Welcome to the land of the Free!

I left Victoria after a very enjoyable period of drinking and having general Canada day fun. I arrived at the ferry port to get a boat over to the Olympic National Park in the USA. After fulfilling the main immigration criteria of not have a wild beard and a strangely brown appearance I thought I would be in without too much hassle, however this was not the case. About 1 hour later, which included searching through all my stuff he finally agreed that maybe I was really just riding through. Next stop the USA....
I arrived in Port Angeles then carried on through the Olympic national park passing a large lake, which I forget the name of, but I'm sure it was something like 'Elastic Waistband Lake' (well maybe not but the name seemed to suit the area, therefore I have chosen to re-name it). The amount of grotesquely fat women wobbling in and out of their RV's was quite astonishing. I started to question whether or not they were indeed RV's, but in actual fact huge 'mobility chairs' that the stenna stairlift company had seen a niche for. Every single one seemed to be occupied by a blimp of a human. When I was told the coast was good for whale watching I didn't mean they meant human whales! Anyhow, I hope I have no really fat readers, and if so I'm sorry... I'm sure you're not fat anyway, just big boned.
I rode on escaping 'Elastic Waistband Lake' and made for Mt. Rainer where I thought I would camp for the night before arriving in Seattle. I rode round the State Capitol called Olympia but then got stuck riding through the centre of a town called TaCOMA, and by Christ what a dump. I felt great sympathy for any poor sod who ended up living here, with the biggest attraction being 17 miles of fast food restaurants, and on leaving the town I felt how apt the name seemed to be, as quite frankly I recon the only way to survive the place would actually be to fall into a COMA, and really hope you would not wake up to spend a lifetime viewing Burger king and McDonald's every way you looked.
I camped near Mt Rainier which was stunning. It was impressive purely due to the fact the mountain appears from nowhere like a huge blot on the horizon. Very pleasant. I arrived at the camp ground so late that I managed to sneak in and out Gratis. Even better!
The next day I made some calls to the Family friends I was going to stay with a few nights, so I arrived at the Hodders house just north of Seattle midmorning. I had a really lovely time staying with them, and they made me feel really welcome. I spent the first evening in with them, then the next day I went into the city for the 4th July stuff. I hate to say it to all my US friends, but as far as I can tell the Canadians know how to party a bit better, but I suppose in Canada they haven't got half as many ridiculous laws just to stop anyone having any fun...Check this out, here a couple of utterly ridiculous laws the Americans thought it a good idea to introduce. Fireworks, now we all love explosions, especially the USA, or so I thought, but clearly not... In most counties in Washington it is illegal to buy any fireworks bigger than those little finger caps we used to throw as children, however, all you need to do is drive 30 mins up the road to an Indian reservation where by the roadside you can buy something that resembles a scud missile with a sparkler attached to the top, to only then drive back to the illegal part of town and set it off, grinning with glee as your neighbors experience the fall out. Classic. Here is another law, as I have got going now... Lucky for me I was informed that it is actually illegal to fill up your own petrol tank in Oregon. So what seemed to happen on a regular basis was some spotty teenager would swan out form the shop and make some half arsed attempt to fill up my bike. The only problem with this was that they would stick the nozzle right into the tank, fill it up till it cut-out, which would be about 1 litre. I would then point out that unless he wanted me to run out of petrol 20 miles down the road, then he is better off letting me do it. This may not sound that bad, but after the 10th time of explaining this I was almost ready to risk being arrested and jailed for life just so I could get a full petrol tank. AARRGH!
Anyhow, I feel I am ranting about bad American stuff, which is unfair as there are plenty of good things too, for one you can turn right on a red light, now thats good. But lets be honest it wouldn't be so amusing if I wrote about all the red lights Ive turned right on would it.
After a fun time in Seattle, which involved meeting a few new friends and my friends Kat, I left to head south. I rode along the coast of Oregon through Astoria where the Goonies was filmed, so after the necessary photo shoot of the house, the jail and the beach I moved on along the coast. The whole coastline is very picturesque, and at a risk of exposing my sensitive side it was quite beautiful. I arrived at a small place called Cannon Beach. This is where the Goonies beach is, and it seemed like a very nice place, if not rather pricey. So there I am preparing to sleep in a hedge whilst having some food when I meet a guy called Richard and his daughter, we get chatting over a beer, and to cut a long story short, they were kind enough to let me sleep at their cottage right by the beach. That was really cool as I didn't feel like sleeping in yet another bush.
