2013 Twists & Turns Rally

Wow! What a fun motoring adventure!
 

A while back, we joined the Puget Sound MINI Motoring Club  because we wanted to support the club, meet other Mini owners, and take part in the fun stuff offered by the club.

The first event we were able to attend was the 2013 Twists & Turns Rally. Major kudos and thanks to Rally Masters Roy and Beth and all the helpers for a well-organized and fun event.

 

This being the first rally we have attended, and as this rally required a navigator, there was a bit of stress on my part because Steve would drive and I would be the navigator. Would we work well together? Would Steve actually follow the directions I gave him? Would, would, would….Gah! Too many unknowns.  Enough already! This is supposed to be fun and not stressful so take a deep breath and don’t worry about it. (HA! Can you tell I tend to overthink things?)

Since we spent the night in Redmond, it was a short drive to the 8:00 am start in Kirkland. We checked in and were handed our rally packet. After perusing the contents thoroughly, I was now more apprehensive but comforted at the same time by the step by step directions I would have to feed to Steve to keep us on course. Also, there were these fun trivia scavenger type hunt questions that were thrown in between the course directions that counted towards the final score. How in the world does that work? Oh, by the way, I get car sick if I read in the car. How could I forget about that!

As it turned out, once we started, it was easy to keep track of the directions and the trivia questions. Our Rally Masters were very good at explaining the directions, score sheet & answering any questions  before the start at the drivers meeting.

We didn’t even think of taking any pictures along the way, so the only ones I have are of the start in Kirkland and ending in Issaquah, which are below.

So we set out following the directions, looking for the answers to the trivia questions, and we actually had enough time in between to really enjoy the scenery. The route lived up to it's name with twists and turns, taking us through many places I had never been before so I was very please to see more of our beautiful PNW. We started in Kirkland at the Fred Meyer and ended up at the XXX Root Beer in Issaquah, which is approximately 17 miles via 405 and 90, but our twisty route was 69.5 miles! Much more fun.
 

I am kind of directionally challenged and I sort of have an obsession with maps, and my most often used cell phone app is Google Maps. I had to let go of the need to have the map app going all the time to check the directions, and am proud to say I only needed to check the map one time when I goofed on the directions. The trivia questions were well done and we did miss several, although we did see a pink flamingo and a live squirrel and chicken! We finished in Issaquah still talking to each other, not needing a marriage counselor and with our sense of humor intact. It was great fun and we can’t wait to do it again.

We saw lots of cool Minis and met some great people. It’s nice to be among people who “get” the Mini experience. We are looking forward to the next event!

If you don’t have a smile on your face, you’re not doing it right.  J

Happy motoring!

 

Start of 2013 Twists & Turns Rally in Kirkland



Finish of 2013 Twists & Turns Rally at XXX Root Beer in Issaquah along backside
 



Finish of 2013 Twists & Turns Rally at XXX Root Beer in Issaquah along the side



 

 

 

 

LEAVENWORTH

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a Saturday golf tournament at Leavenworth Golf Club so we jumped at the chance for a quick, fun getaway.
 

We took off about noon on the Friday before and headed off to the Edmonds Ferry. Once across, we decided to head towards Lake Forest Park and catch Hwy 522 and go through Kenmore & Bothell and on up to Monroe. It’s a nice change from the frantic pace of the freeway and the larger highways and we know how awful Friday afternoon traffic can be. Once we were past Index on Hwy 2, there were hardly any cars on the road and it was a very pleasant drive through Stevens Pass. I always forget how long of a drive it is to Leavenworth. For some reason I picture the town on the west side of the pass instead of the east side and you know how kids bug their parents with “Are we there yet?”, that was so me this trip.

 

 

 

Saturday the weather was sunny and the scenery was spectacular. Leavenworth Golf Course is such a great place to play, it’s absolutely beautiful and for a high handicapper like me, not too frustrating. A fun time was had by all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I played golf Steve hiked around the various trails and at one point was close enough to wave to us from the trail. He also found a cool salumi shop in town named Cured by Visconti (it’s an Italian Market) and he stocked up on lots of yummy things for us to eat.

 

Our golf tournament and prize awards ran a little long due to unforeseen circumstances, so we didn’t leave Leavenworth until around 5 pm. After all, we were together and it was a beautiful evening, what more could you ask for? We motored on down Hwy 2 and again had hardly any traffic. We chose to go the 405, I-5 route this time and were at the Edmonds Ferry before we knew it.

 

The ride home was uneventful, but nice. We had the windows down, the sunroof open, and the stereo cranked up all the way home. When we got to Port Angeles, the sky lit up with the sunset and I tried to capture some of the magnificent colors. The timing was just right on this day, if we hadn’t been delayed with the golf tournament, we would never have seen this amazing sight. Life is funny that way.

 

Happy motoring!

 

 

CANADA, HERE WE COME!

Steve and I were married in the month of May almost 20 years ago, and his birthday is also in May so we decided it was time for a quick three day adventure getaway to one of our favorite places to commemorate both occasions.

Warning- I’m going to be longwinded on this one so grab your favorite beverage and enjoy the ride.

Salt Spring Island is one of the Canadian Gulf Islands and is located just off the east coast of Vancouver Island. For us to reach Salt Spring Island, it takes two ferries…one from Port Angeles and one from Swartz Bay, which is just up island from Victoria.


