some bits and pieces from the trip:
-- miles driven: 3,964 (i thought it would be more) over 12 days (an average of 330 per day)
-- for the second year in a row, washington drivers get my vote as the worst in the country. folks everywhere else seem to be able to maintain some courtesy and respect -- and some of their sanity -- on the road, why not here?
-- the monterey bay aquarium is a must-do. while we were there, they had anamazing seahorse spectacular. it's pricy, though. $57 just for the two ofus to get in the door. our room at the MGM Grand on the strip in las vegas was only $30 more.
-- when my sister and i were kids, our mom took us on a road trip to southern cal and back. one day we took the 17-mile drive on the monterey peninsula, past some big-deal golf courses and stately, huge homes. i was 13 then, and that drive has always stuck with me, maybe because it was my first view of homes like that owned by people who had more money than i would have in a few hundred lifetimes. so i wanted to show olivia the homes along that drive. funny thing is, while the homes haven't changed, i guess my perspective has. there now are so many gargantuan, palatial, castlelike places everywhere that the ones along the 17-mile drive didn't seem out of the ordinary. i guess that speaks for itself as far as a statement about our culture.
-- what will we do differently next trip? have a destination. each day, we got up, got ready, packed and hit the road. next summer we'll plan to spend a few days in one place to get rid of the road grime and clear our heads --unless we go to paris.
-- the car, again, worked wonderfully. in the past year i've subjected it to two intensive road trips, 10,000 miles in 30 days last summer and nearly 4,000 miles in 12 days this summer. only downside was that the windows got sizzlingly hot when the temp outside was 105 or so, despite the air-conditioning being on. and, it was too hot on occasion to put the top down...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
day 13
Long Beach, Washington, to Woodinville, Washington, via Port Townsend; 241 miles.
SCOTT: home. the day dawned appropriately for our first morning back in the state -- cloudy, rainy and cool. in a way, it felt good. in another way, it felt like we should drive as fast as possible to get back to the toastiness of the southwest. I wasn't feeling good, so Olivia did most of the driving. nothing really special to mention about the trip. it was what it always is along the coast and hood canal and port townsend -- very nice. went to port townsend so we could see friends birgitta, hanna and olof before they head to sweden next week. olof has been visiting here for about a month, and birgitta and hanna will be gone a month or so to the mother country. nice to be home and see that the lawn needs mowing, the plants need watering, blah blah blah. that part of life resumes. maybe some reflections on the trip and random rememberings later. goodnight everyone.
OLIVIA: Well, we're home. I drove basically the whole day except for a little bit early in the morning; my dad did that. Overall, it was a good day. We went through rain, and shine. Fog and no fog. Green and.. green. :) Port Townsend was great! I really missed it there. Andrews game was also fun to go to. It's good to be home, but I kind of miss the sun and heat... goodnighttttt
SCOTT: home. the day dawned appropriately for our first morning back in the state -- cloudy, rainy and cool. in a way, it felt good. in another way, it felt like we should drive as fast as possible to get back to the toastiness of the southwest. I wasn't feeling good, so Olivia did most of the driving. nothing really special to mention about the trip. it was what it always is along the coast and hood canal and port townsend -- very nice. went to port townsend so we could see friends birgitta, hanna and olof before they head to sweden next week. olof has been visiting here for about a month, and birgitta and hanna will be gone a month or so to the mother country. nice to be home and see that the lawn needs mowing, the plants need watering, blah blah blah. that part of life resumes. maybe some reflections on the trip and random rememberings later. goodnight everyone.
