Everett

these planes pick up complete assemblies for the planes being manufactured

I used to have a great-uncle Everett.  Married my great-aunt Lydia and raised my two cousins in Gladwin, MI, were great-aunt Lydia taught grade school.  My cousin used to ride his Ford tractor to school.  How fun.

less than 1/2 mile from Boeing plant

It's past noon on Saturday and I am sitting in the Everett Public Library (got my card yesterday) a quarter mile from the bay, overlooking the Naval Station Everett which is (itself) located on the northeast side of Puget Sound. It's home port for a US Navy Carrier Strike Group consisting of two destroyers, one nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a Coast Guard buoy tender - all of which I can see from here!  There are about 350 sailors and civilians assigned to the station.

one of my new roommates

Toured the Boeing Plant Friday morning and thoroughly enjoyed it! The building is eleven stories high and can house Disneyland and still have twelve acres remaining! Everyone appeared so casual (as everyone in the Seattle area does).  It really appears to be a well-run facility.  It's like a new auto plant slowed down 9/10ths and inflated by a factor of 500.  The museum was less interesting though Mr. Boeing's life story is as impressive as any of the 'self-made' men of his time.

room 202

my house

As I said, I got a room.  Since then I have looked at a few others and determined that this is my best bet for the interim.  I am meeting more of my roommates as the days progress.  Most are working.  One is quite the alcoholic. Hey, there's room for everybody on the bus, right? Yesterday, I took a bicycle ride down by the docks (and Naval yard) and had a great time mingling with people and watching the sun set.  It really is quite an expereince.  The breeze coming off of the Pacific is soo soothing.  What an apt name for this ocean.

Integrety Motor Yachts Austrailia

this is real activity here

I have been completely redoing my resume replete with fancy, if not fanciful, descriptions of past experiences and expertise.  I have been exercising with very long bicycle rides and light weight lifting.  Yesterday, I got a flat tire on the way home from the docks and rode home on the flat.  It was like a run-flat.  It didn't destroy the tire, nor the rim at all.  I had to be careful though not to run over any bumps.

the bay

I couldn't understand what they were looking at...

So, this evening I am meeting a friend for dinner at Chinook's at Salmon Bay.  It is "a casual, high-energy seafood restaurant located in Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal".  I am looking forward, it'll be my first taste of seafood here!

then I saw this fascinating critter (not otter!)

hungry, indeed!!

Next week I will be going further down the coast to visit friends in Manzanita, OR, where they have recently built a home on the coast after moving out from Boise, ID.  Haven't lost sight of the end goal though which is to get a job!  I'll write again soon.

Cheers,

Chris

a very nice day ~ Good Nite!

New Home in Everett, Washington

So much has happened since my last post: I made it through the Rockies, through customs and in The States at Vancouver, and found a room in Everett, Washington, just 20 miles north of Seattle.

Let's go back to where I left you last. I was having trouble with the steering on the Blue Goose such that it was binding up during slow speed maneuvers. I stayed in an expensive ($99) room in Calgary in order to get it to a Ford dealer the next morning.  It was exciting being in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. For whatever reasons I was reminded of Chihuahua, Mexico.  The way the foothills create vantage points overlooking Calgary is identical.  Too bad I couldn't afford the delicious rack of lamb I ate in Chihuahua while overlooking that city.

So, the next morning dawned clear and I was first in line at the Ford dealer where I was greeted by a service manager who refused to look at the car if I couldn't duplicate the problem (which I couldn't as the car chose to run fine).  Surprised and angered that this 'mouth breather' didn't have enough curiosity to put it on the lift to see if the steering gear may be out of spec, or anything else, I drove west down the road another 20 miles to another Ford dealer and was greeted with the same response (turns out both Ford dealers were owned by the same person). Then went to a local tire dealer where I asked them to flush the power steering fluid and replace with new thinking that the problem might be dirty fluid or an oxygen bubble in the line. Satisfied my directions were clear, I went to breakfast.  I came back an hour later to discover that they had done an "inspection" and found nothing wrong and, further, wanted $75CN for the exercise.  I didn't have time to get angry again, I had miles to cover and the mountains beckoned.