After unloading in Victoria we thought it would be fun to retrace a favorite bicycle route to see it all from a different perspective. Besides, this was Coop’s first Canadian adventure and we wanted to make sure he saw the island! We motored south on Douglas by Beacon Hill Park (which is a must see when you have time) and out to Dallas Road where we headed east. Winding around on the coast roads there are gorgeous views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and so many spectacular houses it will make your head spin!
 
We eventually found our way out to the Pat Bay Highway which took us up to Sidney. After a quick, delicious lunch of chicken from the grocery store in Sidney, (and why can’t our grocery stores make chicken that good?!) we were back on our way to Swartz Bay and the Ferry to Salt Spring Island.

 

Can you see Coop?

The BC Ferry Terminal at Swartz Bay is an amazing sight to see. It’s like an airport, only for ferries. BC Ferries go to many different places from here including mainland Canada, so you have to pay attention when they tell you in what lane you need to park. The trip to Fulford Harbor on Salt Spring Island is a quick 35 minute ride on an open, one deck Ferry.  
It sort of sets the tone for being in the Islands. And here is a tip: When in the Gulf Islands, try to relax. Shake loose the fast pace of where you came from and enjoy a slower, gentler atmosphere. The people are nice and the scenery will knock your socks off. Things happen in Island Time here and to avoid unnecessary frustration, just relax!

If you like tent camping, Ruckle Provincial Park is the place to be. It’s out on a point of land with fantastic views and you can see all the boat traffic glide by. It is a bit in the middle of nowhere, so make sure you have adequate provisions.

Motoring in to Ganges, we had

to stop at the bakery. Embe Bakery is THE place to pick up some breakfast goodies or just a snack.
There used to be a great little campground at Mouat Park just up the road from Embe Bakery where we have stayed before, but they no longer allow camping there.
Bummer!



For this trip, we decided to stay two nights at the Wisteria Guest House and booked The Cottage. This is a really lovely place and our hosts Len & Beverly were wonderful. Let me tell you, Beverly’s breakfast alone is worth the trip. The Cottage is a cute, rustic place to stay and if you don’t expect high end furnishings, it is perfect for a nice get away.

The Gulf Islands are full of artisans, many of whom work out of a studio at their home. Salt Spring Island has a map of all the places who welcome visitors and as you motor around exploring the island, you can stop in and check them out.

 
One of the main reasons we wanted to stay in Ganges is because if the weather was nice, we wanted to drive over to Tofino which is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Saturday rolled around and the weather was, shall we say, unpredictable. We didn’t really know what it was going to do but decided we wanted to make the drive anyway. So off to Vesuvius we went to catch the Ferry to Crofton (on Vancouver Island). We landed after a 30 minute crossing and motored up the 1A until just before Chemainus where we met up with the Trans-Canada Highway (Or Hwy 1).


Side note- Chemainus is a great place to visit and needs a day to explore, we skipped it this time because we had been there so many times before.


Up Hwy 1 we went past Ladysmith to Nanaimo where we continued on Highway 19 to Parksville and then turned off to Port Alberni. Once through Port Alberni, the scenery really starts to get good. If you need a potty break, there is a campground off to the right at Sproat Lake Provincial Park and the bathrooms are nice.

 
Sproat Lake is also home of the Sproat Lake Mars Water Bombers, and if you get lucky you will see one of the coolest things ever…a gigantic Martin Mars water bomber scooping up water from the lake. We saw this on a previous visit to Tofino and it was so amazing, I will never forget the sight!

A word of warning to anyone motoring in Canada. If you see this road sign, really pay attention. This means slow down, scary, rough, bumpy road ahead and you had better tighten your seatbelt!


Highway 4 to the west coast of Vancouver
Island is one of the most beautiful, wild,
rugged, twisty, scary roads I have ever been on. You can tell mother nature objects to having a road cross that region and takes every opportunity to ensure everyone who drive it knows how much work it takes just to maintain it in some semblance of drivable form. The scenery is truly magnificent, and I didn’t mind so much that my hand was cramping from holding on to the door bars so tightly. :-) After a time you come to Kennedy Lake, mind you this is after 50 some miles from Port Alberni, and there is a sign across the road-a really nice electronic scrolling sign- that said something like “Narrow Twisty Road Ahead”. We looked at each other and started laughing. Thanks for the timely warning!


As we made our way to the junction where
you either head left to Ucluelet or right to Tofino, we decided since it the weather was not really nice and we had been to Tofino before, we would go into Ucluelet and see what it was all about. The drizzle became wetter when we stopped for a photo op at a beautiful ship that had been made into a hotel and restaurant, and we found ourselves not really keen to explore further.


We made a stop at a nice little grocery store where we stocked up on Pellegrino sparkling waters (Blood Orange, Yum!) and Steve found a candy aisle with all the different, nostalgic, Canadian candy anyone could ever want. It was enough to get us back across Highway 4 and safely back on the ferry at  Crofton.  All in all, starting from Crofton, the round trip took us about 7½ hours. If we had gone into Tofino, it would have been longer.


Once back in Vesuvius, it was dinner time so we stopped at the SeaSide Restaurant, which is just several hundred feet from the ferry dock, and had some really good fish & chips then it was on to our little cottage and a nice stiff drink!

 
Our Sunday was spent motoring our way back to Victoria in time to catch the afternoon ferry home. Sometimes logistics suck, but it’s all a part of the great adventure and we had a wonderful three days.

 
Happy motoring!