Just another top-down commute
 

Not a repair thread.

In some locations it's a rule; when the sun comes out the top comes down. Places like around here where the locals call it the Pacific Northwet. Less than a year ago we had a month we soon won't forget that we now call June-uary. And so it was, yesterday was almost 70 in the afternoon, a particularly nice day around Puget Sound. It was hard to stay at my desk. So, I had a mission to commute home with the top down.

Departed the refinery at Anacortes about 1745 and headed south, staying off the freeway for a while. The coldest I saw was 56F about 80 miles from home. The heater kept me just fine turned up on HI. A few pit stops along the way at Warthog BBQ, main office, and Starbucks. The cops at the coffee shop were eying me wondering what this guy was doing running around with the top down this time of night and if they should pursue. They went back to their coffee and I pointed it back south.

The smells of the fresh air rolling through the countryside are just different that time of the day rolling into the evening hours. More intense as the air cools down and you get that occasional brisk blast in the side of the head.

258 miles from wheels up I punched the garage door opener in Lake Oswego about 2300. Diana had left some freshly painted baseboards on saw horse in my parking spot. I closed the door, backed out of the alley and parked it on the street. Had to put the top up and I could still see the stars.

I've got a couple of routes mapped out to turn this into a 300 mile commute. Get off the freeway a bit more.

Blue skies,
Mike

Lake Oswego! I have a friend who lives there. I visited him a couple of years ago and the scenery is there is spectacular. I bet the daylight part of your drive was great. When I was there we went pheasant hunting up in the high desert. We took that road that follows the Columbia River. I had a Z3 at the time, unfortunately I had flown there and I was riding in his truck. I kept thinking what a cool drive that would be in a convertible. I bet the drive up into Washington is just as cool.

I-84 on the Oregon side of the Columbia river but SR-14 on the Washington side is the good one for drivers. You would have enjoyed that in the Z3. I was raised in the high deserts of Central Oregon. The runs over any of the Cascade mountain passes with the top down are great in the summer.

OJ,

Which refinery (Shell or Valero) were you visiting? I lived in Seattle( Issaquah) for 25+ yrs. calling on industrial accts across West.Wash. for a large electrical manufacturer.

Lake Oswego, man you live right around the corner from me. I am in West Linn, OR off the 10th steet exit. Titiamium Blue with black top XK8, 2001, you may have seen me around.

It's Tesoro now, the one on the point. Shell is now the one closer to Hwy 20. I've been on site there since November consulting as a Control Systems Engineer.

Probably have. We have a higher percentage than normal in that corner of town.

A fishy round trip
 

I'm waiting for a good day so I can take my newly acquired 2000 XK8 convertible from Beaverton to Astoria to get some Fish & Chips at the "Bow Picker" boat across from the Maritime museum. If you have not tried it - it's great, written up in the Oregonian a while back.