Good Leanne...

Day 1 got off to an incredibly rocky start! Not exactly what we had in mind...truly... not in the least!

To begin with our plan was to leave by 8:00am. After several complications with last minute loading of gear, equipment, and luggage, we were finally able to "attempt" to load the bike on the trailer and leave. Or so we thought! Who knew how difficult it would be - and nearly disasterous -(not to mention incredibly scarry) - to get a motorcycle and sidecar perfectly lined up onto two 10" wide ramps. After several attempts and using various speed humps in the neighbourhood streets to get the angle just right, we finally got it loaded...at around 12:30pm.

The border crossing went pretty smooth which was nice, but our success was short lived. We were delayed in Bellingham while waiting at the DMV for our motorcycle licenses. At 3:15 we finally left only to notice that the tarp we wrapped the bike with was flying all over and not really doing its job. During the stop we noticed some problems with the straps so we fixed that as well. A few miles down the road, one of the straps flew off and wrapped itself around the axle of the trailer. So, we stopped....again. Shortly thereafter we had yet another strap issue! No need for details here, just know that we had another 20 minute delay....in BELLINGHAM!

Back on the road again, things seemed to be looking up for us inspite of being delayed for about 9 hours. We were cruising merrily down the highway near Seattle when the motorhome started acting rather strange. We checked the gas gage but it read 1/4 full but as we started up a small incline the Gord-mobile sputtered and began to slow. We couldn't pull over onto the shoulder since we were in a construction zone and it was lined with barrels. As we approached the lane where the cars merge onto the freeway no one would let us pull over even though we were barely moving and had our hazard lights on! So, there it died, right in the middle of the right hand lane during rush hour traffic! Thankfully, as we stood in the road directing traffic while Glen went and lit the flares a good Samaritan named Leanne came to our rescue. She gave us ride up the highway to a gas station where we bought 2 cans and filled them right to the top. On the way back as we were approaching the Gord-mobile we noticed police lights and then off to the side of the road we notice 2 cars. The closer we got the more clear it became that an accident had occur ed...a young man had rear-ended the van in front of him....all because we were out of gas in the middle of the lane. The officer asked us to hurry up and get the hell out of there and as we pulled away we all felt a little sadness and guilt for the accident that mostly we had caused.

By this time we are only a mere 11 hours behind schedule.

Lisa did a great job driving on her first shift. Then is was Glen's turn. As we slept in the back he drove the Gord-mobile toward our destination while jamming to his ipod tunes and apparently drinking us out of red bull. He drank 4...yes 4 during his shift alone. We are currently sitting in a diner in the middle of Montana eating breakfast and watching Glen twitch.

So that's it for now....we are heading out to hit the open road and try to make up some time!

-jeannie, glen, and lisa