OLIVIA: Well, we're home. I drove basically the whole day except for a little bit early in the morning; my dad did that. Overall, it was a good day. We went through rain, and shine. Fog and no fog. Green and.. green. :) Port Townsend was great! I really missed it there. Andrews game was also fun to go to. It's good to be home, but I kind of miss the sun and heat... goodnighttttt
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 12
Lincoln City, Oregon, to Long Beach, Washington!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 156 Miles
OLIVIA: well, we made it to Washington. and after about an hour of searching for a hotel, we finally found one. This has really been a trip of a lifetime and i would tell everyone who gets the chance to take it, take it. Today we went to cannon beach (a personal favorite) and we also went to the Lincoln City Outlet Mall. On our way up the coast we went to the most amazing beach ever. It was sand forever and as my dad said... "this beach is perfect! The water is just so blue, and when the waves crash, they're so... white!" I walked in the water for a little bit and got sand in my feet, so now our car is more like a sandbox than a mustang. I have found out today that my dad has a new obsession with car washes. He got very excited at one that we saw in Tillamook, and well, that's all I have to say about that. Overall, today was a pretty good day. Goodnight Andrew and mom and andrew's mom and dad and heather and Lauren and willy and sampson and chase and rose and rocky.
SCOTT: had to stop at bruce's candy kitchen in cannon beach. i think this may be the first time i've ever been through cannon beach and not spent at least one night. over the past 30-plus years, i've probably spent enough on lodging there to have purchased a nice waterfront place. over those years it has changed considerably, and i honestly can't say that i'd like it as much as i do if i was just getting to know it now. i think it's one of those places we all have that have evolved over the years but hold a special place somewhere inside us regardless of the changes. after cannon beach, it was north to astoria and the great bridge over the columbia into washington. it was nice to see the columbia again. made me smile. but as soon as we reached the washington side, i must admit i kind of started wishing the trip was lasting another 3-4 years or so. wonder if olivia would like to be home-schooled on the road. hmmm. good night barb (aka olivia's mom)...
Tomorrow: Long Beach to Woodinville. end of the trail...
OLIVIA: well, we made it to Washington. and after about an hour of searching for a hotel, we finally found one. This has really been a trip of a lifetime and i would tell everyone who gets the chance to take it, take it. Today we went to cannon beach (a personal favorite) and we also went to the Lincoln City Outlet Mall. On our way up the coast we went to the most amazing beach ever. It was sand forever and as my dad said... "this beach is perfect! The water is just so blue, and when the waves crash, they're so... white!" I walked in the water for a little bit and got sand in my feet, so now our car is more like a sandbox than a mustang. I have found out today that my dad has a new obsession with car washes. He got very excited at one that we saw in Tillamook, and well, that's all I have to say about that. Overall, today was a pretty good day. Goodnight Andrew and mom and andrew's mom and dad and heather and Lauren and willy and sampson and chase and rose and rocky.
SCOTT: had to stop at bruce's candy kitchen in cannon beach. i think this may be the first time i've ever been through cannon beach and not spent at least one night. over the past 30-plus years, i've probably spent enough on lodging there to have purchased a nice waterfront place. over those years it has changed considerably, and i honestly can't say that i'd like it as much as i do if i was just getting to know it now. i think it's one of those places we all have that have evolved over the years but hold a special place somewhere inside us regardless of the changes. after cannon beach, it was north to astoria and the great bridge over the columbia into washington. it was nice to see the columbia again. made me smile. but as soon as we reached the washington side, i must admit i kind of started wishing the trip was lasting another 3-4 years or so. wonder if olivia would like to be home-schooled on the road. hmmm. good night barb (aka olivia's mom)...
Tomorrow: Long Beach to Woodinville. end of the trail...
Day 11
Brookings, Oregon, to Lincoln City, Oregon, 247 miles
OLIVIA: Well, what an interesting day. We made it up over half of the Oregon coast in one day. Along the road, we saw many strange things, some of which included a "Prehistoric Garden" which was a forest full of plastic dinosaurs. We decided not to go. We also came across the Sea Lion Caves, which, I must say was really something. Once you got over the fact that you were in an elevater, over 60 years old, going down over 200 feet, and the VERY strong fish smell, It was really, really cool! I would advise people to go, at least once. We went to lots of other things, but I'll leave some for dad to write about. Goodnight! Andrew, Mom, Heather, and everyone else.
