From OR to CA

If anybody tells you that the Oregon coast is nice, they're lying. It's GORGEOUS!

It was 10:30 by the time I checked out of the hotel. Stopped by at the grocery store next door to get bottled water and Ziploc bags. Now, you're thinking what the Ziploc bags are for. :-) To get sand for my Zen garden, of course! So I was on a mission.

Traffic was very light, but I kept missing turn-offs to the beach. After a nice old town called Bandon (which I'm going to visit again, btw), I saw a turn-off for a "Beach Loop." Missed it, of course. But being a loop, there was another turn-off a few minutes later, and I caught that one -- barely.

There were a few cars in the parking lot, a couple of trailers, and four horses that later came down to the beach with riders on them. Kids were flying kites, and a couple of women were walking by the water.

There was short drop (about 15 feet) down to the beach. I found an "unofficial" trail (indicated by bent grass) and scrambled down. At the bottom, there was a strip of shale (I think) rock and a narrow stream before the sand started. I took off my shoes and waded across the stream. And it was a llllllooooooonnnnnngggggg walk across the sand to get to the surf. That was a very wide beach. And long. Oh, wait, let me rephrase that: the beach extended from the Washington border to the California border and beyond.


A child's shovel abandoned in the wet sand (Bandon, OR). more pics

So, I got my sand, and some pebbles to go with it. I walked on the wet sand and played on the fringes of the waves. The water is cold, but not that cold. And I realized that there I was at the start of the month, dipping my feet on this side of the Pacific Ocean. And the end of the month, I'll be dipping my feet on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Cool, huh? :-)

In Port Orford, I saw a road that went up a little hill and on the road was painted "Ocean View" with an arrow pointing up, so I followed it. Sure enough, there was cliff overlooking a beautiful bay. A couple of bikers parked their bikes and sat at the edge. And that's just the beginning. After leaving the town, there were even better views. Huge tall rocks sticking out of the water with the waves crashing against them. The water was very blue and you got the sense of the depth and greatness of the sea.

I stopped at a few more turnouts to take more pictures, had lunch at Brookings. And around 3:30 pm, I crossed the border to California. There were still great views of the ocean.

Then after a while, I got to the Redwood Highway and the trees are nice, but I just came from Seattle. :-) But the places I'd be sure to hit when I pass this way again:

• Avenue of the Giants
• Confusion Hill
• Tallest Tree House
• Drive-thru Tree Road

Once I got to California, it was easier driving. I was running late already, so I had to pass the great views. Around 5pm, I was still more than 290 miles from San Francisco. I got to Ukiah after 8pm and that was still more than 100 miles from SF. The vineyards in Hopland reminded me of Napa Valley and, sure enough, I saw a sign for a highway that goes to Calistoga. Mudbaths....

Anyway, by the time I got to San Rafael, it was already dark. When I got to my mom's house in Alameda, it was 10:30pm.

Total: 940 miles.

From WA to OR

Depoe Bay in Oregon. more pics

Woke up at 5:00 am. Yup, that's way too early for me. Packed for almost two hours. Showered, had breakfast, and started loading the car. By 7:45, I was off.

For some reason, in the Seattle area, traffic is normally lighter on Friday mornings than on other workday mornings. And it seemed even lighter this holiday weekend. There were still a lot of cars, but it was flowing easily. Just a little slowdown around the 70th Street exit in Kirkland. But when I hit I-5 in SeaTac, the traffic was crawling. There were two accidents. After those, it was easy going again.

I planned my drive a couple of nights ago and reserved a room in Reedsport, OR. I figured, I could get off I-5 around Olympia and head west then follow Hwy 101 all the way down to San Rafael, CA. But since I packed at the last minute, I thought I'd play it by ear. If I was too tired or if the traffic was so bad, I'd just take I-5 all the way down.

But it was still early (around 8:30) when I got to Olympia, so I decided to head west on WA-8, which became I-12, which took me to Hwy 101, which is all but a two-lane road.

Tips:

• Always be alert for signs. I-101 does not always go straight through a town.
• I-101 goes through a LOT of little towns.
• Don't bother with cruise control. The speed limit changes from 55 down to 25 and back up to 55 within a couple of minutes.
• Lots of curves. Some sharp, so pay attention to the yellow speed signs too.
• For those with a small bladder, I only saw one rest area.
• Troy was the first one who told me this: In Oregon, all gas stations are full-service stations -- by law. I can't remember if you get fined if you pump your own gas....
• I saw a number of long-distance cyclists. Their bikes were loaded with panniers, saddlebags, and some even had backpacks on.
• Motorbikes were surprisingly few, but three-wheeled motorbikes (or fancy shiny ATVs) seem to be very popular in these parts.

