Caged in a U-Haul for a Minute

Post date: Jul 28, 2016 5:27:50 AM

The next 36 hours were spent driving 1500 miles from Whitehorse, YT to BMW Motorcycles of Seattle. Two of my new friends got their bikes serviced there on the way up to Alaska, and while in Alaska, the service writer texted them to ask how they were doing. Now THAT is customer service. I went there without any hesitation.

The one good thing about having to drive the Alaska Highway back south was that I got to see Muncho Lake and Stone Mountain Provincial Parks from another direction. The view traveling south is much better than the other way. These two parks have some of the best scenery in all of Canada, and it's just too beautiful to put into words.

Getting back across the US border was a bit of an ordeal. I followed the signs that said commerical truck because the image of the truck depicted on the signage was exactly what I was driving. I had never rented a U-Haul truck, let alone crossed the border with one. I pulled up next to the CBP agent and instantly there was a problem. He had an asshole problem.

"You're in the wrong line," he said.

I explained that I had been in the truck for 36 hours, had very little sleep, and was just following the signs that said commercial vehicle. He proceeded to treat me like an idiot, which I let know that I did not appreciate one bit.

"I'll turn you around, if you want," he threatened.

I stopped his tantrum by saying, "Look! I'm not giving you an attitude! I don't expect one in return!"

Arriving at the dealership at 0130 on Tuesday morning meant that there was no one around. Obviously, they weren't open, so I backed the U-Haul truck up really close to some enormous hedges adjacent to the dealership, crawled in the back, and pitched camp until they opened at 0900.

I awoke, got cleaned up, and proceeded to find the Service department which is actually around the back and down the alley, not conspicuous. I vented to the Tech my story, and he recalled talking to the service writer about it saying, "Oh, yea. I know about this. Pull it in, and we'll get started on it right away. The service writer won't be in for another half-hour, so go have some breakfast and come back." Fabulous.

I had breakfast at a cafe close by that wasn't worth reliving and returned to the dealership. There was a laundry list of things to fix.

1. Replace the driveshaft, and anything else adjacent to it that might have been affected.
2. Rebuild the fork seals.
3. Mount and balance new tires that I would provide in a couple of days.
4. Adjust the valves.
5. Change the oil.
6. Clean the air filter.
7. Perform annual service.
8. Inspect anything else that might be toast.

The estimate was $2,500.00 USD. I was prepared for a huge number, and it did not disappoint. I guess I'll be keeping this bike for a minute and not trading it in at the end of this trip like I had been pondering. Smirk. I left the bike in good hands.

The good news is that I have people in Puyallup, WA. I called my cousin and made arrangements for them to pick me up from the U-Haul place down the street from the house. Perfect. We hung out the rest of the day and had a great time. At about 0200 the next morning, my uncle & aunt pulled in the driveway. They had driven to & from Vancouver, BC to save money on their Italy trip to see my other cousin that lives there. We didn't go to bed until much later.

The next few days, I hung out with them and took in a few sights. I took a tour of the Boeing factory and learned that a new 787 Dreamliner with the most powerful turbine engines made costs over $300M USD to produce. Gasp! They will confiscate cell phones on the spot, if you don't locker them.

I went down to Pike Place Market and had some chowder at Pike Place Chowder.

I walked around downtown Seattle all the way up to the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located.

The International Fountain is pretty cool too as the show is synchronized to music.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is across the street to the east.

Overall, I'm not a fan of Seattle. There are too many vagrants, dirty & aspiring musicians, gays committing lewd acts in public, horrible roads, and neglected neighborhoods.

I had to get out of town, so I headed out to Mt. Rainier and hiked to Spray Falls. It wasn't the best of days weather-wise, but I made it work.