Our First Day Together...

After I testified before the grand jury this morning, Curtis picked me up and we headed to the new DMV in Beaverton. He stopped off and bought a motorcycle jacket from someone in Hillsboro. At DMV, we explained we were there for our motorcycle endorsements. They informed us that we needed passports and Social Security cards to prove who we were. Ever wise, Curtis said he would stay behind waiting for our numbers to be called while I ran home and retrieved the requested items. I got back in plenty of time. We spent over an hour at the DMV and paid $154 between us for our motorcycle endorsements. We ran into my friend Mark at DMV. Mark also passed the basic rider class this week (so did my good friend Lee!).

We had a bike picked out at a dealership in Hillsboro, a Kawasaki 650R Ninja - Plasma blue in color. We had inquired about some listed on Craigslist, but hadn't heard back from anyone. Curtis told me when he picked me up that he heard back from someone in Beaverton who was selling the same back we were going to buy from the dealership. This one, though, had less miles and cost less. Not one to pass up a bargain, we re-directed to Beaverton. We stopped at Chase and withdrew lots of cash.

We met Todd, who let us both test-ride his nice motorcycle. Curtis and I both drove around Beaverton and determined that we liked it. We paid Todd cash and he signed his title over to us. He also gave us a free - almost new - helmet with the purchase. More DMV fees are in store for us (at least we can ride the motorcycle there to have a fun part!).



Curtis then rode the motorcycle to a nearby elementary school, where he rode around the parking lot while I got on the phone with Progressive Insurance. My research ahead of time had narrowed our future insurance provider to either Progressive or Geico, both of whom had very favorable rates. Within minutes, Progressive sold me a policy and faxed and emailed insurance cards to me. I rode around the parking lot. Once we were fully legit with the state, Curtis rode to a local motorcycle shop and I followed in the BMW. Since our new beauty has to sleep outside, we wanted to get a heavy-duty lock for it and a cover (since it rains so much!).

We then rode by Curtis' cousin's house to show off (at her request), but she wasn't home. I then rode from her house through the city of Beaverton. Prior to the freeway, I pulled over so Curtis could take over. We made it home safely and parked our beauty for the first time. After dinner, I'm going out for another ride!