Things to see:

• As you get on WA-8, there are large-than-life metal scuptures of bulls, cows, and veal, er, baby cows.
• In the town of Raymond, they put up rusted metal cutouts of deer, horses, wolves, people, etc. all over town.
• Columbia River bridge is the first of many cool bridges.
• There are also a few tunnels.
• Rockaway Beach is one of the nice artsy little towns.
• Lake Lytle is a little lake. :-)
• Lots of scenic view turnouts. Usually, if you miss one, there's another a few yards away.

I got to the hotel around 5:30, took a short nap, then went for dinner at Bedrock's Pizza, Chowder House and Grill. Great chowder.

I'm going to try to spend a little time on the beach tomorrow before heading out. And maybe take more pics.

Old friends, old haunts

Mother-and-daughter sculpture in downtown Kirkland, WA

Been a very busy week. Not so much working, but visiting people. Some of whom I planned to visit; others just popped up out of the blue. As for dining, went to old favorites and found new ones as well.

Old haunts:

• Cafe Ori in Bellevue, of course - That's practically home.
• Malay Satay Hut in Bellevue/Redmond - Mango pearl drink that (do I dare say?) rivals Cafe Ori's.
• Tropea in downtown Redmond - Tira...mmmmm!...misu.
• Typhoon in Bella Bodega in Redmond - Curry salmon with sticky rice. Not as impressive as I remembered it, but still good.
• Coho Cafe in Bella Bodega in Redmond - Grilled salmon is as great as I remembered.

New favorites:

• Lynn's Bistro in Central Way in Kirkland - Great salmon!
• Royal India near Juanita Beach in Kirkland - Mango curry chicken to die for! And don't forget the garlic naan.
• PF Chang in downtown Bellevue - Roast duck with hoisin sauce, yum! With the steamed buns, too. (Except the buns stick to your teeth.)
• Tiger Mountain Grill in Issaquah - Surprisingly good salmon burger.
• Firenze at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue - Had their salmon special but I wasn't too impressed.
• Meze in Kirkland - Well, to be honest, the food is just okay, but the very friendly wait staff made the dinner memorable.

There are two restaurants that I don't remember the names.

• A Polynesian restaurant a couple of blocks from Seattle Art Museum on First Avenue - I can't remember what my entree was, but I couldn't stop eating the pineapple fried rice. Nice view of the water too.
• A grill in downtown Kirkland - Melt-in-your-mouth Kahlua flan.

These two were my "regulars" for workday lunches. They're chains but they're fast and delicious.

• The deli inside Larry's Market at NE 8th St and 120th Ave NE in Bellevue - Four words: "Rubbed With Love Salmon". And I consumed it with love.
• Taco del Mar in the same strip mall - Super burrito on spinach tortilla with guacamole, whipped cream, rice, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, mild salsa. And a brownie for dessert. :-)

Wow. Just one more reason why I miss Seattle.

(BrianM: Are you paying attention? You said to write about all the good food in Seattle....)

International Trade Conference

Yesterday and today, I attended the US-Philippine International Trade Conference at the Madison Renaissance Hotel in Seattle. It was organized by the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest. Last Tuesday, I sent an email to Mr. Bert Golla, the president, to ask for a student discount and, surprisingly, he gave it to me.

It was a very productive day and a half. In fact, I already got my money's worth even before lunch on the first day. I met a woman who represents a Philippine-based company that already does what I want to do, so I could use them as a subcontractor.

It really was a networking event. Philippine business people looking for US partners and vice versa. I met a few key people, including the Philippine trade commissioner for the western US states and employees of the city of Seattle. In fact, one of the city employees and his twin brother were the ones who pointed out this building to me as they walked with me to my parking.


The new Seattle Public Library on Madison and 5th.

It's a public library! I must say, it's not the type of architecture you'd expect a public library to have. I guess I imagine public libraries to have those old classic architecture, made of brick with columns and lots of detail. Hmm, very interesting though.

Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

At the Butterfly Garden. This one is alive.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I went with Alex and his boys to the Woodland Park Zoo. Heather was training for the 3-Day Walk and couldn't join us.

We saw the reptile exhibit, petted the goats, fed the birds, oooh'd at the bats, mingled with the butterflies. And the boys rode the ponies.

It was a personal visit and a business visit. I was asking Alex to be on my board of advisors, so we talked about my business idea, and he gave me some advice both from a technical standpoint and a business standpoint. When we got back, Heather had returned home and I got more advice from her. Heather has an MBA from UW, and she had given me advice in the past about b-school. All in all, it was a heartwarming afternoon. And productive to boot.

From MT to ID to WA

I got a late start again, since I stayed up late last night (being very thankful to be in the world of the online-living again).

