Mr. Happy- International Man (puppet) of Mystery
For those of you not familiar with Mr. Happy, he is a mostly happy-go-lucky little guy “invented” by the Aerostich motorcycle clothing/accessories company. The idea is you take Mr. Happy with you on your motorbike travels, and then send photos of him back to the company to document his adventures. You can follow Mr. Happy’s web page by clicking the above link.
Well, when Mr. Happy heard that Susan and I were riding down to the Gerbing Heated clothing store in Tumwater WA, he immediately decided to sneak along, just in case there was a chance to engage in a little “industrial espionage”. You see, Mr. Happy works for Aerostich.com, and they also manufacture heated jackets for motorbike riders. At the very least he could check out the competition and report back to headquarters.
Our plan was to try on a Gerbing’s heated jacket liner for Susan to wear on the upcoming Canadian Rockies Trip. I wasn’t opposed to riding to the Aerostich store to try on one of their heated liners too, but since they are located in Duluth, Minnesota, I thought we might be “pushing it” a little for a day trip. So we jumped on southbound I-5 for about 95 miles and popped into the store. I was delighted when Susan found a jacket liner that she liked. It was out with the old, non-heated liner, and in with the Gerbing’s. We plugged her in before we left the parking lot and she was good to go.
Mr. Happy snapped this image with his spy camera
From Tumwater we continued west on US 101 for a few more miles and then headed north up to Shelton. From there we followed Hwy 3 all the way up the shoreline of the southern Puget Sound. A tattered road sign advertising the Spencer Lake Bar & Grill, one mile off the highway, was enough to entice me in for lunch.
Lunch at the lake
There were a few brave souls out on the lake buzzing around in PWC’s in spite of the fact that the temperature never broke the high 60’s. Pretty pathetic for July 28th, even by Pacific Northwest summer standards. Well at least my pillion would be warm and cozy.
Mr. Happy testing out his “sea legs”
I’m pleased to report that the sun made an appearance for our ferry boat crossing from Kingston to Edmonds. My complements to the Washington State ferry system for putting motorcycles right at the top of their food chain. Motorbikes go straight to the head of the line, they are first on and first off, and they pay reduced rates. It is cheaper for a motorbike and rider then it is for a walk-on foot passenger! Sweet! (Mr. Happy rides for free.)
Puget Sound
Well that’s about it for this edition of the Adventure Journal. Keep an eye out in the future for Mr. Happy, no telling where or when he may make another appearance.
Kat
Adventures on the West Coast Trail