Friday, May 3rd
Bus ride to the Roosevelt station early afternoon. Transfer to the mighty lightrail, which prompted me to pay another $2.75 for a ride in the most expensive taxpayer funded project I've ever sponsored. At least it took me all the way to SEA-TAC. ATE 1:15h
Security line was surprisingly not a nightmare, other than TSA did not like the tissue full of boogers in my pocket. Got a late afternoon espresso at an overpriced non-*bucks, sat down at the gate and studued for my PPL checkride. ATE 2:05h
Boarding, flight, disembark - all uneventful: Seattle to Albuquerque - AS 650; May 3, 2:59 PM PST - 6:53 PM MST; Flight duration 2 hr, 54 min. ATE 5h
Joe picked me up at the airport and we rode to downtown Albuquerque, where we watched a street performance and later had a dinner. High Noon Saloon wait-time was reasonable, food was good and I enjoyed their local selection of beers. To my surprise, prices here are comparable to Seattle, if not sligthly higher.
I crashed at Joe's house, since he and his wife generously offered me their guestroom. After petting the dog and showering I fell asleep. Light, high elevation sleep.
Saturday, May 4th
Early morning start: 7:30am MST. Joe was already up and had the coffee ready. I never say no to a cup of coffee, this morning I had two. Headed out in Joe's truck to get my first ever authentic breakfast burrito. It was huge, I ate it all and regret nothing. The large burrito with Christmas chili sauce (both red and green) allowed both of us to skip lunch and keep loading the U-Haul I was about to pick up.
The small business owner at the local U-Haul branch shared his story about an ever increasing crime rate in the area, gas theft from his trucks on a daily bases and how he's shutting down. Pretty much like Seattle, pity. Nevertheless I departed the parking lot with 1//8 of the gas tank. ATE 1h
First stop was a nearby Harbor Freight. Primarily because I needed the loading ramps for the tricycle Cruzer. Bought the longest set they had, a duct tape, pair of gloves and other miscellaneous moving items. The local espresso stand was closed, which angered me a little bit. ATE 1:30h
Joe's hangar was ~40min South-East of Albuquerque, the exact opposite way of my future travels, good practice to get familiar with the truck. Arrived at the hangar and it was my first time ever to meet the Cruzer in person. Beautiful project. Joe pick a calming "apple green" for the interior, nice contrast to the bare aluminum fuselage. After a bit of awing and backing up the truck to the hangar, greeting the rest of the experimental crew, it was time to load. ATE 2:30h
Right about now was a point of realization: there is way more stuff than just the fuselage and the wings. There were hoards of aluminum sheets, L-brackets, boxes with parts and a full shelf of books and plans. Moreover - many things were just laying around, which did not speed up the loading process. Joe's hangar mates helped a lot, especially with the wings and the fuselage. I was on my way at about 3:30pm, later than expected and it was unlikely I would make it to Salt Lake City before midnight. ATE 8h
Today I learned the 26' U-Haul truck is huge, noisy, simplistic and despite what the sticker says - not a gentle ride and not fuel efficient at all. 7mpg average is all I got and total cargo weight was around 700lbs, which is a rounding error for this truck.
Apparently I arrived to a national park during "peak season". All motels were full and I did not fancy driving this dinosaur around for long. Giving up after half-hour, found a place with a large enough parking lot and a $200 sticker per night stay. I was too tired to laugh at my wife's question whether I got a "full service" for the price. Feeling exhausted and ripped off, I fainted in my expensive motel bed somewhere in the middle of Utah. I was even At least the receptionist promised to keep an eye on my precious cargo. ATE 16h
Sunday, May 6th
Breakfast was a lackluster, no surprise. "Continental breakfast" is such a joke on this side of the world. I was out on the road by 7am MST. Fueled by an idea of a hot food bar and a proper espresso at Whole Foods in Salt Lake City, I held the throttle wide open. This allowed me to travel at a staggering 74mph speed limiter, ignoring the large cargo trucks passing me on each side.
Arrived in Salt Lake City, it was pouring. Obviously this monstrosity does not fit a standard parking space. It needs a rectangle of total 4 spaces, assuming no curbs. No hot meal and no espresso, what a shithole. I purchased more sandwiches, cheese and ham. Dates, spring water, fruit jerky and a local honey for my beloved. I'll never ever in my life complain about my wife's cooking. Actually I never did, she's a daughter of a chef after all.
Nice views, but all I wanted to be home already. There was still a 10h+ drive in front of me. ETE 6h
Driving 2h at a time, stopping for cheap gas station coffee to save time (finding a good espresso or a suitable parking spot is a luxury in a 26' U-Haul), stretching and off we go again. My last stretch from Ellensburg in eastern Washington to Seattle over the Cascades was hard. Fatigue, heavy rain, lack of good headlights and semitrucks passing me on both sides. ETE 16h
Seattle, finally. Arrived home to North Seattle around midnight and this being Sunday, there was virtually no parking available anywhere but our local construction company contractor gravel parking. I took my chances, besides I got a clear view of the U-Haul from our bedroom window. I basically fainted in my bed again. ETE 18h
Monday, May 7th
7am breakfast time, meaning - I make it. Fried eggs for our beautiful kids and yours truly. My wife takes care of her own special diet, she then drives our human puppies to preschool and I go to work at 8am, downstairs as I am full-time remote. After 4:30pm, unloading begins. At 5pm I figured the plane and the wings just won't fit our single-car garage. At least not before I remove all the shelves and move more bike / car related items into the shed. Then the real unloading truly starts.
Thanks to my wife it went swiftly, even managed to drop off the U-Haul around 9pm. There is no turning back now, the Cruzer will be built.
Bonus
This is a gem I found in the hangar. It's huge! What did you think Jan??? There were actually 2 of them, neither of them running or serviceable. My interactions with Jan from Viking over text exactly reflect the state of this abandoned project. Once I started questioning the choice of coolant, I was ghosted out. That's one way of closing the door for any kind of future business with me. The hangar owner was just grinding his teeth when I mentioned anyhing about Mr. Egg. Yes I recognize the irony of sharing the same first name, but then about 50% of European males use it in various forms.
You just cannot find aliens anywhere else in the world. That's because aliens only ever visit middle of nowhere in America.
