Cascade Loop Scooter Trip - Day 3

Despite the well crafter beers imbibed the previous night, I did not sleep well. The room and the BnB was upstairs and was hot. There was a small fan but it just did not kick out enough of a breeze to cool me down - maybe if I had suspended it from the ceiling....

I got up, took another shower (using what seemed like someone else's stuff) and then ate my, now warm, mixed fruit container. I did hear some movement in the house but when I came downstairs, I didn't see anything. I lingered by the door, trying to sniff out the breakfast that I would have liked but smelled nothing. I called out a tentative, "Thanks," but heard nothing in return.

Sighing, I left the BnB - or should i just say the Bn, and sorted my recycling as requested by the hosts. I packed my scoot and then managed to rock it off the centre stand, despite it being on a steep hill. I sped off from the street thinking, I would definitely stay in Seattle again, just not here.

One of the things that caught my eye - and had the night before - were the book boxes (Little Free Library) that I saw dotting the neighbourhood. There was even one outside the pub. I think it is a great idea to be able to take a book or donate a book at one of these. Some of them were quite fancy (they can be outside a home or business) and I was impressed that they showed no signs of vandalism.

Once out of the neighbourhood, the next item on the agenda was... coffee.

I stopped at a Starbucks, ordered a large latte, connected to the wifi with my iPad, and relaxed.Ah!

Eventually, I got back on my scooter and headed for the city centre. I parked and bought a parking voucher which just stuck to the front of my scoot. I took a photo of it just in case someone decided to help themselves to some free parking.

After a brief wait, I entered the EMP - Experimental Music Project - museum. I had heard a lot about this facility and was very impressed by what I saw.

The feature exhibit was on the costumes of Star Wars. I do enjoy those characters and am really looking forward to the upcoming movie.

After that, I went to another favourite of mine, the Science Fiction display. Some very cool displays ranging from Mars Attacks to Bladerunner to Dr. Who.

There was a fantasy section where the actual costume from the cowardly lion was on display.

The sort of historical fantasy section had things like the knight hats from Monty Python's The Holy Grail ("You English pigs!") and the Imp's outfit from Game of Thrones.

Then I went to more of the musical exhibits. One of the best is an area where you can try different instruments and either play them on your own or jam with other people in the EMP. I ended up jamming with a couple of teenaged boy scouts on a trip - fun!

There were exhibits on Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and some of their contemporaries. There was also this giant tower of guitars situated in the middle area between all of the music type displays.

So much to see! I ended up at the Warner Brothers animation section which brought back lots of fond memories from my childhood.

After almost three hours, I was pretty much done. I left and went around the building to the restaurant connected to the EMP. I had a chicken panini which was actually pretty good and then wandered back to my Beemer.

There was a motorcycling couple from California parking near my scoot. We had a bit of a chat and when I asked them how they got here, they said o the I-5. I was a little surprised they didn't take a more scenic route, but that's when they explained  - they take their motorcycles on their motorhome and then do day trips from their destination!

I left Seattle and managed to find the I-5 without too much trouble. It was a rather uneventful ride on the way home. I did take Chuckanut Drive again, giving myself a bit of a break from the fast traffic of the interstate.

When I got to the border, there was a 40 minute wait but I managed to make it to the little booth without being too cranky, especially after I jumped a bunch of the line going into the duty free for a bottle of kahlua. I arrived  at the booth and the guard was a bit annoying. He seemed to fixate on the fact that I had gone on my own and hadn't met anyone in the US. I explained a few times that I do this sort of thing every summer but he still seemed suspicious. Begrudgingly, he finally let me pass, and I headed home.

It was an excellent trip overall. The BMW performed so well - a dream compared to my Vespa 250 - and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I would strongly suggest that if you live in this part of the world (the Northwest of the US or the Lower Mainland of BC) that you check out the Cascade Loop.

Great ride!