Better Late Than Never - Pt. 3 - Lynden

So instead of actually scooting, I've been doing stuff at home - and blogging... gotta catch up!

A mere two weeks ago, I had an important task to perform.  Let me give you the backstory...

In our building, we have two parking spots. We have two cars, one in each spot. I also have two Vespas, one in each spot. Unfortunately, my daughter parked one of our VWs  a bit too close to my GTS. She didn't cause any damage but she was so close that when I was trying to go to school one morning, I sheared off one of my reflectors.

Rather than pay the local Vespa store a big pile of money, I ordered two from AF1 Racing. And rather than pay $18 shipping to Canada, I had it shipped to Sumas to a place called Ship Happens. They basically give you an address to ship to so you can pick up your package for the paltry fee of $5.

This time, I went through Aldergrove border crossing again, with the Vespa performing very well - no grinding noise, hardly any shuddering - sounding great. I headed into Lynden, a nice town that I have visited before. It had been a couple years and I'm not sure if was the time of year or if it's the economy but Lynden felt a bit tired.

The restaurant I used to stop into for breakfast did not seem to be in business. The little mall that it was in was empty and had few cars parked out front. Not a great sign.

Another restaurant, called the Dutch Mother, was open and rather busy so I thought I'd try it out.

The service was OK, but again, I got this tired out vibe from the waitress. I ordered the Ham and Pineapple Dutch Pannekoek which was a massive pancake that took up the entire cake. The first bit was OK but it got a little tiresome after a while. I also had some weird gunk stuck to the coffee mug which didn't interfere with my drinking the coffee but affected my overall enjoyment of the meal.

I took a wander around town and spotted this sign - my namesake, a doctor - nice!

After Lynden,  I went to Sumas and picked up my package. I just told my name and gave my $5 and that was it! No ID, no careful checking. Interesting.

Of course, I took the reflectors out of the box and tossed them under my seat. I then filled up with cheap Yankee gas and then headed to the border. Despite turning off my motor, the guard's last question was issued after he had sat back in the booth so I couldn't hear him. He finally yelled, rather angrily, "Anything else to declare?" to which I said, "No!" (conveniently forgetting the reflectors in my pet carrier) and then quietly sped off.

Another fast ride home from the border - which I am happy to say doesn't bother me very much at all now. I can hit, according to the speedo, 70 MPH before the scoot starts wobbling.Not sure it 70 MPH is really 70 but it's good to know I can go that fast without any problems.

Now maybe next week, I can actually go for another ride!