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Every October, the North Snohomish Chapter of ABATE of Washington organizes a toy drive to benefit Snohomish County Jail Ministry. The toys and money raised provide Christmas for children whose parents are inmates at the Snohomish County Jail or Indian Ridge Correction Center.
As happens every year, bikers met up at the Thriftway parking lot in Arlington on Sunday, October 19, to run the toys to the FOE Eagles Lodge in Everett, where a fine chili dinner and auction awaited.
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Santa Jim always joins the Arlington Toy Run. Santa's bike has traveled to the Artic Circle in Alaska and back to Washington. The Arlington Toy Run is one of his favorite rides.
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Riders were eager to share the Christmas spirit, and many arrived early.
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Lattes kept us warm while waiting and visiting with friends.
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I took a moment to pose for a picture with Crazy Roger.
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Santa Jim again.
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Mary and Charlie celebrated their first year together. They met last year at the Toy Run.
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More friendly riders.
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Time to suit up.
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Getting ready to roll for the 20 mile ride to Everett.
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The run was escorted by American Motorcycle Escort from Arlington to Everett. We took backroads to Smokey Point, then headed south to Marysville. We road through town, along State Street, then headed out Highway 529 into Everett on Broadway. The escort riders blocked traffic at intersections so that we had an unbroken chain of bikes.
While the Arlington Police Department wrote traffic tickets for cars that failed to yield to the escort service and the procession, the Everett Cops were not as helpful. One of the escort vehicles was a Chevy Tahoe. The driver stopped on the Snohomish River Bridge to protect a group of stalled bikes, and fell behind the main group. Using his Washington State Patrol approved escort flashing red lights, the driver sped through a red light to catch up. Officer Friendly pursued the driver all the way to the Eagles, and brought in a couple of back-ups.
The Everett police officer claimed that the City of Everett had not been informed of the escorted ride, and said "Not in my town." After some discussion with members of AME, Officer Friendly relented and left the scene.
AME escort riders all use equipment certified by the Washington State Patrol, and they complete rigorous training before leading any run. ABATE did have proper permits for the run.
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Once we were in Everett, Jason took us on a short detour around Providence Hospital on Colby Avenue. Marv Holcomb from North Snohomish was in for cancer treatments and couldn't make the run. We waved as we drove by, and his wife, Katie waved back from his room.
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Mike and Amy rode Buells on their first Toy Run. Three Buells made the ride this year, including mine.
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Quint and Dave from American Motorcycle Escort. This is the sixth year that AME has escorted the run.
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Pets were welcome.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 1. Over 100 bikes made the run in cloudy weather. It did not rain on us, but the nasty clouds early on scared off the fair-weather riders.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 2.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 3.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 4.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 5.
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Everett Eagles parking lot - 6.
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Dee-Dee enjoyed the ride from his pouch.
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Mr. Caudeaux, a Burmain, brought his human and sidecar to the Run.
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Fancy ride for a big cat.
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Dave Eady and Tim Adams, Chaplain for North Snohomish, thanked us all for coming out. The toys and the admission fee money help provide gifts for the children who have a parent in jail at Christmas. For many families, this is the only Christmas they get.
George, Sharon, Donna, and Cathy cooked the chili for the hungry riders.
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Bidding for auction items was a family affair. Money raised from the auction and raffle goes to cover the expenses for the run, including chili supplies and escort service fees. Barb Stein created and donated a quilt and matching throw pillow for the raffle.
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The Auctioneer worked the crowd to raise money for the families who would miss out at Christmas. Over $1100 was raised from the auction and donations.
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See you next year. Third Sunday in October in Arlington, Washington.
beryl nitrate, roving reporter.
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