Holy San Francisco!

This city was a mixed bag for me. There are a lot of fun things to do but overall, I wasn't terribly impressed. Now I will admit that this could have something to do with the fact that when I got into San Francisco I had been traveling for over a month and was beginning to hit that switch. Those of you who have been out with me know the one I'm talking about. I don't generally "wind down" when out and about, I simply shut off. I'm not the type to say "Ya know, maybe we should think about heading out", my common statement would instead be, "Okay, I'm done. Time to go." San Francisco kinda felt like that. But I couldn't just go. So I had to stay and have fun. Darn it.

My lifelong friend Christina drove 4 hours to come spend the weekend with me. That I was REALLY happy about. Our mothers are best friends and we've known each other as long as I can remember. She booked us into the Westin St. Francis (our oh so posh room overlooked Union Square y'all!) and we were close to everything (Christina had a planning strategy).

We walked through Chinatown where I began to half-heartedly look for a suitcase. I still didn't want to lug one around, but actually zipping up my backpack was becoming nearly impossible. We also went down to Fisherman's Wharf, which along with having all of the piers for the ferries and cargo vessels, had stores galore! We ate chowda (now I can say that I have had east coast and west coast chowda) and went hunting for replacement shoes for Christina, who made the unfortunate mistake of wearing stupid shoes. And as is usually the case, she couldn't find anything and since I didn't have any space in my backpack, nor a need for another pair of shoes, I of course found the cutest pair of pink shoes! (Christina did end up finding some sensible shoes to wear around thankfully)

We took the ferry over to Alcatraz and donned the headsets to listen to the narrated tour of the facility. First, what a dreary place with an amazing view of the city. That had to suck for those inmates. Second, oh my goodness was it windy! I believe that the winds were upwards of 20 knots that day!

You can tell by the fashionable "winded" look

that Christina and I are sporting....

Finally, there are some amazing views from that island. The sun and the sailboat with the Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop, gotta love it :)

On Sunday we drove up to the Benziger Family Winery in Sonoma County. My friend Jerri recommended this particular winery to me because of their environmentally friendly practices. Christina and I took an in-depth tour of the place and learned about everything from how the time of day that the sun shines on the vines affects the flavor of the grape to insecteries, which replace chemical pesticides, to the retention ponds where they collect and reuse the water they use, to the 4.2 million dollar cave they dug to store and age their wines, which cuts electricity use tremendously by keeping the wine at a stable temperature regardless of the temperature outside. The science involved in wine making is intense. I was very impressed with consideration taken by this family to ensure that they make the smallest environmental footprint while still sustaining a thriving business. IT CAN BE DONE PEOPLE!!!

The wine was pretty good too...

So after Christina left I stayed in SF for two more days. That was really three days too many. The hostel that I stayed at was less than impressive in many ways. I didn't realize that this particular hostel was known for its "party" atmosphere. Now for those of you who think all hostels are like that, let me educate you. Most hostels see people from all age ranges and walks of life. And the majority of those people are not looking for a 24 hour party. The hostels that I have stayed in til this one were very peaceful. That's not to say that there weren't pub crawls organized out of the hostel or partiers coming in the wee hours of the morning, but I haven't run into a hostel where people weren't respectful of everyone else. This place was like a dormitory run amuck. But that is what they are known for, and I didn't know. So in any case, it wasn't a place where you traveled out of the hostel at night (we were in the "red" district), and it wasn't very quiet at night. On the good side, I did have the pleasure of meeting Shell. Shell is in San Francisco for the summer and working at the hostel making killer meals. She and I struck up a conversation and spent Tuesday roaming around Golden Gate Park. She was a bubble of positive energy and I loved hanging out with her. The weather was wicked cold (I really didn't believe that SF's weather was this crazy but it was overcast and 50 while just outside of the city in Sonoma it was about 80) and we rode the bus all over, had hot chocolate at Starbucks (I had a craving and it was cold) and then headed back to the hostel where I showered, took a nap, and waited for my shuttle to the airport where I would take a 10:30pm flight to Newark, NJ and continue my summer of sight seeing and visiting. The rest of these photos are from the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park...

As a final note, I did break down and return to Chinatown to buy a suitcase. And of course I searched until I found one that matched my bag (pink and brown) and was as bold as possible. I hate checking luggage. I have had a few bad experiences and I try to avoid it. However, I was informed by Scott that he checks luggage, so I think that was a hint that I should probably just get over it seeing that if we travel together I wouldn't get out of the airport any quicker anyhow. Well, at least I have a suitcase that I can spot...pink, red, and brown hibiscus flowered print. HA!

Seattle and Portland

So Jason and I drove out of Vancouver on 16 July, headed ultimately for Portland, Oregon, where Jason lives. Getting back into the United States however, it would prove to be a lengthly task. We waited for over an hour at the border to even talk to the border patrol guy. I don't know what was taking so long because when we finally got to the window, the agent (not a very friendly representation of our country by the way) kept us for maybe 3 minutes before directing us to move on. Actually I think he more or less grunted at us rather than directing us. Such hospitality...

The drive into Seattle was spectacular. I was able to see Mt. Rainer, the highest point in the continental United States (4,392 m or 14,411ft) from the highway.

Seattle itself was a typical city and I was glad that we parked and walked around (okay, Jason bounded places as opposed to walking. That boy has lots of great energy for sure!!). We had been discussing how much we liked books so Jay decided to take me to what he considers the coolest place in Seattle...the library. This place was very cool. All steel beam and glass, and HUGE!! There was a floor painted entirely in red which held all of the meeting rooms, and a lookout on the very top floor. I don't think I have ever been into a larger or more user friendly library. Bill Gates has certainly contributed to this place.
So the library was great. However. I came into Seattle with a mission, and the library was the pivotal source of information to help my mission succeed. I was here, in the great city of Seattle, to pay homage. To whom you may ask? Why Starbucks of course. Not a very good photo, I know...

