I made it!

[happyker]

So I mentioned a couple times on here that I was planning a cross country trip and I had a couple of you tell me to let the forum know when I made it because a lot of you are from Cali. Well after a few delays in my leaving and then taking longer than I expected to get here (had a blast and was a bit more of a tourist than I would like to admit, and even stopped in Arizona for their "Too broke for Sturgis" event as one of very few women RIDERS, one of the youngest and the only FZ6 in sight but still having an amazing time anyway) I finally made it!

I'm in LA as I type this and plan on seeing as much of CA as I can. I'm probably going to go down to San Diego in the next day or two (likely tomorrow). Supposedly I have somewhere I can bartend in LA (I bartend in NYC) to supplement my savings for this trip and if I can finally get through to my friend who is hooking me up Ill make this area my base for about a month then heading north all the way up to Seattle and taking the northern route back home. If said friend keeps being annoying to reach (last time he was this hard to reach I found out a family member had passed away and he had gone overseas last minute so he probably has a good excuse this time as well) and I can't find this bar that seemingly doesn't exist I will likely go up to San Fran, find somewhere willing to let me make some extra cash, preferably bartending, and make that my base for a month instead before heading more north.

Anyway so you Cali guys and gals Id love to make some new friends while I'm out here

On an unrelated note, anyone know somewhere free or cheap to setup a tent in the LA area? Seems its so expensive around here just to occupy a space on the ground.

 

[cult67]

On your northern return trip … if you transit through Boise and need a place to stay shoot me a pm a day or two in advance.

 

[Jblk9695]

Well come to California, heck of a trip to get here:thumbup:
I'd offer my yard for your tent but my dogs would try and sleep in the tent and I'm 60 miles east of LA.
If your going to San Diego I'm sure MotoGiro will comment with some good ideas.

Have fun

Jerry

 

[happyker]

Cult67: Will do, thank you Not sure of my route yet so theres always a chance I will be.

Jblk9695: I love dogs but 60 miles east will cost me as much in gas (with the expensive prices you guys have around here, its worse than midtown Manhattan!) as it would just to stay where I have been staying.

 

[Nelly]

Good luck,
Thanks for posting and don't forget the pictures.

Nelly

 

[happyker]

Good luck,
Thanks for posting and don't forget the pictures.

Nelly

I have TONS of pics.... too many to post on here. So far I will be putting the rest on Facebook but Im not sure if they will be going anywhere else. If I do eventually change my mind and turn my Facebook posts and the rest of my upcoming adventures into a blog Ill let you guys know though

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome: to SoCal!

You have a PM. I'm riding with Jblk9596 this Thursday and I will also meet up with you earlier this week if you're coming south to San Diego. Check your PM!

Anyone who wants to ride Thurs. let me know!

 

[happyker]

:welcome: to SoCal!

You have a PM. I'm riding with Jblk9596 this Thursday and I will also meet up with you earlier this week if you're coming south to San Diego. Check your PM!

Anyone who wants to ride Thurs. let me know!

My ride down to San Diego has been postponed till at least tomorrow but Ill call you when I know better. I doubt Ill be around on Thursday but if I am Ill let you know that too.

 

[Motogiro]

My ride down to San Diego has been postponed till at least tomorrow but Ill call you when I know better. I doubt Ill be around on Thursday but if I am Ill let you know that too.

Just call/text/PM me asap so I can schedule other stuff. I''ll sched. the day with you when you come down.

 

[Motogiro]

Update:
happyker made it down to San Diego. It was a bit late and we only had a little sun light. I made Chinese Noodles last night for dinner and after we ate Lisa, Kerri and I headed out to Soledad Mountain for a look around before we lost the sun. We then tooled around town to the Gaslamp District and few towns to try and give a taste of the culture here in a few hours. Not really possible so we hit up our favorite gelato spot for the very best gelato around. The Vero Cafe.

We got back to our place repaired a bad headlamp plug, put some air in the tires and happyker was on her way back to LA.

If she can change her schedule she might come back down this way for a ride on Thurs. and hang here for a day or two before she continues the journey.

I have lots of respect for happyker because cross country is not that easy and is a great adventure.
I hope more members can share time and riding with happyker on this journey.

 

[TheRabbi]

This is such a tease with no pictures! :shakehead: :spank:

 

[Mudkipz137]

I'm so jealous of you for doing that great of a road-trip.

If you head outside LA to one of the smaller cities near LA you can get some cheaper places to stay, I used to camp in Carpinteria and such when I lived in CA.

I'm up in Washington, on the eastern side in an area called tri-Cities (a couple hours from Spokane) so if you come through let me know maybe we can go for a ride!

Enjoy yourself. A personal recommendation, depending on where you're currently at, spend some time on Highway 1--it hugs the ocean coastline (literally hugs it) all the way up California. Some great places to stop along the way, very windy and twisty, ocean keeps it cool year round, and the view is awesome.

