It was a long way but well worth the effort. Ten days of Healey heaven driving from British Columbia, through Washington State, across the high desert of Oregon and down past the west side of Lake Tahoe into Jackson, California.

The trip was not without incident right from the start.  Original I was going to travel down with Mike and Annie Roberts.  Sadly, three days before we were due to depart; Mike learned that his mother had passed away in South Africa.  I know everyone joins me in sending Mike and Annie our sincere condolences on their loss.

 

I decided to carry on and was welcomed, as a complete stranger, by Allan and Kathleen Wales in Seattle on Wednesday June the 10^th.  Allan is known to many of you and is an old friend of Mike Roberts.  They didn’t know me from a bar of soap but were very kind to invite me into their home.  We left as a convoy of two cars early on Thursday morning.

 

Our first day was from Seattle past Ellensburg and Yakima to Goldendale A first easy day of 220 miles.

 

On Friday we traveled from Goldendale to Bend, Oregon. It was only 150 miles but we had to be ready on Saturday morning to meet up with a convoy from the Oregon Club at 7:30 am in La Pine.

 

It was on this Goldendale-Bend leg we had our first test of road side innovation.  Allan discovered that his car was running very hot and was well down on water.  The reason was a cracked lower radiator hose. Our original plan would have seen Mike Roberts leap into action and calmly take care of such matters.  Now we were just two very amateur mechanics looking across the vast landscape of Washington State.

 

The good news was I was carrying a spare bottom hose amongst my supply of trip bits.  We also had some great tape which helped keep most of the water in the system, with the radiator cap loosened.

 

Bright and early on Saturday morning we meet up with eleven cars from the Oregon Club and traveled from La Pine to Susanville, a distance of 305 miles. Susanville was a great place as Allan found a repair shop happy to install the new hose and relieve his anxiety.  From there it was a 230 miles to Jackson. 

 

The last day, Sunday, saw us  take a 60 mile section of US 80 which proved to be a very scary challenge.  The concrete road surface was just plain bad and the traffic was extremely fast.  All the Healeys were bouncing all over the road and slowing down was not an option as everyone was committed to 70 mph plus.  All in all that small section was a very unpleasant experience.

 

The Golden Gate Club was very well organized for the registration on Sunday.  We enjoyed a welcoming reception on Sunday evening which had a Hawaiian theme.  There was a Polynesia dance performance which was entertaining, but not as noteworthy as the performance by unsuspecting members of the audience who were encouraged to get up and show their talents at hip gyration.  It was during this spectacle that I became aware that I was not the only BC member in attendance.

 

On stage we saw the special talents of Mr. Gordon Mackenzie while Billy kept a dignified presence in the audience.

 

On Monday we had Tech sessions, a Funkhana, A Concours d’Elegance which I wisely stayed out of, a wine tour and a Fun Rally.

 

Tuesday was the car show at Ironstone Vineyard.  A beautiful location for a show with 67 cars of various classes on display.  There were two very important house  rules which were mentioned many times.  First, no driving or parking on the grass, in fact, no rubber may touch the grass.  One had to park very carefully on the beautiful pathways.  It is a good rule if one assumes that Healeys never ever drop oil.  That is an assumption which the owners of Ironstone are probably re-evaluating.

 

The second rule was, and I quote, “Do not run into the stone walls”.  Seemed a reasonable request.

Wednesday was a tour day with drives to Sierra Passes and Calveras County Winery.

 

Some of us decided to go into Sutter Creek about five miles away for a quiet lunch.  I had been going in and out of the hotel many times by now so I thought nothing of the small raised bump at the entrance to the parking lot.  The sound of the entire exhaust system being ripped from the rubber mountings was not pleasant.  The flex sections, just behind the headers, were pulled out straight.  As I ran out of adjectival phrases and the air returned from blue to normal, I realized just how far I was from home.  But I needn’t have worried.  Suddenly there was a crowd of Healey drivers from Washington, California, Oregon, Arizona, Texas all wanting to know what I needed and how they could help.  It’s a great feeling when one stands looking at a self induced mess to know that everyone wants to help.

 

Within an hour, and a very noisy drive to Sutter Creek, we had found an exhaust shop willing to take on the challenge.  After a reasonable contribution to the ailing California economy I was on my way again with a re-hung exhaust.

 

In the evening we had the Awards banquet where we learned that we had picked up third place in the BJ8 Class which was a great way to finish the meet.  I was hoping that I was in the running for the furthest traveled award having covered 1025 miles, but the gentleman from Dallas, Texas with a total of 1700 miles quite rightly took that home!

 

Very early Thursday morning we left on our way North.  Jackson to Klamath Falls day one.  Actually it was more interesting than that as we left California and drove into Nevada, cheaper gas in Carson City, and then back into California before entering Oregon.

Day two was Klamath Falls to Bend with a great short side trip to Crater Lake for a photo opportunity.  We were early enough into Bend so that some shopping was accomplished. 

 

Day three was Bend to Vancouver.  A final goodbye to Allan and Kathleen just outside Seattle.  They had been fantastic travel partners and helped make the whole experience worth doing again.  A final day of 510 miles which left me with a numb backside for another two days.

 

The only major problem which I encountered was just North of Seattle on I5 on the return.  The funny squeaking noise , which I had assumed was brake noise for weeks, turned into a front wheel bearing letting go.  A very different noise! Fortunately, I was able to soft shoe it home before any serious damage was done.

 

A great trip with many splendid memories.

 

?>