The next day I carried on inland towards Crater Lake where the weather got super hot. It was actually a very long ride so I slept by a river 90 miles West of the lake and went to see it the next day. It was an incredible place which as always the pics never do justice to. I spent a few hours there before taking back roads through Oregon back towards the coast. Oregon is really a lovely State, even inland once you escape the fast-food towns.
Back at the coast I entered the Redwood national park, and with that I also crossed into California. The redwoods are, to no ones surprise, bloody huge! Its all very 'Jurrasic Park' when riding through them. I camped in the national park that night, then the next day planned to ride to San Fransico to meet with some friends.
The next day was one of those days where everything goes wrong. I did the standard 'drive through a tree' thing before carrying on to San Fran via some dirt roads. I was staying on highway 1 which you would not believe how wiggly this road is unless you had to drive down it; but alongside that it had incredible views all the way down. So here I am riding down H1 50 miles north of San Fran when it happens..... The bike BREAKSDOWN! Would you believe it but the beast actually stops dead.....
I found myself in a lay by between very small towns along the coast. Initially I act a bit cool about it as I had just filled up with fuel so thought the spotty teenager had put diesel in. After much inspection the fuel is good, but I have no spark. Over the next 4 hours I had the bike totally stripped but was at a complete loss to why it wouldn't spark. Then a nice lady pulls over to offer help. I get the number of a Kawasaki dealer in the next town 20 miles away. I call them up, but it is a real struggle as they aren't too happy about towing me back. The lady leaves as I say Im fine, but end up getting fobbed off by the dealer, so Im back being stranded. Then another nice person pulls over. A guy on a Harley. Its quite ridiculous as everywhere you ride, every single biker will wave at you like a total buffoon, but when push comes to shove and you really need some help, this was the only guy on a bike who bothered to check if i was OK out of a large number who rode by. So the next wave I get is going to be answered with two fingers waving back.
Anyhow this guy is awesome, we push the bike 1/2 mile to a store where he has a beer waiting for me, he then calls the dealer and talks American to them, which makes them come and get me. The dealership was actually very good, but it took them that evening and the next morning to even get the bike going. The cause still remains a slight mystery but is was linked to the accursed cut-out circuit again! (please note what a crap job the dealer in Fairbanks did as they were supposed to have fixed that!) Anyway, it is now totally shorted out so no more cut out probs I hope. Also it is very sobering that this problem could have occurred in the Yukon, or Alaska or in fact could have happened in 1 week when I am in death valley. Quite scary really, but all is good. One final note on this disastrous day is this. That night was spent in the worst campsite ever. It cost me a small fortune and the staff there were utter fu**kers. They wouldn't even lend me 25 cent to call my San Fran friends to let them know the situation. I will not go on, but if anyone reading this finds themselves in Petaluma (CA) never stay at their camp ground, in fact, go there do a turd in their reception, then leave again. I would appreciate that.
Finally on Thursday I arrived in San Fran to meet up with me friends Jon and Bob. San Fran seems very cool, if not  bit foggy. Right now I am recovering from 3 nights of merryment, and am about to head off to Yosemite N.P. The long weekend was fuelled with much entertainment, and all I can say is that I hope I am invited to the imminent wedding Bob, and the birth of you first 10 children which I'm sure will follow very soon, and whilst I'm on the subject can I come to the house warming when you find a place to buy next week! Anyway enough of the private jokes, I have had a quality time so thanks to Bob for letting me pas out on a regular basis on his sofa, intermittently watching 7 hours of man vs wild, and thanks for coming all the way out here from Hotlanta Jon. Good times, and we need to do it again very soon.
This has been an epic amount to write about, and I'm sure I have forgotten lots but my hands ache now. Next stops Yosemite, LA, Vegas and then San Diego. Signing out.
p.s Very annoyed as I never got to go onto Alcatraz.... Jon I know you feel my pain too. All the overweight school kids in the area had pre-booked the tickets so there was no chance of getting out there. gutted.
p.p.s pics to follow soon