Even though I covered about the same distance, somehow, today seemed shorter. Maybe because it's the last leg of the trip. Maybe I'm just anxious to get here. In fact, I skipped lunch and I only took one nap!

BTW, I nearly choked on my food over breakfast (around 11:00 am MST), and I was paying attention to my food. So which of you, people, were talking about me?

Highs in the 80's today. Hardly any breeze. I figured I'd get darker this summer, more than usual, even if I stayed in the shade. And that's fine. Darker skin is more protected from the harmful effects of the sun, so it's a natural self-preservation mechanism.

Someday, I'm going to write a book on road psychology. How people behave when driving long distances. The concept of entrainment (where people tend to fall in step with the group) definitely comes into play. At one point, there were way too many cars on the road -- on both lanes. The speed limit had gone down to 65. People were all going 70. I released my cruise control and followed the 15-or-so-car caravan on the right lane to let people coming up fast behind me to overtake me. More cars followed behind me on my lane. Then it was as though everybody got hypnotized. We were all driving at the same speed. Even the cars who were about to overtake me slowed down a few carlengths behind me and stayed there. It was that way for several minutes; everybody keeping their position. Then I got bored, moved to the left lane, sped up, and pulled out of the pack. Then, as though the spell was broken, other cars started shifting around, speeding up a bit. The cars that were on the left lane came up close behind me. So, after giving myself some distance ahead of the lead car on the right lane, I moved back to the right lane and slowed down again. But when I looked back, the cars held back. In fact, the lead car on the left was nose-to-nose with the lead car on the right. And they all matched my speed. That's when I realized, people were afraid of getting caught speeding. That's why nobody wanted to go first. Well, I left the freeway soon after to get gas. And when I got back on, there was only the occasional truck on the road.

And then, near Snoqualmie, there was this silver car that came into the freeway. I moved to the left lane to let him in, but he sped up quickly, so I went back to the right lane behind him. Then he slowed down and I didn't want to reset my cruise control speed, so I overtook him. When I did, he matched my speed again, so he was right at my tail when I went back to the right lane. Then he went to the left lane to overtake me. I figured I didn't want to play games with this guy, so I slowed down from 75 to 73, he stayed at 8 o'clock. I slowed down to 70 to give him the hint. He did the same. I got frustrated and released my cruise control and went down to 60. He followed suit again. Then I looked at him to see what this guy was up to, and I saw him straining and looking nervously in his rear view mirror. When I threw up my hands, he realized there was no cop behind us and he cautiously moved ahead. He sped up again when we nearly caught up with another group of cars. He had no license plates; no wonder he was scared. It was probably a stolen car.

Two very cool moments on the road -- crossing the Columbia River and seeing Coeur d'Alene Lake.

I knew I had crossed into Idaho when I saw the sign in the mountains after cresting a steep climb. But I missed the sign coming into Washington. I guess I switched over to the Pacific Time Zone when I crossed into Idaho.

Snoqualmie didn't quite trigger any emotions, but seeing signs for North Bend did. I guess North Bend was the edge of the greater Seattle region that I emotionally consider home. When Jon and I were house-hunting in 1997, North Bend was the farthest east that we looked at.

The first two things I did when I got into town: 1) pick up the key to Katia's house, and 2) go to Cafe Ori for dinner and a mango pearl drink. :-)

A butterfly and a cloud of unnameable bugs caught in the filter right underneath the grill.

From SD to WY to MT

I left Rapid City around 11:30 am MST.

Around noon, I got to Sturgis and decided to just drive by, maybe catch a glimpse of the motorcycle-sized parking that Stephen talked about. I just followed the I-90 business loop through town and didn't see the motorcycle-sized parking. In fact, it was just an ordinary small town. But, as I was headed back to the main I-90, there it was -- the local Harley Davidson dealership. So I just had to swing by. This is what happens when you go to b-school; you visit the businesses that you read about like you visit a museum. I didn't even bother with the motorcycle museum just a block away. :-)

It was very windy in South Dakota, more so than yesterday during the tour.
Around 1:00 pm MST, I was in Wyoming, which is also beautiful with its very red soil and very green rolling hills, that kinda reminded me of California. I stopped for gas in a small town somewhere in Wyoming then took a short nap under a tree in a rest stop. It was an absolutely beautiful day -- sunny, breezy, blue skies, a few little white wisps of clouds. I could have hung a hammock under that tree and stayed the rest of the day.

There was a section of the highway where the asphalt was as red as the soil. I figured they probably used some of the local dirt in the mix. I thought that was cool.


Red asphalt

Around 5:30pm MST, I hit Junction 94, so the route after that point, I had already passed on my drive from WA to MN last year. In fact, I stopped for gas at Big Timber, MT, and I realized I got gas there before, when I saw the little gift shop off to the side of the gas station.

