The next step was to get back into the
US. Ryan from Courtenay told us earlier that when taking the ferry Victoria - Port
Angeles, all customs formalities are handled on the Victoria side and
the crossing would be more relaxed compared to the one at the
Interstate.
We checked-in and waited for the
immigration officer to come. He instructed us to go to the booth for
checking and getting a new stamp (permission to stay in the US).
After answering a few questions we got another stamp into our
passports allowing us to stay another 6 months in the US. No problem
– USA here we come again :)
The ferry took only 1.5h and this time
we were allowed to take our girls up into the lounge area. A few
people passed by, recognized us from the local TV news and came to
chat a little. That was spooky once more. I think we are not
“celebrity-material”. Lyra waved her tail at everybody and anybody walking
by.
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| Mommy's baby :) |
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| and the little monsters to me :-o |
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| Ready to debark. |
I was really happy and felt somehow
relieved once we were on the road again. We fueled up in Port Angeles
(petrol was a lot cheaper there compared to Victoria) and then headed
towards Kingston for another ferry crossing. We had booked two nights
in a motel in Kirkland and the following day
I took the two little girls for teeth
cleaning – this time we tried it anesthesia-free. After a quick
check both got their treatment and they both looked ok. That was a
much better approach compared to going to a vet, putting them to
sleep and then do the treatment!
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| Artistic farmer(?) leaves irrigation system on in freezing weather ... entire fields covered in ice. |
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| Cute little visitor. |
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| Nice view from the ferry. |
Hertta was not doing well. She was in
heat and on top of that she was occasionally shivering and refused to
eat properly. Skippy used her skills to gave her a little food,
goodies and vitamins.
Due to the cold and Hertta's condition
we would not ride very long the next day. Our path led us to
Centralia (what a strange name for a city, sounds to me like from
some B-class Sci-Fi movie).
Since we took it easy I organized a new
rear tire for my GS at Fred's discount tire. The mounting was very
easy and the owner of the shop was very friendly. Since he did not
have the tool to balance the tire, he offered to drive to the
motorcycle dealer to balance the tire there. We did that and it took
quite a while that the guy came back, obviously it was no easy job but
anyway he did it. Obviously ashamed of the fact that it took so long,
he did not charge for the balancing job. We went back to the tire
shop and mounted the tire on the bike and I left.
Instantly I heard some really strange
noise. I stopped and tried to locate the sound – it came clearly
from the rear wheel. I drove to an empty parking lot, took my jack
out and lifted the rear. Yep – there it was. On a specific spot it
made klong-klong-klong when moving back or forth. I tend to think
worst-case scenario: Broken rear bearing!
It started sizzling and I went back to
the tire shop. We lifted the bike up, took the tire off and saw that
the balancing weights were mounted on the inner side of the rim and
touched a bolt of the swinging-arm. I did not think that the
construction is that tight. Well, the owner suggested to put flatter
weights on the rim and after we did that and installed the tire we
realized that it was still too thick. This weight also got stuck on
the swinging-arm. What-the-heck, we took the weight off and I left.
Thanks Fred for your help and patience! Safe travels!
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| Have to remember this: no weights on the inner rim. |
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| Our track |
Then something happened which changed this trip forever ...
~ Wolfi
What happened!?!?
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