Post 142: Seattle, USA (Still)

I've just received an email from my sister-in-law in California. Torrey points out that Seattle has only two seasons, ..... the Rainy Season and August. Perhaps she is being unkind to Seattle, but it is August and the rain has been pouring for the past four days, .... maybe this year Seattle has but one season. It actually feels like autumn, I'm walking around in shorts, flip flops and tee shirt, .... all of my clothes are on the bike, the second hand shoes purchased in Bangkok already discarded, .... if the bike is not available today, I'll have to find myself a thrift shop and invest in some more suitable apparel.

The weather here reminds me of England, ..... but not in a nice way. England is not a place that I miss, I'm not at all 'homesick', ... I no longer have a home in the material sense, ... but I am missing the 'People'. I haven't seen my daughter Hannah for over three months, she's 14 years old and enjoying what remains of the English summer holidays. When I was her age, the summer holidays seemed to last forever and if that feeling is the same for her, ..... then she must feel that I've been travelling for years. Kicking my heels in Seattle was never part of the plan, the plan was always to keep riding, ....... it just serves me right for not fully researching the 'Plan' prior to departure, ...... once again, .... only myself to blame.

Yesterday morning I had high hopes of collecting the Triumph and riding south, ..... but yesterday afternoon they asked me very politely to 'call back tomorrow'. Today I will call again, ... and if necessary on Friday and Monday too, .... but one day soon they will say 'yes Sir, ... thank you for your patience, ... your motorcycle is now ready for collection'.

If the customs clearance issues continue, then Colleen (Dante's Dame) has invited me to stay at her home here in Seattle until it is resolved. We have never met, ..... our connection is purely accidental. On Monday I said 'hi' to Burke, a biker that I'd met on 4th Avenue here in Seattle. Burke first introduced me to the people at Tacoma Triumph and then later passed my email address on to Colleen. Yesterday, Colleen sent me an email with a link to her website from which, using her experiences as a guide to the best roads, I will plan my route southwards to Boonville. If by Friday the rain has 'Cleared' and the Triumph hasn't, then I will probably accept Colleen's kind offer of free floor space and at the same time, ..... accept Burke's offer of some evening sailing around Seattle Harbour. If on Monday I'd decided to take 5th Avenue instead of 4th, .... then who knows?. Even when your stranded in a strange city, ...... your still travelling.

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