How sweet!  Remembrances of mountains past flooded as I drank in the beauty.  Around every corner was a sight which superseded the previous in grandeur and splendor.  The rivers were most beautiful and dynamic.  When stopping at the rare rest stops I had to dodge tour buses loaded with Brits of all things. Coming across clouds clinging to the sides of the mountains reminded me of my first traveled through the Oak Creek Canyon just south of Flagstaff, Arizona, on the way to Sedona.  Honestly, these mountains stand on their own in comparison to any in the world.  They promise so much and deliver more.  Driving in them presented a challenge the prairies didn't, that of driving down long grades.  Often, the 5,100 lbs of the loaded car greeted the gifts of gravity with exuberance leaving the brakes to cope, when I elected to use them.  Otherwise, there was quite a bit of construction as workers used the summer months to their best effect.

I stayed in a hostel Revelstone, Alberta, where I made up for the excess of rooming costs the night before. There was a pleasant Aussie girl )who came into town four years ago and couldn't leave because of the attraction) running the hostel.  The local burger was great.

I started working on some things in the kitchen after a long bike ride when I felt a wispy drip from my nose.  I wiped it with my hand to discover blood running off my fingers.  Somewhat shocked, I realized the altitude I was at with great force.  The nose problem cleared quickly as I took in the altitude with new appraisal and respect.

Gas was quite expensive through out the mountains as one might expect and one is well-advised to get fuel wherever they can, whether needed or not - just in case.

I left the hostel at 4:30am and rove through the dark and rain, with the truckers, looking for the odd moose.  I made it out of the mountains and into Vancouver by 2:00pm.  It was somewhat of a letdown leaving the Rockies.  I am so happy to have had that experience and the ability to scratch off one more adventure, one I have wanted to have since 1974.


Vancouver was a disappointment for me.  Maybe I was in a bad part of town but there weren't the clean tall skyscrapers I remembered in pictures.  I elected to leave early and try to make Seattle as the Garmin told me I could be there by 4:40pm.  I busted for the border where I was met with VERY long lines of tourists like myself.  The upside of the wait was looking out over the bay into the Pacific and breathing deeply the clean, cool, bracing air coming off the Pacific scented as it were with marine life.

Debra cleans a pump at 5:00am - got to admire the Canadians!

I anticipated the worst as I waited behind an Arab family going through customs.  Well, the officer spent so much time with them that he breezed me through afterward and I was on my way back home.  The drive down was difficult as traffic was dense and moving slowly.  I made it as far as Mt. Vernon, about 40 miles out, when I gave up. I'd been driving for over 12 hours and I was tired.  I eventually made my way up the side of a mountain into a B&B which had a cabin in the back in some ceders which they were ready to give me for $85 for the night.  They lit a fire to take the dampness out and I fell in to a much needed deep-sleep balm.

Dawn comes in lightly

Mt Vernon B&B

That's it for now.  I will catch you up on my Seattle activities shortly (did I mention I found a room in Everett near Boeing?).  Thanks, again, for your continued interest.


Cheers,

It's great to be back in America!!

Chris

The Prairies End

I awoke in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan this morning.  Yup, you read it right.  I awoke with a new focus: that of on getting on to Seattle.  Now, I hadn't yet decided whether or not to continue on through the Canadian Rockies on out to Vancouver and then down to Seattle, or to head south for The States - and then on through eastern Washington over to Seattle.  I made that decision later in the day as I crossed into Alberta where I was encouraged by a young man in the greeting center there to go through the Canadian Rockies.  Seems his family makes the trek regularly in order to see kin in British Columbia and he was quite exuberant about it. So that's the plan as it stands now.

Saw plenty more prairie today.  At one point I looked up to see a prairie dog in the middle of the road looking straight at me!  I hadn't to time to swerve (had I, I may have landed in the ditch - more about that in a minute) and was sure I had decapitated him. I looked in the rear view and there he was poking his head up from a retracted position.  Go figure! And all that at 80mph.

Later in the day while taking a wonderful suggested detour I discovered I was running out of gas.  With growing concern I went off the beaten path (it was all off the beaten path where I was) in search of gas.  While making a u-turn I discovered I had no power steering and the wheel was binding as I turned. I had good control at speed with small inputs.  It's dangerous but I couldn't afford to freak, where I was on a Sunday.  So, I did my best and made for another 150 miles it into Calgary.  And, yes, I did find gas at an Indian reservation outpost and had to pump it from a big tank.  Ces't la vie, as they say in Montreal.

Seeing these guys far away from anyone or anything does great things for the soul

Here come the Rockies!

No two ways about it, Lamas are odd

Those little dots on top of the center are cattle

The cities are beginning to make me nervous as I have grown fond of the prairies.  That said, it's nice how the anticipation builds with the sight of the the foothills to the Canadian Rockies. I had wanted to blow through Calgary but I have to stay the night in order to go to the Ford dealer first thing in the morning.


