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?

Whistler Mountain

After a VERY long day of traveling (I left Scott in Manhattan, KS, stopped in Kansas City, Mo, then Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas before landing finally), I arrived in the city of Vancouver where my gram lives. However before I could even drop my bags she had us on a bus up to the resort town of Whistler. This absolutely beautiful mountain village sits at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. This area loaded with activities for any age as well as a multitude of shopping and eating. And even though Whistler was downright cold the first couple of days, I still loved it. Could it be that I am beginning to appreciate climates other than Florida's?
Whistler, along with Vancouver, will be the site of this winter's
2010 Olympics. The amount of construction and "improvements"
was intense. I used "improvements" because I think, and most Canadians I have heard agree, there is a serious concern over what will happen after the Olympics are gone. Many cities have experienced a serious economic downturn after they've invested so much to prepare for an Olympic Celebration in their city. Vancouver is taking a "sustainable" approach, and I keep my fingers crossed that they have made wise decisions. In any case, I saw the mountain bike track (photo), which will be used for snowboarding from what I understand, the construction of the pipes for the luge and other activities, and a great deal of housing and road construction. This town is going to be packed!!! The hotel we stayed at said that they are already 90% full with just press. Yikes!
On our way down the mountain, Gram and I rented a car instead of taking the bus. This was fantastic because we were able to stop at a couple of really spectacular waterfalls and a lookout at the Tantalus Mountain Range, which looked to have just had an avalanche. If you look closely, you can see the snow piled on itself down the mountain, such as when a spring avalanche occurs.

The bittersweet part of the summer.

There are no photos from this part of my trip. Scott and I left Bradenton on Thursday 2 July to drive to Ft. Riley, KS, where he will be stationed for the next three months. The drive was beautiful and while Scott drove, I read Bill Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods, aloud. Really, if you have any interest in the out of doors, this book is a hoot! Backpacks and bears and the Appalacian Trail. What made it even better was that we travelled through some areas that could have been in the book at the time we were reading it. It was great. This drive took us through Chattanooga (choo-choo!), St. Louis (got to see the arch), and Kansas City. We spent the 4th of July celebrating in Junction City, KS, which advertised the biggest Independence Day celebration in Kansas. Umm, well, they did have Grand Funk Railroad as their big musical act...
We watched a pretty impressive display of fireworks (both from the festival and the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express we were staying at-I was waiting for the boat in the parking lot to catch fire, there would've been some REAL fireworks!). Scott even took me on a tour of Ft. Riley, which is a very historical campus (I know that Scott is cringing but I don't know what else to call it!) with stone houses that the higher-ups and their families live in. We even took a tour of General Custer's old house (however the tour guide told us that they think Custer didn't even live in that house but another one down the street. Not quite sure why they couldn't keep that straight but whatever). Ft. Riley is beautiful and huge. It really does amaze me the length that the military goes to in making sure that almost everything is right on the base. But I don't think many Americans understand or are even aware of all that is expected of military service members and their families. The more I find out, I wish more of those expectations were placed on the general population. I think we would find a definite improvement in the level of pride and responsibility that our citizens take in the freedoms that they have.
So the 4th of July was also the time when I had to say goodbye to Scott as he reported in for training at Ft. Riley and I headed onto Vancouver, Canada. Yeah, I really don't need to say anything more about that.
When I left Junction City, I had travelled a total of 7,059 miles.

On the road again...

