mtsmiths

Zap, no work, the Empire Builder arrives at 10:42 am, the train to BC, that goes through Mt Vernon doessn't leave 'til 5:30 pm. We've already seen the guys that throw fish, been up the Space Needle, visited the SciFi and Rock'n'Roll museum (you know, the building that looks like someone eviscerated a giant alien and dropped the offal in the park?), and been panhandled from one end of downtown to the other. Nothin' left for us downtown to kill six hours.

We bought a shaped foam pillow that has elasic straps over the back to keep it in place. We've had it for years from my wife's previous company cars. When we bought our '87 GLs we didn't need it bacause the seats had adjustable lumbar support. The '95 & '00 Legs both have awful seats. Don't they have any humans in the Subaru interior design department? With the Hawaiian water repellent seat covers on you never even know it's there, until you sit in the car. Thirty bucks or so, works fine.

THANX Zapar, Yeah I meant Anacortes, I'll have to check Amtrak. Any way to get rom Anacortes to Keystone, or just 'nother cab?

The long answer: Zap, we've been trying to clue ourselves in on public regional transportation? Since we've decided to forgo thirty hours behind the wheel in favor of The Empire Builder. We arrive at King Station at around 11:00 am (AmTrak time) this Friday, and we're *trying* to not rent a car. We are staying with family on Orcas Friday night, family on Shaw on Sat night, and meeting our daughter in Port Townsend or Port Ludlow (at the property) Sunday late morning. She will have a car, and we'll run around the peninsula Sunday, stay wherever Sunday night and she'll get us back to the station for the return trip. Trying to meld the on-line light rail, bus and ferry termini, destinations, schedules and even town names is proving to be beyond my understanding of the area. All the sites seem to assume that users already know the area. Or is this just hopeless and I should Call Dollar? I hate to rent a car that will sit in Anacosta for two days, when all we really need to do is connect from dntwn Seattle to Anacosta, then from Anacosta to Keystone. Of course if this Forester is a good deal, that will solve all the whole thing. The short answer: No!

Yes, that *was* clever, but let us not dwell on that 'old guy' stuff, shall we? If anyone can find out about this car, The Pretty One and I are taking AmTrak out Thurs. night and get into Seattle (downtown station) around 11:00 am or so Friday. We'll be in town until Monday afternoon. If it's a good deal I can bring cash, put my wife back on the train and drive it home.

There it is in a nutshell. And it must be true, cause there are a lot of them showing up on the streets of Whitefish. sigh, I guess I better get used to them.

Forester (for my pickup chop job) .Sorry, Zap, I dunno what happened to the link, I 'thought' I put it in ... thanks Ed. Any of you Seattle guyz can call.

I can't get him to talk to me 'cause he's got it in his head I can't buy his car in Washington, cause I'm in Montana. Reply to: anon-101225691@craigslist.org Date: 2005-10-01, 11:27AM PDT good condition. 162k miles leather seat.automatic transmission give me a call 206-226-3318 We're coming out this Friday, and will be overnight in Anacosta, Saturday/and overnight on Shaw, then Sunday looking around Port Ludlow and Sequim. Don't know where Sunday night, then we'll drive back to Montana on Monday. If this is a good rig I can bring this guy cash, but he won't talk. Inspection fees and commission on bargin-down cheerfuly paid! THANX, Smitty

Olnick, mo bettah, kelekele ...

In our family it's always been 'Roo. The kids were big on Milne.

I have a Spezio Tuholer, led by an O290D, and built in Tucson between about '74 & '81. Currently in my garage as I fight with new bungees, hoses, redoing the W&B, and wiring. When I'm done with the internals I'll paint it and it'll be all ready for spring in the Rockies. I think there's a picture in my album.

"This is standard fare for most small aircraft and has been for the last 60 years or so ... " Oh so true Dickensheets, for which we have the FAA certification process to thank. I would gladly trade my O290D Lycoming for a turbodiesel, oh wait, I could, since I'm flying an experimental! Not really appropriate for my current airplane, but my point is that we are flying behind dated technology because we are regulated by an agency operating under a 1930's mindset. Thank God for the experimental regs and the EAA.

Hee, hee, hee, another 'Subaru Virgin' deflowered.

The two best paint preservation products available are: 1. Carnuba wax. 2. Elbow grease.

Large Pic! teeny-tiny Brat.

PennyMc, I'll answer with a qualified no. But, only because we get a LOT of snow in Whitefish, and the extra two inches or so of gound clearence helps. That said, we've never gotten either of our Legs stuck, includding driving my wife's 2000 thirty miles in unplowed eighteen inch deep snow to Polebridge, MT last winter. But I certainly wouldn't pay the premium asked for the Outback badge and a bunch of add-on plastic cladding. Actually, what I *did* do, is buy a set of Outback struts off the board and lift my '95. Still looking for another set to lift my wifes '00. There's a noticable difference in the handling of my Legacy now that it's lifted, it was much more of a ground-hugging corner slamming car before I raised it ... still pretty good tho'! Our first 'Roo was a '78, bought in '82, We've had two '87 GLs that went over 200,000, and I bought my wifes 2000 in November of '01 with 99,850 miles on it already. I'm currently looking for an early Forester to chop into a pick-up ('cause I can't seem to find a really clean Brat equipped the way I want it).