SCOTT: finally got to actually see the sea lion caves. other times i've/we've been through there, the elevator has been broken, or the sea lions were vacationing in mexico. always something. ah, but this time all of the sea moons were in alignment. there were hundreds of the critters lounging on the rocks in a big, wet, cold cave. i second olivia in advising a stop here. we also stopped at the devil's punchbowl, where water rushes in and crashes against the insides of the bowl. except the water was lapping against the rocks, not crashing and all sorts of powerful water things. all in all, it was a great drive along the oregon coast. so many great viewpoints and beaches. Good night Melody and Mark and Jennifer and Sue and Lynn and Kyle and Jonathan and Paul and Jackie and Gina and Charlie (not chuck)...
Tomorrow: Lincoln City to probably somewhere in Washington.
OLIVIA: Well, what an interesting day. We made it up over half of the Oregon coast in one day. Along the road, we saw many strange things, some of which included a "Prehistoric Garden" which was a forest full of plastic dinosaurs. We decided not to go. We also came across the Sea Lion Caves, which, I must say was really something. Once you got over the fact that you were in an elevater, over 60 years old, going down over 200 feet, and the VERY strong fish smell, It was really, really cool! I would advise people to go, at least once. We went to lots of other things, but I'll leave some for dad to write about. Goodnight! Andrew, Mom, Heather, and everyone else.
SCOTT: finally got to actually see the sea lion caves. other times i've/we've been through there, the elevator has been broken, or the sea lions were vacationing in mexico. always something. ah, but this time all of the sea moons were in alignment. there were hundreds of the critters lounging on the rocks in a big, wet, cold cave. i second olivia in advising a stop here. we also stopped at the devil's punchbowl, where water rushes in and crashes against the insides of the bowl. except the water was lapping against the rocks, not crashing and all sorts of powerful water things. all in all, it was a great drive along the oregon coast. so many great viewpoints and beaches. Good night Melody and Mark and Jennifer and Sue and Lynn and Kyle and Jonathan and Paul and Jackie and Gina and Charlie (not chuck)...
Tomorrow: Lincoln City to probably somewhere in Washington.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Day 10
Fort Bragg, California, to Brookings, Oregon. 210 miles.
OLIVIA: short day with lots of weird things on the road, in and out of cell reception and lots of big trees. All in all it was an ok day, except for the fact that my dad has become sick, and so we had to end very early today (around like 4) because he didn't feel good. plus we were in Cali so I couldn't drive. Tomorrow, i have a feeling i'm driving the whole day possibly. anyway ya. Lots of big trees and I'm still trying to get over what I had and not get what he has... Goodnight Andrew. SCOTT: Asleep.. and sick and just not feeling good. Awake now. Blasted through the last of the winding road this morning. stopped to see the one-room tree house, the one-log house, the world famous drive-through tree (they wanted $5 to drive through, so instead we drove on). about 20 miles down the road there was another world famous drive-through tree. drove along the avenue of the giants, giant redwoods. huge. and no trip along the coast is complete without a stop at the trees of mystery. there's no indication anywhere why they're called that. and it seemed there was a shop selling chainsaw carvings every couple of miles along the road. the scenery changed today as well, to big trees and fog rolling up the hills and spreading inland. cooler too.
Tomorrow: Brookings to maybe Newport, Oregon...
OLIVIA: short day with lots of weird things on the road, in and out of cell reception and lots of big trees. All in all it was an ok day, except for the fact that my dad has become sick, and so we had to end very early today (around like 4) because he didn't feel good. plus we were in Cali so I couldn't drive. Tomorrow, i have a feeling i'm driving the whole day possibly. anyway ya. Lots of big trees and I'm still trying to get over what I had and not get what he has... Goodnight Andrew. SCOTT: Asleep.. and sick and just not feeling good. Awake now. Blasted through the last of the winding road this morning. stopped to see the one-room tree house, the one-log house, the world famous drive-through tree (they wanted $5 to drive through, so instead we drove on). about 20 miles down the road there was another world famous drive-through tree. drove along the avenue of the giants, giant redwoods. huge. and no trip along the coast is complete without a stop at the trees of mystery. there's no indication anywhere why they're called that. and it seemed there was a shop selling chainsaw carvings every couple of miles along the road. the scenery changed today as well, to big trees and fog rolling up the hills and spreading inland. cooler too.
