"1st" Trip of a Lifetime - Seattle to Ushuaia 2016

[Ryder West]

It's been exactly 4 months since I've returned home from what I now call my "first" trip of a lifetime. Marysville WA USA to Buenos Aries Argentina via Ushuaia. I never thought that it would be possible for me to pack it up and hit the road for 4 1/2 months but with some careful planning, a supportive wife and budgeting we made it happen.

One of the mistakes that I made before embarking on the journey was not getting a proper laptop computer to help document the journey. I thought I would be able to document everything just fine with only my cellular phone. While that was fine for the most part, it did limit me in my ability to post here on HU and edit my videos. I kept a blog page going on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/3AnonymousAmigos/

but since the HU community was a big help and inspiration for me I would like to attempt to relive the trip now and transpose my adventure here. I hope you enjoy.

I left Marysville WA on Wednesday, November 4th 2015. It was a dark and rainy Pacific Northwest Evening (lol) with temperatures falling into the low 40s. After a very emotional and teary goodby with my wife and kids, I headed to my first fuel station. I wanted to make sure I documented the odometer when I was leaving. 24,283 miles on the ODO.

My friend Burt Jacobs offered to escort me to Venice Beach California where our friend Ted McGhee was temporarily living while he was building the new Victoria's Secret in Beverly Hills. I think we both knew that the weather wouldn't be perfect in November but it just plain sucked. I know it could have been worse but from Seattle WA to Redding CA the temps rarely got above 45 degrees and it rained most of the way down.

I had a great farewell visit with Burt, Ted and Matt Jones. We had a great ride on Hwy 1 and the Mulholland Hwy with stops at Neptune's Net (a seafood must) and The Rock Store along the way.

After three days in CA it was time to head east to Mesa AZ to meet up with my SA riding partners and complete the final details before crossing the border into Mexico. On the road at 4 am. I felt terrible for Burt as he continued north on I-5 as I turned east on I-10. The weather up north had not been getting any better.