Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Short trip to Tulalip WA.....

The border crossing in the morning at Peace Arch point

Where exactly is this place Tulalip WA...


Seattle Premium Outlets is conveniently located off Interstate 5 (I5), just 30 minutes north of Seattle and two hours south of Vancouver BC near Marysville. The outlet has over 110 brand-name stores and manufacturer outlets. As you can imagine this is quite a popular destination for Canadians fond of shopping and gambling.



Some of the outlets are :Adidas, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Coach, Gap Outlet, Guess, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, as well as restaurants, the famous Tulalip Resort Casino and a large Wall mart at which we regularly shop.

St-Ann's Parish in Tulalip WA




and now the famous resort casino in Tulalip, well frequented by Canadians




and now the parking lot...not much in terms of Motorcycles



two lonely bikes standing side by side


a closer look at the loaner


A shot of the sunset taken at 60 mph


Crossing back into Canada at the Peace Arch border again in the evening...what a wonderful day it was


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the last motorcyle. It looks like an awesome place to go shop, if you are into shopping...which I am not but there are more that are. Great photos :)

Canajun said...

Nice Road King - your new wheels?

George said...

Looks like you've found a great place to shop (and gamble?). It just needs more bikes.

Baron's Life said...

Thom, Thanks, the Pacific North West in general is very beautiful and unique...the view around Seattle, on the right hand side of the highway as you approach the city are just something else....We also have some spectacular views and places in Vancouver and in BC in general.... The last Bike is what I rode there...a loner from a biker friend who happens to be my neighbor as well.

Baron's Life said...

Canajun...wish it was although I found it too rambuctious for my test...it was just a loaner for the day...great ride but in the end not for me...still looking and will be trying some more...

Baron's Life said...

George.... WE can get to Seattle in about 2 1/2 hours from where we live...we know every inch of that territory as many Americans know every inch of Vancouver...but yes, it is a nice little town...and there is a lot of them around between Vancouver BC and Seattle...and a lot of nice folks too.

B.B. said...

Great pics!

Baron's Life said...

Thanks B.B. Hope are doing well

mq01 said...

the road king was too rambuctious? i have heard you either love or hate them... im curious what it was that you didnt like? care to share? im nosey :)

Shaun said...

Love the pic taken from your bike... nothing quite like it, with the sun, good road, good day....... really special...

Amber said...

Great pictures. Well documented. Looks like you had a great trip!.

Danny said...

My curiosity is getting to me too. Like mq01 said, please share what you did and didn't like. Maybe you should do a motorcycle review. Nice pics looks like it was a fun trip.

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Looks like you had a great day. That's what it's all about brother! Nice Road King. Is it yours?

"Joker" said...

Great pics. We have one of those Premium Outlet places near where I live. Thankfully it's close enough to be convenient if my wife wants to go there, yet mercifully far enough away so we don't have to deal with the horrible traffic it creates on the weekends. People come from all over to go to the place, like they'd never seen a store before in their lives. I know they're in search of a deal, but I bet most of 'em lose what they saved in terms of the gas they burned just to get there and home again.

Oh well, to each their own I guess. That's from the point of view of someone who never shops, but does buy things. Give me online shopping any day!

A Lady's Life said...

Gosh you were lucky with the line ups. I expected longer ones.
We have Nexus so that helps but even Nexus is becoming slow.
Love the sunset and the Parish. Never saw that one.Have to pay attention.:)

Baron's Life said...

mq01 + Shaun...wrong choice of words, I should've heeded Shaun advice from one of his posts which said :
Think before you speak
here goes the report...The size and weight ratio the of road king is good, not a problem as the bike is well balanced and handles well..almost as a sporty..Acceleration and sound was a problem on this bike... had to download all the time to tackle small climbs which were not steep, they never are on I5, that aspect I didn't like...otherwise, I am still not writing it off. The pull on it was there and yet not there. Had to run it at higher RPM than I like...
I do love the bike, just sure if it's the one for me though

Baron's Life said...

Sorry guys, the last post above was for mq01 + Danny, not shaun...where is my head today..lol

Baron's Life said...

Shaun it was one of those fluke shots..but yes I like it too

Baron's Life said...

Amber thanks it was a good trip and a much needed one

Baron's Life said...

Mr.M...thanks brother...no it isn't...a loaner to try out..that's all it was...ride safe and keep that helmet on

Baron's Life said...

