One Lap update....Seattle sucks. Stay home.:o)

["Bill Harkell" <billharkell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks!!

"Pursuant to Seattle City code 1-b-C.125a, Anti-immigration act of 1998, 
the following text must be included in any e-mail referring to Seattle 
or it's outskirts...:

"Seattle and it's surrounding areas are grey, gritty and very 
unpleasant... you don't want to live there, or even visit for that 
matter. It's bad, very bad... Stay home! It's probably raining 
anyway..."

That's for you Gordy!! :o))))

I had to promise to say nothing but bad things about Seattle... some new 
law, right Gordy?

We left off in Seattle, a truly excellent place... (sorry folks!!!)I 
could have hung around there for a long time. Weather was truly perfect, 
although they all insist it is a fluke. Sure... 

Thanks to NWARC and Gordy Hyde, who were nice enought to include me in 
one of their board meetings, really nice folks and a great dinner at 
Georges and Arlett's home. Gordy was kind enough to let me use his home 
for a base while I was there, on the condition that I tell everyone I 
meet that Seattle is a pit. :oDDD These folks are protective...

I headed out towards Portland after the meeting, and got close to 
Olympia, when a nice person from the Washington State Chamber of 
Commerce insisted that I stop for a visit.... funny white car with big 
lights on top...muttering something about the speed limit. I knew he 
really just wanted me to stay out of Seattle.

This guy must have been a travel trailer in previous life...he was about 
3 feet off my rear bumper... anyway we had a nice chat, (really, he was 
a rookie trooper, perhaps a bit enthusiastic, but had vacationed in 
Florida. Guess it was a good experience, as he told me that the place to 
speed was further south. I was moving with traffic, but he said it 
didn't matter what the locals do and I was the one he got and "someone 
was gonna get cracked on". Guess who... Anyway, he told me to be a good 
citizen and ignore the locals, keep it down to 60 and have a good trip. 
He thought it would be a hassle to come back for a ticket. (see? "as 
long as you are leaving...") It helps to be nice to Officer Friendly. 
He's just doing his job...Time for a Valentine.

The rest of the trip was less eventful. Next morning I headed out of 
Portland after giving Joe Cantrell a call. Sadly, he was headed to work 
and we couldn't meet up. Weather is perfect, Portland looks like a baby 
Seattle. I moved down I-5 and got to Grants Pass jsut before dusk. Here 
I headed southwest on 199 towards Cresent City, California. I stayed in 
a Forest Service campground, Panther Flats, Really gorgeous, redwoods 
all around, pine in the air, and a river next to the place. Beautiful  
dirve this morning into Cresent City and I am now in Eureka at Kinko's. 
Highway 101 has been no disappointment, really great to drive along the 
ocean... I am going to try for San Francisco tonight, but may fall 
short.

The Alfa is in it's element out here...it's running perfectly, and I am 
finally getting the gear stirring down to a science. This car loves to 
sit at 5300 rpm in third, grinding up a mountain pass. Steering with the 
gas pedal is fun. (every parked car looks like a cop though..) I was 
hanging with a Porsche Boxster down 101 earlier, that's all I'll say 
about it...What a motor.

6300 miles and all is well, knock on redwood. 
Put it in context on the reliabilty issue... I am putting the equivalent 
of 110,000 miles a year on her right now. And no mercy on the hills. 
Keep the revs up and hang on.

Well, I'd love to meet up with some digesters In San Fran...Beth Dixon? 
Jess Liao? you there? Anyone around tomorrow night?

I also want to check out the Alfa place in Hayward.

Bye for now!

Bill Harkell
Alfa Romeo Search and Rescue Society
Tampa, Florida and Eureka California
Currently on the roads of America!!!"California is the place to be..."
http://pw2.netcom.com/~alfabill/enter.htm


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