Bodhi, Hairy LaPinch, Safety Ed, Victoria, and RogerTango 'throw' their new 'gang sign': we be bad!
The neat thing about the Westenders is that is doesn't take much of an excuse to make a ride, just take some great people, mix with good weather, a liberal dash of scooters and an idea and away you go!
Katt had a great idea to officially 'introduce' her friend Victoria from Connecticut to the Westenders with a ride, and "Operation 'Almost Famous'" was born! We met at Cupcake Royale in West Seattle's Alaska Junction, and enjoyed their excellent cupcakes and iced coffee drinks (did I mention it was a warm, beautiful, sunny day?). Many Westenders turned out for this excellent little midweek ride, including Westender Beall, who rode up on the latest addition to his nice little collection of vintage motorcycles and scooters, a Salsbury Model 85 scooter! This 50-year old scoot, built by a subsidiary of Northrop Aviation in Pamona, California was astonishingly ahead of its time, and looks absolutely 'space age'! One would fully expect to see George Jetson riding it to work. Be on the lookout for a posting featuring this unique scooter and its remarkable history!
Having primed ourselves with the major food groups of sugar, caffeine, and chocolate, we saddled up. Katt & Victoria led us on a delightful ride along Alki, then back up the hill to visit the salon of Westender Harry LaPinch, who was hosting an exhibition of a very talented local artist as part of the monthly West Seattle 'Art Walk'. While we were there sipping wine and admiring Tarsha Hall's paintings, Victoria invented and taught all us our very own 'gang sign'. Now we're truly 'big time' with our own logo, website, rally, and even our own 'sign' to 'throw'. The trick of course is to get it right. Please study the picture. Have your hand with the horizontal three fingers pointing to your left, otherwise, folks will wonder what the sign "3 Ws" is all about!
Having enjoyed our visit with Harry and the artists, we headed downtown to see a free outdoor showing of Victoria's favorite movie "Almost Famous", which was being offered as part of the 'Movies on the Pedestal' series.
All in all, it was a great ride and great fun on a lovely summer evening. Remember, any Westender can come up with a ride idea, it doesn't have to be big or elaborate, it all starts with a fun idea, and goes from there!