You can stop in Cambria near the central coast, where I grew up, they've got some cool stuff there and I've yet to find a grill bbq place that's as good as Main Street Grill (excepting, of course, the Dog House Grill in Fresno, and Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo because they're owned by the same guy). After passing there you'll pass Hearst Castle which is a possibility if you're interested in seeing some cool stuff both in artifacts and architecture and ridiculous amounts of money spent on one house. After that there's Big Sur, which would be a great place to camp for a night or two. Lots of trails to hike, some cool shops, etc.

Then again, I grew up riding dirtbikes in small towns. So if you're focusing on basing yourself out of cities this may not be for you but still--you'd probably have a bit of fun.

Mud

 

[NorCal FZ6]

This is such a tease with no pictures! :shakehead: :spank:

Ya, but taking pictures with your camera is typically far better than your phone. Then transferring pictures from your camera to a mobile device can be a way mega pita.

-wish I could be around but I am working multi shifts for a few weeks. Drive safe take your time and enjoy the scenery. If its any indication it's been cooking up here in Nor/Cal. Might want to stay near the coast where it's cool. Just my 2 cents.

 

[AthensGA37]

I'm so jealous of you for doing that great of a road-trip.

If you head outside LA to one of the smaller cities near LA you can get some cheaper places to stay, I used to camp in Carpinteria and such when I lived in CA.

I'm up in Washington, on the eastern side in an area called tri-Cities (a couple hours from Spokane) so if you come through let me know maybe we can go for a ride!

Enjoy yourself. A personal recommendation, depending on where you're currently at, spend some time on Highway 1--it hugs the ocean coastline (literally hugs it) all the way up California. Some great places to stop along the way, very windy and twisty, ocean keeps it cool year round, and the view is awesome.

You can stop in Cambria near the central coast, where I grew up, they've got some cool stuff there and I've yet to find a grill bbq place that's as good as Main Street Grill (excepting, of course, the Dog House Grill in Fresno, and Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo because they're owned by the same guy). After passing there you'll pass Hearst Castle which is a possibility if you're interested in seeing some cool stuff both in artifacts and architecture and ridiculous amounts of money spent on one house. After that there's Big Sur, which would be a great place to camp for a night or two. Lots of trails to hike, some cool shops, etc.

Then again, I grew up riding dirtbikes in small towns. So if you're focusing on basing yourself out of cities this may not be for you but still--you'd probably have a bit of fun.

Mud

....if only I weren't in GA, on the other coast, I'd def try all this! bbq/riding/ocean/hiking/camping what more is there to life?!

 

[Motogiro]

Just talked to happyker and she's doing great! She road the PCH all the way to San Francisco. She did Big Sur and just stayed on the coast all the way up.
She's staying at a friends place in San Fran as we speak.

 

[happyker]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I didnt realize that Motogiro kept this thread going (Motogiro and his wife are both pretty amazing by the way, they took good care of me and my bike while I was in San Diego) I actually thought it died (sorry Mudkipz137, I didnt get to check out Cambria and Hearst castle was closed for tours by the time I got to it though I did follow US 101 out of LA and then hit as it merged into US 1 focused on following that instead the entire way up the coast all the way to San Fran including the stunning Big Sur area).

For those of you complaining about no pictures, well my friends on Facebook have had to wait too. Ive been super lazy about going through and deleting the redundant ones, having the panoramic ones properly sorted into the mix with the non panoramic ones (my phone should have done a better job at that, though for a phone it has a wonderful camera at 8MP) and for the Facebook side when I started uploading the pictures every few nights it put things out of order and I dont want to delete them and start over because some have comments and such on them so Ive been pretty lazy about reorganizing those ones as well. I havent put anything on Facebook since my first night in Saint Louis with the exception of the random occasional I am here now shots.

Im thinking now maybe Ill end up putting the pictures up on my Flickr account or at the minimum share the direct you dont have to be friends with me (though you can be if you want) or even have Facebook at all but you can still see this album link privately with those who request it.

So anyway I have a few things on my agenda today. Ive decided that since San Francisco was technically the inspiration for this roadtrip to happen in the first place (Its the only place I have EVER been to off the east coast and I visited when I was a teenager falling in love with it way back then) and I didnt hear back from my friend about the job in LA till yesterday when I was already almost here I REALLY want to spend the bulk rest of my time based out of San Fran. Im going to see if the bar thats related to the one I work at in NYC will let me pick up some shifts (I asked months ago and they never bothered to get back to me either way). If they say yes then GREAT if not I need to see if I can find somewhere that will let me make some extra cash and only work for a month.