Joker, you're right on brother..give me on-line shopping any time...faster and cheaper..but you're right these strip malls are popping up everywhere...C'est la vie

Baron's Life said...

LadyL..Thanks for the visit

Anonymous said...

I was going to ask if that was a bike loaned to you but I thought that would be too stupid...LOL. I've always wanted to go to Vancouver and up in that area. My brother and sister-in-law live and work for King5 in Seattle. They are both reporters and I think Timmy does the consumer reporting in the morning or something. Jane is so cute. I just love her to death.

Baron's Life said...

Thom, yes it was...I'm trying different bikes as I want to get rid of the ones I have and get something (Just one bike) that I would work with... I 'm very familiar with King 5 as we get that station here in Vancouver...we''re only about a couple of hours away from Seattle
Hope you make it to visit the PNW soon

Baron's Life said...

mq01 + Danny...sorry so many errors...here we go again

mq01 + Danny...wrong choice of words, I should've heeded Danny's advice from one of his post which said :
Think before you speak
here goes the report...The size and weight ratio the of Road king is good, not a problem as the bike is well balanced and handles well on the road, it tends to kick back a bit once in a while on power..but otherwise it behaves almost like a sporty..Acceleration and sound was a problem on this bike...have had to downshift all the time to tackle small climbs which were not steep, (they never are on I5), that aspect I didn't like...otherwise, I am still not writing it off. The pull on it was there and yet not there. Had to run it at a higher RPM than I normally like...!
I do love the bike, just not sure if it's the one for me though. Will keep you posted

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

Doesn't matter which border crossing you go through--they're always packed! The Rainbow and Peace Bridge in Niagara, Ontario is just terrible! Allot at least 1.5 to 2 hours when crossing! How is it over there?

GMG said...

Tulalip? Never seen it... ;)

(Jen; do you know the borders of the EU Shengen countries? Not that packed... ;))

Baron's Life said...

Jen, I was once crossing from Windsor into Michigan border, driving a car and I had some commercial samples with me as I was going to a trade show in Wixom Mi...here is how the conversation went at the border:
Hi,
where do you live?
Vancouver BC
where you going?
Wixom MI
Why are you crossing this border if you're from BC?
I had a trade show in Mississauga that I attented
Are you bringing any goods to the US?
Nothing that I will leave behind.
I asked you if you're bringing any goods in?
I guess, in that case, Yes I am.
Please, shut the engine off and hand me your keys.
OK Officer, here we are.
Stop being cocky
Yes Sir,
he proceeded to fill in forms for about 20 minutes, then said, please pull up to lane 4 and go inside to see an imigration officer.
Yes Sir, and I did as was told.
4 big guys asked me the car keys and said, please sit on that bench till we call you.
Then they went outside and stripped the car apart, litterally stripped it apart..it was so funny watching them from the glass window.
menatine, 20 minutes became 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours and finally they came back and said...sorry...your free to go..;.I said that's it...don't I get a hamburger and a milkshake...the guys laughed and so did I.
Unique experience, never happened before and never since.

Baron's Life said...

GMG, The chances of you seeing Tulalip is more than remote....In BC and WA we have so many small and tiny towns that you'd need to be a local to know about it...and we're mighty proud of it mate.

Canajun said...

Baron - that's just border guards being pricks. They're specially trained for it - the US land crossing guards especially.
Wife and I crossed into the US at International Falls many years ago. We had been riding for about 8 hours at near freezing temperatures in the rain, and the guard stripped us down to nothing - on the pavement, in the rain. Had us unroll sleeping bags and open them up (in the rain). Took the wife's lipstick and screwed it all the way out and dropped it on the ground. Opened every case and pack we had and spread the contents all over the place (in the rain). Squeezed the toothpaste tube to make sure it was toothpaste. Checked the tent poles to make sure they were hollow and empty. Etc. Etc. You get the picture. Then he disappeared with our passports for about 20 minutes and when he returned told us we had 5 minutes to clean up the mess and get going. (He forgot the "Welcome to America" greeting.)
So sadly your experience is not unique.
Since then I have crossed into the US literally thousands of times for business and pleasure. And while I've never experienced anything quite like that again, the reception is usually surly and monosyllabic. It's too bad really because border guards are the true ambassadors of a country - they are the folks who get to make that critical first impression.

And lest anyone think this is US bashing, let me assure you that the Canadian border guards aren't much better - even when coming home as a Canadian.