And so it began. I left Stuart on 11 June, relieved to have a break from the bureaucracy of the education system. There was a great deal of trepidation surrounding the end of the school year and I sincerely hope that the summer will help to relax everyone, including me.
I began my journey by flying to Barstow, CA to help Scott pack up his life and leave Ft. Irwin, where he had been stationed (okay, so really I mostly watched the movers, hung out by the pool, read, and asked if I could be useful while shuffling to get out of the way, so more often than not I offered moral support and beer). We began the long journey back to Bradenton, FL, which is on the west coast between Sarasota to the south, and St. Petersburg to the north. The photo on the left is us driving away from Ft. Irwin for the first (for me anyway) and last time. Or so we thought-but that's a story for another blog.
We hauled (using a GMC hybrid truck I might add) 14,000 pounds of stuff, including us. This included the GMC truck with us and a Harley Davidson in the back, pulling a U-Haul trailer and Betsy (the Jeep that doesn't like me), who was loaded to the hilt with Scott's stuff that he thought he would need. The rest of his apartment was thankfully put into storage although I had to laugh because we hauled more stuff after the movers took away the apartment stuff than I even own!!!
Alright. What you see in the photo are tree bushes. I have deemed them "tree bushes" because they are too big to be bushes but haven't grown up to be trees yet. I think deep down they aspire to be trees, but just haven't made it yet. I sent them lots of positive growing vibes. These tree bushes were everywhere. After Arizona anyway.
We took Route 40 which also happens to follow historic Route 66. I had no idea that people were so sentimental about a road but reminders of Route 66 in its heyday were everywhere. I think we may have even spotted some people who were around when the road originally came to be. We reached Flagstaff, AZ on the first day and I loved every minute of that drive. It was an absolutely beautiful state and I hope to be able to go back someday and spend more time. Day two brought us through New Mexico and almost through Texas. I would really have liked to skip Texas altogether and they are NOT kidding when they say that Texas is like its own country. I don't know who "they" are, but I'm sure "they" had something to do with the Texas flag having a single star. I think "they" are trying to tell the rest of us something. We spent the second night in Shamrock, TX, which was about the only thing to be considered a town after we left Amarillo. I ate McDonald's that night. Yeah, yeah, yeah I ate a salad, but it was McDonald's. The only saving grace was that if Paul Newman can put his face in McDonald's, I can survive one meal there (a salad of course). Shamrock was also the place where we discovered the Holiday Inn Express, which would be our hotel of choice for the rest of our travels. I think Scott even earned a free night since we stayed so much (we couldn't pass up joining the Priority Club since we were frequent fliers). So I guess Shamrock wasn't all that bad but for a place that sounds very Irish, I don't think I saw any green other than in the hotel lobby carpet. The landscape was flat and brown. Maybe they named the town Shamrock hoping for some of that emerald green from the mother land....
Alright, enough ranting about Texas. Day three brought us over the mighty Mississippi River (never seen that before!) and into Vicksburg, MS. Scott and I remembered that there had been an important Civil War battle but didn't know much about it so I pulled out the holy iPhone and searched it out. And while we drove out of Vicksburg the next morning (after of course staying at a Holiday Inn Express), I read Scott the entire account of the battle. Just a quick cliff note, the battle was in favor of the South.
We finally hit Florida on day four. We made fairly decent time considering that we had to stay below 70 mph for most of the trip or the trailer would fishtail around and you really don't want a heavy trailer like that flailing. I actually drove us for awhile through construction that felt like we were running a gauntlet with very little room on either side of the trailer. I didn't like it very much. I don't think I would make a very good truck driver. We stayed that final night in Madison, FL, east of Tallahassee, and I will just say that there isn't really much to say about Madison.
So we finally made it to Bradenton, FL, where Scott's parents live. They are now the proud guardians of a Harley Davidson (I'll bet they are nothing short of thrilled to have that thing hangin' out in their garage for the next year). Scott made mention that he was thinking of selling it before he left and of course, as any perceptive mother would, Mrs. Massmann provided ample encouragement that selling it would be the absolute best idea. It didn't work. In the end it came down to boys and their toys. And this one doesn't like to part with his. In any case, Scott's family was fabulous. They were so kind and accommodating to me and Col. Massmann even let me tag allow with the boys when they went fishing (I survived gale force...okay maybe not gale but they were darn forceful winds and waves and still out fished 'em-ha!). All and all the Massmann family and their circle of friends are wonderful and I hope to see them again soon :)
At this point, I have traveled 5,624 miles (this included a trip across the state to Stuart so I could repack for the rest of my summer). I know that I haven't included many photos of my trip across the country but there really were a lot of tree bushes and rolling hills. Also, I introduced Scott to playing the "punchbug" game (you know, the one where you punch the person next to you if you see a Volkswagen Beetle) and it turns out that he is very good at it so I kept trying to make an effort to pay attention to catch up. I wasn't very good at it.

