At our upcoming Tour di Mari rally, we have a treasure trove of wonderful prizes from all our generous sponsors, but here's one that stands out! Noted Northwest watercolorist Bonnie Allen has generously donated another one of her original works "Vintage Vespa II" as a prize to some lucky winner. Last year, Ms. Allen painted "Vintage Vespa I" to commemorate the inaugural Valley Scooters of Washington/Westenders "Tour di Mari #1"

Last Saturday, fourteen Westenders (Rusty included) met at Cafe Racer for a ride up to Snohomish for Kla-Ha-Ya Days and an exclusive tour of a private museum owned by ex-Black Cat Antiques proprietor Mike Milsom. We were surprised by a rousing sendoff from the Seafair Pirates passing by in their "pirate LCT." Their siren, and the answering shrill scooter horns, woke up the neighborhood for miles around.

Today is our first full day of Vespa touring in Chianti! Since we had a little bit of time before meeting the others at the corner cafe across from Hotel Vignale, we took some time to explore the immediate area around our own accommodations.

Like group rides? Great food? How about winning cool stuff?? Come to the Valley Scooters/Westenders Tour di Mari #2 August 7-9 and win your share of over $2000 in cool stuff in the Big Raffle! Lots of great prizes are going to be up for grabs, but you've got to come to the Rally to win. Go to our Rally Page to pre-purchase your Rally Pack (only 100 will be sold, and amost half are gone already; don't miss out!)

See you there!

What do you get when you take 2-stroke smoke, fresh lavender, a little rain, Westenders & friends, and the twisty country roads of Vashon Island? Big fun, that's what!

Having enjoyed a couple of days in Firenze (Florence) to get over our jet lag, we were now ready to head out into the Tuscan countryside to enjoy a week of riding Vespas with Italy by Vespa.

Busy weekend for the Westies, as the scooting season kicks into high gear!