Tomorrow: Brookings to maybe Newport, Oregon...
day 9
Watsonville, California, to Fort Bragg, California; 197 miles
OLIVIA: long day. went to San Fran and yea, that was fun. Then we drove on the curviest road i have ever been on for about 5 hours straight and it took forever to go 5 miles. Got to the Fort around 8 and looked for a hotel for about an hourish maybe a little less, Everywhere was booked, but we found a "ok" room, it was better than the Howard Johnson's from last year. Went to bed. No fireworks. no internet at hotel.
SCOTT: there may be roads out there with more curves than Highway 1 along the california coast north of san francisco, but it's plenty windy for me. feels like you're driving 10 miles just to advance north one mile. had a good time doing fisherman's wharf in san francisco on the fourth. lots and lots of people, from all over the world. liv took me to bubba gump's for lunch.
Tomorrow: Fort Bragg north, maybe to Oregon.
OLIVIA: long day. went to San Fran and yea, that was fun. Then we drove on the curviest road i have ever been on for about 5 hours straight and it took forever to go 5 miles. Got to the Fort around 8 and looked for a hotel for about an hourish maybe a little less, Everywhere was booked, but we found a "ok" room, it was better than the Howard Johnson's from last year. Went to bed. No fireworks. no internet at hotel.
SCOTT: there may be roads out there with more curves than Highway 1 along the california coast north of san francisco, but it's plenty windy for me. feels like you're driving 10 miles just to advance north one mile. had a good time doing fisherman's wharf in san francisco on the fourth. lots and lots of people, from all over the world. liv took me to bubba gump's for lunch.
Tomorrow: Fort Bragg north, maybe to Oregon.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Day 8
Cambira, California to Watsonville, California; 203 miles.
OLIVIA: Well, today was our slowest day for sure. Highway 1 is beautiful, and very windy. We started this morning out with a visit to Hearst Castle, which was great! except for our tour guide. Oh, well. It sure would have been something to live in that house. The pools were stunning. After that we hit the road and ran into some very heavy, intense, overcast, foggy weather. It was quite a shock and we actually had to turn on the heat in the car. One thing we noticed on the car ride was the number of Mustangs that like to drive highway 1. We must have seen at least 20 today, if not more. It really was odd. We also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today. I really liked that. A lot. The fishies are just so cute! They have quite an extensive seahorse exhibit going on right now, as well as scuba diving tours for those ages 8 to 13... I was quite dissapopinted I was too old. Overall today was a good day, and tomorrow we go to San Fransisco! and explore FIshermans Wharf and all that it has to offer. Also, Many pictures have been taken over the trip, so if there is a certain area you would like to look at the pictures from, or if you just want to look at all of them, just e-mail my dad or post a comment here and we will e-mail them to you because it takes FOREVER to upload them onto here. Goodnight Andrew :) and mom, and andrew's mom, and dad, and sister and heather and willy and sampson and chase and rose and everyone!
SCOTT: he's asleep. :)
OLIVIA: Well, today was our slowest day for sure. Highway 1 is beautiful, and very windy. We started this morning out with a visit to Hearst Castle, which was great! except for our tour guide. Oh, well. It sure would have been something to live in that house. The pools were stunning. After that we hit the road and ran into some very heavy, intense, overcast, foggy weather. It was quite a shock and we actually had to turn on the heat in the car. One thing we noticed on the car ride was the number of Mustangs that like to drive highway 1. We must have seen at least 20 today, if not more. It really was odd. We also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium today. I really liked that. A lot. The fishies are just so cute! They have quite an extensive seahorse exhibit going on right now, as well as scuba diving tours for those ages 8 to 13... I was quite dissapopinted I was too old. Overall today was a good day, and tomorrow we go to San Fransisco! and explore FIshermans Wharf and all that it has to offer. Also, Many pictures have been taken over the trip, so if there is a certain area you would like to look at the pictures from, or if you just want to look at all of them, just e-mail my dad or post a comment here and we will e-mail them to you because it takes FOREVER to upload them onto here. Goodnight Andrew :) and mom, and andrew's mom, and dad, and sister and heather and willy and sampson and chase and rose and everyone!
SCOTT: he's asleep. :)
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