We re-thought our itinerary a bit, and instead of stopping at Happy Valley, Oregon, we decided to push on through Portland and stop at Chehalis, Washington, partly because this Walmart is a supercenter and has groceries. After an uneventful night at Chehalis, we headed towards Seattle and started to run into heavy traffic volumes and slow driving. Seattle looks interesting, but we were really frustrated by the walking pace speed on the interstate. We could see no reason for the slow traffic except for the volume of vehicles. We crawled along, while Marlene tried to shoot a few pics from the windows and I tried to avoid all the idiots who think a 40,000 pound rig can stop on a dime! We eventually cleared the Seattle area, and got to our next overnight stop at the Walmart in Marysville. This is obviously a popular place for RV's to stay, and we were one of many spending the night.
Next morning we drove on, stopping in Bellingham to top off our fuel tank with cheaper US gas. Our plan was to cross the border on Sunday to avoid long lines. We found only one truck ahead of us at the commercial crossing point, and quickly got to the one open officer's station. We then were subjected to an intense grilling about the car, the motorhome, our plans, etc. Next time we will make sure that we have even more documents to show. Our usual 8 page package wasn't enough for this guy, he wanted to see a title document for the car. Purpose built race cars don't have titles, as I explained several times! Eventually we were allowed to pass, and made our way to the ferry terminal at Tsawassen. After forking over $280 (Gasp) we lined up for 2 hours to wait for the ferry to Nanaimo. Since we had to wait, Marlene cooked up a nice lunch for us.
The crossing was smooth, on one of the new ferries. After disembarking at Nanaimo we went looking for the Walmart, and couldn't find it. It wasn't at the address where Walmart says is should be, so we had to stop and ask directions. Turns out the store had moved, and we finally got there to find lots of RV's already there. As the evening approached more and more RV's pulled in. This is one popular overnight spot!
We decided to walk over to the Chapters book store, but after browsing around for a bit we left in a state of sticker shock. Even though the dollar is almost at par, books are 35% more expensive in Canada! We next walked over to Save-On foods for some milk, but left in a hurry after seeing the price: $4.29 plus deposit for a gallon jug! We're used to paying $1.88 a gallon. Luckily for us, we'd stocked up on groceries at the Walmart in Washington, so we saved a bit anyway.
On the evening news we learned that BC has decided to harmonize the sales tax with the GST, thus instantly raising taxes on many services and large items from 5% to 12%. They are calling it a job creation change!! People are incensed, but they take it out on the retailers instead of on the idiots in the government.
Next morning we rose early, packed up and went to Seal Bay RV park. We had decided to spend a night in a park to relax, top off our water tank and dump our sewers. This is a nice, well run park. Very pretty area, alongside a nature park. We figure we'll stop here again after our shows in Courtenay/ Comox for a couple of days.
Tuesday morning we left the park, and went to wash the road grime off our rig, then went to Saratoga Speedway. We arrived at the gates at noon, and were met by the founder of the track, Dave, who let us in and directed us to a temporary parking area. Dave's son Paul is the current track operator, and he arrived a couple of hours later and sorted out the details of our appearances with us. Against our advice, Paul wanted us to do two small shows early on, and then the car burn at the end. We recommended one big show early, and then the car burn later, but he was adamant! This is a two day gig, so we will repeat the whole thing again the next night.
This is a busy facility, with go-kart rentals running noon to four daily (run by 75 year old Dave) as well as monster truck rides during those same hours. Racing is multiple classes, but the biggest and most popular class is the "hornets", small 4 cyl cars with street tires and roll cages, and no performance modifications allowed. My favourite class is the "crash to pass", large american cars that are really a rolling demo derby race. The condition of these cars is amazing, I don't know how they run, let alone race. The drivers are a bunch of fun loving characters.