I am a Starbucks junkie (I even have a Starbucks gold card-I know you're jealous but someday maybe you will have one too!). I love Starbucks coffee. Now before I go any further, let me dispell some of your assumptions. First, I do not NEED coffee, I just really love Starbucks. Second, I like actual coffee, not a bunch of cream and sugar and God only knows what else with a little coffee flavor. I drink my coffee bold and black, the stronger the better. My friends, Dunkin Donuts is coloured water to me. There is nothing that compares to a piping hot Grande Sumatra. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, and if it is really hot outside, then I will even trade my hot coffee for the iced version. There is nothing in the coffee world that compares. And Seattle is the home of the original Starbucks. The store (I know the photo isn't great, sorry) sits across the street from the Pike Street Market. Maybe you've heard of it? This is the home of the Pike Fish Market. These guys have an open air fresh fish market and they interact with the customers and throw their fish around and the whole point is to have fun. There is even a business model based on them, called the FISH philosphy. I only got to watch for a couple of minutes but they were all smiling and the crowd was loving it! Imagine...having fun while working? What a concept!

Anyway, I paid homage to Starbucks and Jason and I headed out. Unfortunately we hit the worst traffic I have seen in a very long time. So bad in fact, that Jason was ready to pull off just to get out of the car for a bit. Yuck. I have an easier time tuning out traffic (I figure that I will get there when I get there and there must be some good music on the radio to help pass the time:). By the time we got to Portland, we had been on the road for 9 1/2 hours (including the 1 1/2 hrs in Seattle). This trip should've taken 6. Oh well.

From what I saw in the very short time I was in Portland, it really didn't feel like a big city. Many people were biking or walking and I saw relatively few cars on the road. The buildings were older and smaller, less intimidating I think. There were little shops and cafes all over and the mood was really mellow. Jason took me to Powell's book store, the largest independently owned bookstore in the United States. It was 3 floors and for as huge as it was, it was really a mellow, friendly place. The hostel I stayed in was also really mellow and probably the cleanest hostel I have stayed in yet. Someday I would like to go back to Portland and roam around for a while longer. The next morning I hoisted my overfull backpack, checked with the desk clerk for directions, and then headed off to catch the train to the airport. I probably should've checked the holy iphone before I started walking though. I walked 8 blocks in the wrong direction. Yup, I guess I'm not as good as I thought with the direction thing. And the fact that I thought I was so good that I didn't need the GPS on the iphone to double check...let's just say I will NOT be hiking the Appalachain Trail by myself...EVER! In any case, I walked an extra 16 blocks, made the train, just barely made my flight and headed off to San Francisco. By the way, on the ride down from Seattle to Portland, I also got a glimpse of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood. Wow.

(Just a disclaimer...I didn't take the photos of the three mountains in this posting. I wasn't able to get a decent shot because of the haze but these are pretty impressive from Wikipedia)

Vancouver, BC

This is the view from my gram's balcony. Beautiful isn't it? All of the cruise and container ships coming to and from Alaska go through this waterway. I spent a week here, enjoying my gram's company, the view, and the seawall below. The seawall is significant to me because it is approximately 10km long and I walked or ran on it almost everyday. And I was never alone. There were always loads of people walking and running on the seawall. It was a place with such great vibes. Elderly couples walking hand in hand (I hope that I am that happy when I get to be that age), joggers on a mission, moms with babies in strollers looking absolutely content, and of course the dogs and their parents. There is a separate walkway for the dogs where they walk on packed dirt (better for their pads) and poop anywhere along the way because no people walk on their walkway! What a great idea! If you were out first thing in the morning (which of course, being the morning ray of sunshine that I am, I was out there) you also got to catch an occasional glance of the otters playing. I don't think I saw one person frowning on that seawall.

Another thing I liked about Vancouver was the sense of community. Even during the week the parks were filled with people picnicing in the afternoons after work, and families were playing together all over the place. There were drum circles, soccer games, dancers, and you just felt that people were remembering to live, not just spend their time making a living.

On the day before I left Vancouver my friend Jason drove up from Portland to Vancouver for his first visit to the city. Jason's parents live in Florida so he always was in my neck of the woods. It was quite a change for my to be on his side of the U.S. Anyway, we decided to head to Stanley Park, a place that Canada is very proud of. Stanley Park is an island and you must cross the Lions Gate Bridge to get to it from North or West Vancouver, where I was staying. It is a beautiful place with kilometers of walking and biking trails all over. Jason and I walked up through the center and saw the beautiful redwoods that I am hugging (See? I really am a tree hugger!) and checked out the view of the mainland. Then we came to the rocks...

Seriously, when you see these formations you think, no way that is there without glue. Well people, you know me well enough to know that I would have to be the one to check it out and yup, they really just are balanced there. Thankfully Jason was able to "fix" my curiousity and then we took to building our own formations. It was very peaceful actually and suprisingly addictive. We both could've stayed and built rock formations all afternoon I think :)

The story behind those formations comes from the Aleutians. They would stack up the rocks at points in the trail to send good wishes but also to mark the places they had been. They are said to be good luck. I'm all for surrounding myself with goodness in whatever form seems to fit at the time :)

Here is Jason with his gravity defying formation. Seriously...no glue?