Gosh! End of Day 16

Wow! We are just 2 or 3 days from finishing our ride, it's kind of sad. These long days of riding give you lots and lots of thinking and planning time. Such as what you would do differently or what you want to ride it on next time. Lol, at least that's what it's been for us in the past. The ride through the Cascades was so much more different than last year. It was overcast but not a drop of rain, however it was a little chilly. It was a 45 minute wait going north over the Mt. Vernon bridge and no wait on the south bound just not at highway speeds. The trick at this point is to make sure you take the non-truck detour as WDOT gives you 2 detour options. We made that mistake going north but our new friends at the visitor center for Blaine suggested we take exit 230 non truck on the return and it worked like a charm. Speaking of the visitor center, stop by if you can, they will give you a Blaine pin and a certificate signed by the mayor providing additional proof that you were there. We survived the Seattle traffic and I think we only had to blow our horns a few times to avoid being hit by oblivions. No rain gear was needed that day as we rolled into south Tacoma. Today we started out by fixing Jerry's brake line with Home Depot supplies, as I swear the boys can fix anything. They still feel bad about not having enough time to fix Mack's landing gear in Bozeman. Leaving town we had light rain and traffic was smooth sailing into Oregon and our last city traffic until LA/San Diego area. South of Salem we hit a patch of heavy rain and hail, thank goodness for overpasses! I was thinking, ouch that rain hurts as I looked for quick cover, as it was my turn to be ride captain for the moment. As we peeked out from the overpass we thought it was clear to leave. One last cloud burst as we pulled out dang..should have waited another 5 minutes. We stopped for gas near the Monaco RV headquarters and ran into a fellow going north on a Honda NT700. We enjoyed a quick conversation and a look at his bike. Still gives us food for thought on the next bike purchase. Going through Grants Pass it was cold...at least when you'reBozmanBozman still a bit wet. Looking forward to a cool start in the morning and increased heat as we roll into California!