Home safe after a fantastic ride! Weather ranged from cold and rainy to warm and sunny. Today was so nice we stayed out much longer than planned resulting in a very late return home.  I’m exhausted, sated, and happy. Bed calls, more photos and video later.

The lodge here at Crescent Lake is beautiful. Located right on the lake the vistas are stunning. Today was a little wet towards the end of the ride but we still had a great time.

I was *supposed* to be heading down to California starting today, on a five day trip to Chester, CA with a group of fellow sport-touring riders. Personal commitments caused me to have to cancel that and I figured the weekend was a complete wash. Then my local riding buddy Jim started talking about a short trip out to the coast. Hmm, I have to be here Sunday and Monday, but Friday and Saturday are free!

So we’re heading out to Sequim this afternoon to spend the night at his dad’s place.  Then we’ll ride out to Neah Bay tomorrow, visit Hurricane Ridge and overnight at Lake Crescent Lodge. The weather is a little spotty but I think we’ll have a good time.  A little light rain isn’t an issue as long as it doesn’t pour down all day!

Because this was kind of a last minute deal, I’m rushing around today getting things ready to go. The bike hasn’t really been touched since I got back from my last trip, my bags are in disarray.  I’m having to switch all my gear over to the cold/wet weather configuration which means trying to match up liners with the right jacket and overpants, dig out my glove liners, find my rain shell… woof… lots of work to get ready!

The rest of you have a good weekend, I’ll have photos and video when I return!

The new blog has officially launched! If you expressed an interest or were a regular commenter I’ve already sent you an e-mail with the details. If you didn’t recieve one and are interested, please leave a comment and I’ll be happy to send you the URL.

This blog will continue to operate, but will be focusing exclusively on motorcycling and motorcycle-related content. I’ll probably be going back through the archive at some point and retiring posts that are no longer relevant to that specific focus.

As I mentioned previously, I dragged Marianna out for a photo tour of West Seattle this past Saturday. I thought she needed to be reminded of some of the things she was excited about when she first started planning her move to Seattle. I offered to show her some of my favorite photo spots in the south end.

The day was a little cloudy and gray, but the sun was threatening to break through and clouds often provide a little drama in the sky, so we headed off for Alki. Our first stop was at the boat launch across Elliott Bay from downtown Seattle.  From here you get fantastic views of the city and the Port of Seattle. Hopping back in the car, we then headed further west around the point, through Alki Beach proper finally winding up at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park with it’s fantastic views across the Puget Sound. A quick jaunt through downtown West Seattle and we were back near our first stop, but now up on the hill at the Hamilton Viewpoint Park.

Then we decided to head further south in search of a route to Lincoln Park. I had visited this park in the past but via a convoluted path from the south. Marianna offered to use her GPS but I kind of like just navigating with the compass built-in to my car. I tend to find things that are interesting when I just wind my way around in the general direction I want to go. Sure enough, we managed to find it with no major problems. Finding parking took a few minutes as the place was packed with Seattleites looking for a last gasp of Summer.

The park here is a great blend of forest, fields and shoreline. Something for everyone! You also get views of the ferry traffic coming and going from the Fauntleroy Terminal. We hiked down to the beach and spent time taking it all in. We headed north along the shore taking photos as we went, then opted to head back to the car. This began the “death march” portion of our outing, as we discovered that the direct route back was a trail that climbed nearly straight up the bluff, several hundred feet of elevation gain I’d guess. We were both huffing and puffing by the time we hit the top, but it did give us an appetite for lunch, which was next on the agenda.

For that, we headed to my favorite little neighborhood, Burien. I’ve lived in and around this area for quite a few years, and its where many of my favorite restaurants are. Today we visited the Elliott Bay Brewpub for their fantastic beer-battered fish and chips. It was a great end to a morning spent peering through the view finder at some of the stunning sights that the Seattle-area has on tap for avid photographers!

More photos on Flickr…

I kidnapped Marianna this morning and dragged her around to some of my favorite photo spots in West Seattle. I felt she needed a reminder of some of the *good* things about living in Seattle.

I also let her buy me fish and chips for lunch at one of my favorite local pubs in Burien… never let it be said that I am not a kind and generous soul.

This is just a quick peak at a photo from Lincoln Park in West Seattle. Plenty more photos and the full story later this weekend.

I’m starting my own meme, just because I was thinking about something I did tonight and it occurred to me that I might be a little strange. So here’s the deal, list as many things as you care to that others might find quirky about you.  Could be habits that you have or behaviors you’ve noticed in yourself.  If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged!

1. One of my indulgences is ice. No, not the kind you make yourself with an ice tray and tap water.  I buy a bag of ice when I go grocery shopping and keep it in my freezer.  I like ice in my drinks, and I don’t like big, chunky, cubes.
2. The stereo in my car has a numerical scale for the volume, so when you turn the knob the display shows a number that represents how loud it is.  In my car, it has to be an even number, no odd numbers for volume.
3. I don’t like to wear jeans in the house. When I get home from somewhere that I’ve been wearing long pants, I generally head straight to the bedroom to put on shorts. If I’m wearing a button-down shirt, that normally get’s hung up or put in the laundry and a t-shirt goes on. I like to wear leisure clothes around the house I guess and obviously, I don’t entertain much!
4. I’m obsessive about e-mail. I check it constantly.  I just checked it before writing this entry in the list, right in the middle of typing this blog post.  All I had was a MySpace friend request spam.
5. I like to read movie credits.  I’m annoyed when the audience gets up and leaves at the end of a movie while the credits are rolling, often blocking my view. I don’t read every name, but I do scan the list and occasionally see interesting entries. I also like to see which songs are on the soundtrack. And occasionally you’re pleasantly surprised when the film has a bonus scene after the credits. 

I love it when a favorite band releases a new album and it’s even better than I hoped. Pinback’s new album Autumn of the Seraphs is now available and its fantastic… I’ve been listening to it off and on all day!

Pinback is a hard band to describe to the uninitiated. Their sound is somewhat unique. Technically they’re an “indie rock band” but that label really fails to adequately capture them. Over the course of four full-length albums they’ve developed a smooth and silky sound that combines elements of rock, pop and jazz into a blend all their own.

Whatever it is, it works for me! The album was good enough I immediately bought tickets to their October concert in Seattle. Can’t wait to see them live!

“Devil You Know” by Pinback

Not much going on at the moment. The kids spent the weekend over, our biggest accomplishment was going shopping for pants, school pants.

My daughter found three pairs she liked almost immediately, no muss, no fuss. My son spent what seemed like hours trying on jeans, looking for the perfect combination of sag, bagginess and cuff droop. He finally found it in what must have been the most expensive pair of jeans the store carried. We bought two of them.

I spent my free time torturing Kiko with the camera. I think he’s starting to get used to it. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.

The new blog is still a work in progress, I hope to launch it later this week. I have things I want to write about.  I just don’t want to write about them here…