Day 0 @ Crater Lake

The final stretch to Day 0 was more chaotic than we thought it’d be, but we eventually made it all the way to Diamond Lake, Oregon.

Helen was jet lagged and took a nap in our garage while I changed the coolant on the Ninja 400 (Reggie) and the F650 GS (Luna). Luna is going to be taking Helen to Banff and back. We bought Luna used at 15 years old w/ only 4000 miles and we weren’t sure if her coolant had ever been changed.

Changing the coolant didn’t go as well as I thought and Luna was leaking coolant on her way to work, so Adam left work early, grabbed tools, and rode to Berkeley for some roadside maintenance hoping to salvage his botched job. We’ll spare you the details but the night ended with a tow truck to a parking spot outside of BMW motorrad in SOMA.

But at least we saw sunset over the bay bridge.

Woke up and dropped off Luna at BMW motorrad before work so that real professionals could take a look.

Helen’s last day of work. Helen had happy hour and Adam joined after work. Pictures were taken, but not by us.

Dropped Helen off at BMW to pick up Luna. Then Adam got one last breakfast at work and said a final goodbye. It was a bit emotional leaving 345 Spear St at 7 years, but he’s excited for the next phase!

Let the packing begin.

Got the bikes loaded up (it’s shocking how long it takes to pack 2.5 weeks of camping gear into a reasonable size). Did a quick test ride. Ran a few last minute errands, then rewarded ourselves by checking off Thahn Long restaurant from our SF bucket list. Kenji Lopez recommended the garlic noodles in his cookbook (The Wok) and it did not disappoint. We paired it with roasted crab and smiles. Highly recommend.

We woke up early and watched MotoGP. Then we packed the final few items got on the bikes, reset the trip meter and were off, to Crater lake! Well technically Diamond lake, but close enough. (Photo credit to Mel who we coincidentally passed on I5).

Most of the ride was a boring straight road but we made it 455 miles to our campsite.

Today marks the first day of our sabbatical. It’s the first day on no work. I woke up a little before Helen, made coffee, and read a book while watching the fog roll in over the lake. 

Next step crater lake!