Off we go, into the wild blue yonder.....

I don't know what other adjective would best describe my trip to Death Valley National Park other than perfect. I started my trip to the desert in Barstow, CA, which is on the historic Route 66. I must say that it is not a very impressive place and if you have ever seen the movie "Cars", you will have a pretty accurate picture of what it is like now. They do have a Starbucks however, which makes it okay to visit in my book.
Barstow was my start point because my friend and traveling companion Scott lives there. He has an old Jeep Scrambler (which looks fabulous thanks to his TLC) that we loaded our gear into and headed off into the wild blue yonder with. And before we go any further, I must plug Scott for being such a good sport. You know what a wicked dork I can be so in honor of Easter, Scott and I coloured Easter eggs, planted them all over Death Valley, and took photos of them. Can you find the eggs?




Death Valley National Park is a phenomenal place. It holds the lowest point in the United States (284 ft below sea level) and within a couple of miles there are mountain peaks that top 4,000 ft. The rock formations are spectacular and you witness millions of years of weathering, erosion, plate collisions, and all sorts of different types of rock with your own eyes. I was also told that there is more biodiversity here (meaning different kinds of animal and plant species) than in the rain forests. I'm not sure if that's true but I certainly saw many things that I had never seen before. Nature truly is a magnificent and powerful force. Being in the midst of this natural wonder was mighty humbling.


Sooooo.....What Else Did I Do in Death Valley? CAMPING!!

Alright people, so when Scott asked if I wanted to camp in Death Valley my initial response was, "Why? Aren't there any hotels around?" However after a little persuasion from Scott I thought that camping might be fun...for a night anyway. So off we went to check out the campgrounds in the park. Oh my goodness people, it was like one big outdoor dormitory! There were no trees or bushes or anything between tents and I'll bet you could hear EVERYONE snore... Nope, not for us. Seeing that we had the oh so convenient 4x4 (now fondly named Betsy), we left the touristy crowd to climb where no man has ever gone before! Okay, not really but we did go farther up the four wheel trail than anybody else for our campsite. And let me tell you it was so very lucky that Scott had me with him because not only am I proficient at setting up camp, I introduced him to the quintisential camping experience. Yes my friends, Scott, a Captain in our country's fine Armed Forces, had never had a s'more (I have got to wonder what the heck they are teaching in the Army these days...). I am happy to report that Scott is now prepared for anything he could possibly experience out there in the war world (He is going to Afghanistan in October. Maybe if he teaches them about s'mores, everybody will be so happy that they won't want to fight anymore. I mean really, how can you NOT be happy with a s'more in your hands??). I plan on making sure that he has plenty of provisions towards that peace-making goal (just doing my part).
I think that one of the best parts of the whole camping thing was that the sky was so clear that night. We watched the stars for hours (we know it was hours because the almost full moon kept creeping across the sky) and fell asleep just before dawn. That was the only bummer, since we fell asleep and missed what had to have been a spectacular sunrise. So here is our simple campsite and the view we had as the sun went down. Just as a side bar, as the sun went down the mountains turned a beautiful shade of purple. It was then, for the first time in my life, that I understood the phrase "purple mountains majesty".



Can You Do This Anywhere Else........

I say that because in the course of 24 short hours, I was able to do the following:

1. Visit the desert (me, Scott and the Easter eggs crossed the border into Nevada just so I could say that I've been there)


2. Head south about two hours (just me this time, Scott had to actually go to work) into Angeles National Forest to see snow covered mountains...and I did it with the top down and the heat blasting!


3. Drove out to the Pacific ocean and walked on Huntington Beach in my sherbet swimsuit (no photos here, sorry).

I think that I traveled well over 750 miles total during the course of the five days I spent in California, not including the airplane ride across the country. It was well worth it. I love California (except for the freeways) and those people who are part of my life and live there (A Big Thank You to Uncle Steve and family, Linda and Steve, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and of course Scott for putting me up and putting up with me :)
TTFN!