Penny the whole POINT of a Subaru is the AWD, otherwise it's just another fairly well finished, good handling Japanese/American car. They're quirky, earn passionate loyalty from their owners and will never (well, almost never let you down). My family is on it's fourth and fifth Subarus, and have nnever been stranded, no matter how bad the weather, dark the night or deep the snow. Plus nothing handles as well on a good old twisty road as a 'Roo, BECAUSE of that AWD. BTW, Lagacies handle better than Outbacks, we currently have two.

Capri, there have been a number of scams run on clueless gringos attempting to buy land in Mexico. There are two forms of title, one is as you state, a lease. The other is fee title, held by an accredited bank in permanent trust in your name. For this escrow service you pay an annual fee. The land can be sold or inherited, and is as if you actually held a deed. That said one must be even more carreful about buying land in a foriegn country than at home ... and I'm damned careful here. Costa Rica and Panama allow fee purchase free and clear by Americans. We may yet head south, but not for five or so years.

Signed the purchase agreement yesterday, accepted today. Looks like we'll be NPWers someday. Driving out for an inspection on the seventh. 1-90, then gonna hook up thru Wenatchee and taker Hwy 2 over the Cascades. First overnight in Port Townsend, then look at the house on Sat., and goof around on the Peninsula the rest of the day. Sunday gonna try and visit long-lost family on Shaw and Orcas, then drive home I-90 on Monday, go back to work and die on Tues. Prolly gonna drive the '95. Wish I could find a killer deal on a Forester to bring home.

Capri, this isn't a CA cut-n-run. My daughter's fiance is from Seattle, and his folks still live there. We actually have family for three generations in the area, Orcas, Bainbridge, and some other island. Hell, my mother-in-law even contracted Parkinson's from living downstream of a paper mill! My daughter is a producer in the video business and her company is in Hollywierd; but she has accounts all over, and flys around the country, so now that her client base is big enough they no longer have to actually BE in LA. By picking up a major account in Seattle it gives her family the opportunity to relocate, and since we are the title holders on the LA house we're the buyers, on a 1031 Exchange. 'Sides the property is big enough we can build a house for The Pretty One and myself to use as a base on the mainland. Plus, our son (who married a Spokane girl) will move his family from Honolulu to the sound when his daughter enters high school (Hawaii secondary schools suck), so all the grandkids will be in one easy-to-visit place. We'll live in Hawaii (our origins) or Mexico, or someplace else warm, and have a residence close to a major airline hub and our kids families. Air fares out of Glacier Park Intl. (FCA) are roughly twice what the same fare is out of SEA. And if you think cash-rich immigrants are Californicating the sound, you oughtta see what's happening in NW Montana ... McMansions springing up all over the county! We'll be here another four years, then sell out of Montana and spread ourselves around, and just come back here to ski ...

I would say it's a combo of the much lighter car and greatly reduced wetted area. The XT body is a pretty slippery little dude.

I drive the cruise like a hand throttle a lot in my '95 Legacy (the column monted toggle style). But in The Pretty One's '00, the airbag mounted controls are awkward, so I don't use hers so much. She rarely uses the cruise at all, and I keep telling her why I get better gas mileage ... but then I'm her husband, so what do *I* know.

Well, I suppose an airspeed indicator could give you the relative wind (give you a comparative figure adjusted for head or tail winds), but in the main roads rarely run in the same direction to cause a loss or gain. Also, it wouldn't be much of a factor until the winds were steady at over ten knots. That said, if you wanted to do it for curiosity's sake ... there are a number of handheld windspeed indicators available, and I guess you could mount on on the hood. Figuring out the plumbing to provide a reliable pitot-static system to mount a discrete pitot tube on the front so you could install a standard airspeed indicator in-cabin would be problematic. Look in ebay motors, the aviation section. Expect to pay between fifty and a 'C' note for either a hand-held, or a non-certrified gauge removed from some panel. We useted to have an old altimeter in my Dad's Buick, but it just sat on the dash when we took X-CNTRY trips.

No, no, no! Take a few wetted bounce dryer sheets and gently wash it off. Great for bugs and tar too.

Capri, We're not getting into any bidding wars as buyers ... we're setting one up as sellers on our LA house. We will be coming out for a property inspection on the Columbus Day (day of mourning :-) ... I'm a registered tribal member) weekend ... looking forward to introducing ourselves to the area on the peninsula. One day to drive out, one day to inspect Pt. Ludlow property, one day to visit family on Orcas I. (both sides), one day to drive back to Montana ... via Hwy 2. 1st day back at work to wish we'd stayed home!