkusschine’s battery power as it’s dropping like I have never seen before, shit!, and consume brown pops. What a great holiday so far, whew. I contemplate a new shortie, the old one’s pretty embarrassing and also too tight (must be all the working out on the water, he thinks)…..which can be even more embarrassing, ha! The water’s cold afterall . I take a few snaps of Dave w/ 3.7 while the solar panels do their worst to try to recover the voltage dumpage. I de-rig my gear only to discover with dismay that the muleberries have stained my new sail, grrrr, maybe not so great having these trees around afterall. TrendDoc, wifey & 4-legged show up at 1800. No sooner does he get out, he breaks his carbon boom & harness, a quick re&re and he’s back at it having a rippin’ time. We beer for a while longer on shore & I’m off to catch the Thai man and recharge batts for real. On route across the bridge I hear loud thrumming sounds and veer away from the steel wall….it stops…..I go close again and it starts again. OK, so that confirms likely it’s ME doing that….hadn’t noticed it before soooo…..This may not be good, Einstein ponders, trying to recall which panel doors did I leave open?? Am I getting a flat? I speed up, doubling the limit on the bridge….If I have to go out, I want flames! I get to Top Secret
to discover when I popped the fuse for the electric stairs to monitor voltage….well….it can’t retract without the fuse in, can it?? Nice shiny, freshly ground bottom step, thanks for not having it rip right off the rig, big guy, I’d have deserved THAT. Would be too funny if it wasn't so moronic, not to mention lucky. Stupid tourist driving around with his stairs out, good thing there were no bikers on the road, that would have been a bigger ooops. Maybe no “bowl” necessary for this cowboy tonight, alcohol is the last thing I need apparently. Thai for one last time for dinner, yum, then off to bed, no gravel pit party for me!! Saturday June 30th Top Secret
Parking lot, Oregon:Another great rest in the dust bowl. Clear, sunny and already hotttttt. Recharged batts last night but something is still eating them. It’s gotta be that new fan shorting out somehow, I wonder where it has been assembled and imported from?? I have Potatoes O’Brien, eggs, crab, toast, wickedly brewed java. Off at 8 to seek more gifts for the not-so-needy back home. 1st things first: 24 Full Sail for the fridge back home and a new Frisbee. Then I score front row level parking at BigWinds parking lot, the only way to go for an RV unless you got tons of change for two meters, 6+” lifts for the wheels and are willing to block two spaces at risk of the wrath of other parking-space needy- I stick over the parking space markers by 1 foot and the wicked witch of parking laws will nail me if she sees me. I connect with Ruskie first who floated into the Walmart parking lot overnight. Then arrive the twins HollowBones & Doc to join the shopping throng for a while. I score skate shoes at Doug’s Sports, lose the gang (or they gave me the slip cuz I clothes-shopped too long), fondle that FreestyleWave Quattro 104 in 2nd Wind again heavily and reluctantly put it back, have absolutely no luck in finding something non-mega-over-priced touristy item. I see Ruskie again who guides me out of the now-filled to the rim parking lot and gives the farewell wave. I make good time mostly on 60mph cruise to Bellingham - 6 hrs flat despite a few stalls on I5 near Olympia (small accident), Seattle (downtown madness for 4th of July) and Everett (construction angst). The fan is working overtime! I stop once for a brown pop and examine the free sani dump at one of the rest stops, nice touch Washington Highway department, but I’m sorry to say your concrete highways suck hard, especially it seems the cracked and poorly repaired slow lane!!! I block traffic going the limit in the fast lane and smile. BellisFair is a great mall to shop some more (more shoes), apparently open til 9 on Saturdays (so my pedal-to-the-metal to catch the mall at 5:30 was unwarranted), I again control myself not purchasing those Maui Jim’s I really want. Cruising into Blaine I can barely make the offramp due to a wicked line-up at the crossing, 3 hours they tell me. Wow, glad it’s not me. What’s much preferred is: Catching evening drinks and a sunset for an hour with parents on the sailboat where the trip started. I decline to overnight and bail before they ply me with more martinis etc. (especially since no chewable dinner was forthcoming likely before midnight) in an effort to catch the rest of the family awake in A-town. Beautiful evening and the air on H-street enroute to Abbotsford is absolutely gorgeous and sweet, the pink sky and mountain vistas breathtaking. I cruised across the Aldergrove border crossing almost without taking the foot of the gas, nice: “Where’s home, how long were you down, how much did ya spend, have a great evening”. It’s good to be home!!
5/6 days. JL- accepted new job that requires 20 weeks of corporate training non-negotiable, in Richmond no less, away from any potential sailing whatsoever...... lasting all summer til November......so I thought I better get my f'n head examined 
1st day today, even more boring than predicted (without being negative of course 