Good Night,


Chris

Enter Seattle

What is this silly horse hiding from? Is it in the Federal Witness Protection Program?

Insane

Whimsy on the Woad!

How scary!  In the flat fields of Saskatchewan

Interesting

North Shore of Superior

The Ritz

This is in Ontario and a lot like Alaska

Dear Friends ~


It is 7:20pm Saturday night and I am in a quasi-youth hostel/hotel next to a university in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and I am getting a change of heart.  So far, I have been hell-bent for Anchorage where I hoped to put something together job-wise for the winter.  Now, as I sit here missing 'home', and not necessarily Michigan, I am thinking that I could put together a nice 'home' in Seattle while I looked for work with the resources I currently have. Going to Alaska would put these resources in jeopardy.  Normally, I am good for that.  Right now, I am thinking that winter is coming and it would be great fun to explore a new place (in the rain).


So please feel free to vote on whether or not I should do this, either through the comment section below, or by e-mail.  I am listening but I have spoken my heart.  I will check in again at about Calgary, British Columbia.  Thank you.

The entire lake is formed from glacial rock

love,

Scenes like this are ubiquitous throughout Ontario and Manitoba

Farming in the Canadian Plains seems quite prosperous

Chris

These Zen-like creations were to be found on outcrops all along the highway

Aaron Provincial Park in Ontario

Measured about 8 feet - how quaint!

I Made it Out !!

Bob & Karen Kopicko met me at the Fleetwood Diner in A2 before I left

Dear All:

Job News from Anchorage

Last Monday, I mentioned that one of the contacts, I had made while looking for work during the winter season Alaska, had forwarded my information to another.  I received an email from that second contact early last week, and and a phone from him call last Friday evening.  None of what he and I discussed was encouraging, but I appreciate a realistic assessment to something otherwise.  Please take a look at the note from Mikio "Mike" Ito (owner and operator of Asia & Pacific Tours www.alaskaone.com/anchorage/america-pacific-tours-inc.htm) and then I'll relay our phone conversation:

Hello Chris-san,

Than you for the inquiry.

We are looking for tour guide who can work following season.

Winter:

Work location is around Fairbanks

From the end of November through first week of April

What type of work: Tour guide, driver, tour desk and winter gear preparation, etc.

Wage $8:50 ~$12 depends on experience, plus gratuity from clients.

Housing: The company has 3 bed room housing. All facilities are already there.

                 The company deduct $8 per day from the wage.

                 It is limited bed room, so can not guarantee single room.

Work compensation: Company offer

Health insurance: A new employee have to wait for three months to enroll.

Summer:

Work location is based at Anchorage.

From the first of June through the middle of September.

Chris-san,

If you have interest, please call me.

I would like to speak with you in Japanese.

Yoroshiku.

Mikio  Ito
A&P Tours, Inc.

So, there you have it.  The conversation we had Friday followed much the same format: the jobs start in late-November and don't pay a whole lot. Mikio said it was everything he could do to keep his skeleton staff working.  I understood the pay situation what I didn't understand (until he told me) was the late start date.  He asked me to forward my resume and suggested that I stop in to see him when I arrive in Anchorage.


Mikio is not the only game in town.  That said, he mentioned that most summer seasonal help was out of town by September 1st.  I am still curious about what might be possible and am heading in that direction soon.

Tuesday Morning Start Time


I have been working diligently and expect I will be out Tuesday morning, Wednesday at the very latest!  The packing is coming together nicely and the weather is cooperating by dropping the humidity.  I am getting some ideas for losing weight (in the car) and am packing so that various items are segmented: tent items in one place, electrical (inverter, cords, etc.) in another, business clothes wrapped up and on the roof, tire irons-jacks-tools in the trunk, blah, blah blah! Anyway, it's coming together.

Point of Clarification


In the earlier blogs there are some pictures of a roof top tent.  This went by the wayside because of some damage in shipping. The distributor was very kind in offering to do this.  I would have loved  a new tent but the distributors contact was dragging his feet.  I suggest looking into this type of tent if you are considering a long trip.  It's relatively inexpensive ($1,250) when compared to RV alternatives and pops up in seconds, ready for sleeping (with bedding already in it) www.cartopcamper.com. 


Gotta stay focused here, talk with you again soon!


Cheers,


Chris