Dave and his wife Pat live at the facility, as does Paul's son. They also have a sawmill operating on the site! I got to spend quite a bit of time chatting with Dave. He told me how he and Pat came to move from England to the Island in 1957, and how he came to develop his businesses. Its a great story, and I enjoyed my time with Dave.
On Thursday morning we moved our trailer to its position in the pits, and got the car out to service it. I wanted to make a quick practice run on the track after the rain stopped that evening. Paul insisted on seeing me run, so we had to wait for him to get back from the parade in town. We waited and waited, til finally at around 6:30 he got back. I took the car out on the track, and made a pass down the dragstrip, then a couple of laps of the track.
After Marlene got me out of the car, Paul started giving me directions about how I should do things. He thinks you run performers the same way he orders around his teenage help! Anyway, we listened to him, and told him we'd do our best to accommodate his wishes. I then reminded him that we need to be paid on Friday!
Friday morning we moved the motor home onto Dave's front lawn, where we would be away from the noise and crowds in the pits, and would have power hook-up too. Nice! We got the car out, and Marlene cleaned it til it shined, while I serviced it and got everything ready. I was not happy with the state of my windshield. It has become so fogged by jet fuel fumes, and was always really scratched up, so my visibility had deteriorated til I couldn't see the track very well. We'd tried to polish out the plastic, but it was still bad. I decided to cut out a section of the windshield to make visibility better. Now I could see where I was going.
At 7 pm Paul started the opening ceremonies, and I made my first run. Not many people in the stands, but the car ran well and the racers seemed to like the little show.
At 8 pm I went out again for another little run. Paul's idea, against our advice. Made it through 2/3 of my run and then the car died. Oh no! Got pushed back to the pits, Marlene was frantic that something catastrophic had happened. After a few minutes with the voltmeter I discovered the problem: a blown 10 cent fuse! Told Paul we needed at least 45 minutes to recharge the batteries, and we would do the car burn on time.
At about 9:15 we pushed the car onto the track for my car burn. The victim was a Mazda MPV mini van. It burned really hot, and threw an amazing amount of debris on me and into the pits! The small crowd loved the show, and afterward I signed some autographs for the kids. We met a young fan who looked a lot like Miranda at 9 years old. Her mother took some pics for us to show Miranda.
We packed up the car, and I chased down Paul to collect our fee. It was a bit of a chore! He critiqued the show, and decided that on Saturday we should do 2 big shows after all. DUHHH!
After a restful night, we rose early on Saturday and got the car out. It was covered with bits of Mazda, mostly melted plastic, that Marlene had to pick off bit by bit. I decided to change the show format a bit, and told Paul. He argued, but eventually agreed. I would do a high speed pass on the dragstrip, followed by some cool fire pop laps for the 8 pm show, and then do my car burn at around 9:30 when racing was over.
At 7 opening ceremonies were held, and we had the car on the track on display for that. Then racing began. The racers were doing a fine job this night, and put on a great show. At 8 I was pushed onto the track, lined up, and made my speed run, followed by a few hot laps. The crowd was much bigger, and they seemed to like the show.
After more great racing, I was pushed out onto the track for the car burn. This time a Ford Windstar was my target. Marlene gave me my signal, and the announcer in the tower cued the wrong music! Oh well, I burned the Ford, and made my victory laps. The crowd were on their feet, and Marlene said they were cheering. Of course I couldn't hear them. The Ford made a nice fire, and this time the fire fighters couldn't put it out, even after using up 5 fire extinguishers. I told them to let it burn, but they eventually dragged out a water tanker and put it out.
I signed a LOT of autographs, and answered a lot of questions. I lost count of how many people told me that the car was amazing, awesome or cool. Already people have been posting videos of our shows on YouTube. Here are the links:
First night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Second night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Sunday morning we packed up, hooked up the trailer, and said our goodbyes. We're now at Seal Bay RV park again for a couple of nights. We can do some laundry, and use the wifi to update this blog. It is darn cold here! On Tuesday its off to Victoria for our next gig. Stay tuned....
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