The next morning Beate & me went for a swim in
the ocean. Whoa, that woke me up!! ;-) We had a great breakfast, Beate
showed me around the city some more, and at noon
we both headed outa town on I8 towards Arizona. Beate joined me until Jacumba,
where we had a farewell beer and said goodbye. She then rode back home
to San Diego and I continued to Phoenix.
The ride through the desert was pretty impressive,
nothing but sand, a cactus or some dried out bushes
here and there and the road. But what amazed me most
was the heat! It was like a hairdryer on full power blowin right in my
face! Even if I wasn't low on gas I stopped at every gas station, just
to refill my water bottles!! Uhmm, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining!!
I'll take this kinda weather over winter any day, I love it!! :-)
I continued on I8, reached Yuma and was glad I could
ride without the lid again once I had crossed the CA-AZ state line ;-)
I went off I8 in Gila Bend, took Hwy85 to Buckeye and finally I10 to Phoenix.
From a gas station I called Scott Colbath and he gave me directions to
a supermarket to where he came out to pick me up. We went to his place
where I was welcomed by his wife Patti and son Max, who was so generous
to offer me his room for the weekend. Thanx again, Max, and also for being
so polite to let me win in chess ;-) We gotta play another game sometimes!!
Patti had allready prepared a very fine dinner,
we had a few beers and Scott introduced me to Tequila 8-) Well, I mean
GOOD Tequila, not that nasty stuff they're selling over here in germany
that sez Tequila on the label but isn't worth to be used as anti-freeze
in a car's windshield washer!!
Friday (June 20th.) Scott and I wrenched a little,
but on cars for a change ;-) and I also installed a stator plug clip on
my bike. Otherwise we had a nice and relaxing day, hung around at the pool,
had another great dinner and more Tequilas. Hey Scott, I got hooked on
that stuff!! The bottle I bought before I flew back home is long gone,
and now I have a helluva time to find me a new one over here ;-)
Saturday morning, Scott and I rode out to Bartlett
Lake to meet Max' karate sensei Ray and his friends. After some off-road
riding we finally found his RV with the two flags on top saying "The party
is here" and "The bar is open". After a while we had dropped our initial
plans for a long ride and so we just relaxed in the shadow of the RV, went
on a boat cruise later, enjoyed the sights and had lotsa fun!!
We went back early afternoon, picked up Pattie and
Max and went out for some food and some Margaritas. Later we drove to the
Pavillions Mall where lots of bikes, rods, drag and muscle cars were cruising
the parking lot. We also met Barry Van Hook and we all had a great time.