Also where I stayed at last night I can only stay for a few days because this friend is a newer one and she has roommates that may not exactly be thrilled about someone crashing for a month, so I do need to find somewhere to stay as well. If anyone has any leads on somewhere dirt cheap, a place to crash even if just for a few more days I would SUPER APPRECIATE it! Im not picky about accommodations as long as my baby (my bike) is safe, Id even be thrilled to camp out in someones backyard (wouldnt be the first time Ive done that either, haha, I camped in some new friends backyard in Milwaukee) and with my nice warm sleeping bag would happily set up a tent in the chilly San Francisco air with a big grin on my face :cheer:

Ok so now that Ive typed out what Im supposed to be doing today and procrastinating again, time to go do that! heh.

Oh and even if you dont have any ideas where I can crash dont forget Im still always up for making new friends!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

On your northern return trip … if you transit through Boise and need a place to stay shoot me a pm a day or two in advance.

Same here, I live in Boise too. Bored as hell, love to meet another forum member. I've got a garage for the bike, and you can pitch your tent inside my apartment if you like. I will be leaving for Vegas for the Labor Day weekend.

 

[cult67]

Same here, I live in Boise too. Bored as hell, love to meet another forum member. I've got a garage for the bike, and you can pitch your tent inside my apartment if you like. I will be leaving for Vegas for the Labor Day weekend.

Funny, my son has his tent pitched in the den :rockon:

 

[happyker]

Funny, my son has his tent pitched in the den :rockon:

Haha nice...

Vegasrider: Yeah Ill have to try and detour to see both of you in Boise. If Im indoors I dont need to set up the tent but the sad thing is Ive actually done it before. I had a bug issue in my apartment for awhile and kept waking up with bites so while I bought that tent with this trip in mind, I purchased it early to sleep in it which stopped the bug bites. Once I finally got my roommate to get around to talking to the landlord about getting an exterminator (she is on the lease, Im not, as I moved in to a bug problem she apparently didnt know she had since she never got bitten on her side of the apartment) I actually kind of missed sleeping in it. I had it on top of my mattress so it was pretty comfy.

 

[Mudkipz137]

Hey everyone,

Sorry I didnt realize that Motogiro kept this thread going (Motogiro and his wife are both pretty amazing by the way, they took good care of me and my bike while I was in San Diego) I actually thought it died (sorry Mudkipz137, I didnt get to check out Cambria and Hearst castle was closed for tours by the time I got to it though I did follow US 101 out of LA and then hit as it merged into US 1 focused on following that instead the entire way up the coast all the way to San Fran including the stunning Big Sur area).

For those of you complaining about no pictures, well my friends on Facebook have had to wait too. Ive been super lazy about going through and deleting the redundant ones, having the panoramic ones properly sorted into the mix with the non panoramic ones (my phone should have done a better job at that, though for a phone it has a wonderful camera at 8MP) and for the Facebook side when I started uploading the pictures every few nights it put things out of order and I dont want to delete them and start over because some have comments and such on them so Ive been pretty lazy about reorganizing those ones as well. I havent put anything on Facebook since my first night in Saint Louis with the exception of the random occasional I am here now shots.

Im thinking now maybe Ill end up putting the pictures up on my Flickr account or at the minimum share the direct you dont have to be friends with me (though you can be if you want) or even have Facebook at all but you can still see this album link privately with those who request it.

So anyway I have a few things on my agenda today. Ive decided that since San Francisco was technically the inspiration for this roadtrip to happen in the first place (Its the only place I have EVER been to off the east coast and I visited when I was a teenager falling in love with it way back then) and I didnt hear back from my friend about the job in LA till yesterday when I was already almost here I REALLY want to spend the bulk rest of my time based out of San Fran. Im going to see if the bar thats related to the one I work at in NYC will let me pick up some shifts (I asked months ago and they never bothered to get back to me either way). If they say yes then GREAT if not I need to see if I can find somewhere that will let me make some extra cash and only work for a month.

Also where I stayed at last night I can only stay for a few days because this friend is a newer one and she has roommates that may not exactly be thrilled about someone crashing for a month, so I do need to find somewhere to stay as well. If anyone has any leads on somewhere dirt cheap, a place to crash even if just for a few more days I would SUPER APPRECIATE it! Im not picky about accommodations as long as my baby (my bike) is safe, Id even be thrilled to camp out in someones backyard (wouldnt be the first time Ive done that either, haha, I camped in some new friends backyard in Milwaukee) and with my nice warm sleeping bag would happily set up a tent in the chilly San Francisco air with a big grin on my face :cheer:

Ok so now that Ive typed out what Im supposed to be doing today and procrastinating again, time to go do that! heh.

Oh and even if you dont have any ideas where I can crash dont forget Im still always up for making new friends!

Glad it's going well. Enjoy yourself, and if you end up near eastern WA let me know maybe we'll go for a ride. I'm about 4-5 hours from Boise, and actually on the way if you're coming from western WA.

Enjoy!
Mud