Sarah and I made a run to REI for some last-second supplies. This is their flagship store, and I wanted to move there. They have trails for you to test the mountain bikes and running shoes on, a climbing wall, and there's a constant garage sale. I could have spent all day there. Sorry, no pictures. We managed to find a bus back to our hotel, and I waited for Bob to pick me up. Unfortunately, his GPS let him down, and he wandered aimlessly around Seattle for about an hour. Finally he found me and we were on our way to Kirkland.
We made it just in time for registration and tech inspections. I got my Alcan swag, and our car was deemed road-worthy. I got great satisfaction out of watching the stream of cars pour in and checking out everyone's mods. It became instantly clear who meant business and who was out for a joy ride. And if just looking at the cars didn't clue us in to how out of our league we were, the questions asked during the drivers meeting did. Boy some of these guys take this seriously! Thankfully, there also seems to be a number of us that are just here to have fun, and I think these groups will start to find each other and hang together in the coming days.
One team I want to mention are some cool young guys from British Columbia, Daniel and Ryan. This is their first rally of any kind, and they're raising awareness to become organ donors, as Daniel's dad has been living with kidney failure for 15 years. Please check out their site: gotorgans.com
This is our car, all officially decaled. You know it's official because it has our names and a number!
I totally wish this was my car. That's a sweet ride.
The other MINI, driving by the great Gary Webb. We don't stand a chance against him, but he's nice enough to humor us.
I was honestly surprised by the age of some of the cars. I was worried that our 2002 was a little over the hill, but now I feel much better.
For Paul and Nancy, the only Volvo. This was taken roughly 37 seconds after he parked. Off to a great start!
Dave summed up our feelings during the drivers meeting. Also pictured is Ross, our Rainman of Canadian history.
After the meeting, we ran into town to grab a few more incidentals. I came back just in time to meet up with my friend Eric from school. I seem to see him once every 5 years or so, so it was a nice reunion. Well, until he went to dinner with us. About 5 seconds into trying to figure out where to eat, his comment was "So you're driving to the Arctic with these people? Yeah...." I think he was generally amused, although slightly concerned about our mental capacity. Then he got roped into driving Sarah back to Seattle, so I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't hear from him for at least another 5 years. Again, I forgot to snap a picture.
Tomorrow we shove off for the Great White North. Bob informs me I'll be driving, which should be interesting as there's a TSD stage right from the start. I'm in better shape than Ross, who only knows how to drive stick based on what he's read in books. Maybe that's what Dave was thinking about in that picture. If you would like to follow us, this is the Spot link for the sweep vehicle: Alcan live GPS. I need to sleep now, it's going to be a long day.
Good Luck Annette!
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