Yes, as I've said the first time I drove through here, Montana is definitely beautiful. I think I'll build my B&B near the Yellowstone River, which runs by the freeway, sometimes to the left, other times to the right.

There were more cars around Billings, MT. Probably the crowd leaving town for the long weekend.

When I drove last year, I realized that you're really driving with the same group of people because you keep overtaking them or they keep overtaking you. Today, there was this shiny new dark red SUV, hauling a beat-up trailer with a beautiful white horse. The horse turned its head to look at me with its left eye. It made me smile seeing the horse the first time I overtook them, so I remembered them. After I stopped for a nap, I overtook them again. That was fairly normal. Then about 30 miles to Butte, I overtook them a third time! Each time, the horse would look at me. :-)

I found the exit, I turned left, I saw the hotel sign, I turned left into a street by the hotel, and it turned out to be the freeway entrance back to I-90 going east. Well, I didn't want to go back up the mountains, so I took the first exit, which was Hwy 15 going north. I was getting worried that the first exit would be miles away. And it was. Five miles up an incline to a little town called woodville. So I exited and went back south on 15. Then on my way down, there was a sign for a scenic view exit. It was definitely a beautiful view of the city lights from that height. However, it was already very late and I was very tired. So I didn't stop.

Lo and behold! The hotel has free wireless Internet access! Hallelujah!

Gray Line Black Hills Tour

A view of Washington and a bit of Lincoln through a gap inside a little cave. more pics

Yup, it's really one of those big Gray Line busses. I was picked up right in front of my hotel. The driver's name is Randy and the couple who were picked up before me are actually from Vancouver, WA. We picked up ten more people, including a father and son, who were masochistically travelling cross-country on Greyhound, and a couple from Australia. If it weren't for the son, I would have been the youngest in the crowd.

Our stops:

• Borglum Historical Center in Keystone, SD. Borglum is the guy who carved the faces on Mount Rushmore.
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial. I followed the trail down to get closer to the mountain, and there was this little cave, which was actually a gap between a cluster of huge rocks. I wondered why they made the trail detour to this cave, then I looked up through a gap and saw the view in the picture above.
• Lunch. The day started out bright and sunny with a little wind. Before lunch, it started drizzling. After lunch (one hour later), freezing rain was pelting down and the winds were blowing hard.
• Crazy Horse Memorial. I got me a piece of rock blasted from the mountain.
• Custer State Park. We saw a few buffalo in the distance, some antelope(?), horses, and burros.
• Needles Highway. First, I thought it was named "Needles" for the pine trees. Then we went through the tunnels -- Talk about going through the eye of a needle!
• Iron Mountain Road. There were two full-circle turns. Imagine going south, then going around in a circle and under the bridge where you were to head east. That's what those full-circle turns were.

What I learned from Randy, the tour guide / bus driver:

• Ponderosa pines are red on one side and black on the other. And you can use them to guide you if you get lost in the woods where they grow. The red side always faces south, because the sun is mostly in the south side in the northern hemisphere, and the black mossy side always faces north. A mnemonic is to think of people living in Florida as being more sunburnt (red) than people in, oh, say, Minnesota. Mind you, I'm not saying that people in Minnesota are mossy....
• One of the other passengers asked what the difference was between a buffalo and a bison. Randy posed the question to the rest of us. Is it the size, the color, the humps? Well, when nobody responded, his reply was, "You can't wash your hands in a buffalo." :-) Get it?
• Every year, Custer State Park holds a lottery for a buffalo hunt every winter. Ten winners (out of about a thousand entries from all over the US) are chosen. If you are selected, you must send in $4K for the privilege to hunt a buffalo. You can bring your favorite rifle or the park rangers can lend you one. And the hunt goes like this: a ranger is at your disposal for three days, during which you go "shopping" for a buffalo. When you find a nice healthy fluffy juicy buffalo, you and the ranger crawl up very quietly to it, and you get to shoot it -- at point blank. Apparently, it's more humane and safer that way. Then you can have the head stuffed for your wall, have the hide tanned for your floor, and have the meat cut and frozen for your freezer. When all is said and done, you most likely have spent $9k. But apparently, buffalo meat has 20% fewer calories and 30% more protein than beef. And Randy added that the buffalo bulls "that participate in the hunt do so willingly." Uh-huh.
• In the Guinness Book of World Records, the most severe change in weather is in Black Hills -- 47-degree change within 2 minutes.

Wall Drug

One of the characters that live at Wall Drug. more pics

I'm staying in Rapid City, but I backtracked 50 miles today, just so I could see the infamous Wall Drug. Stephen mentioned it to me about a year ago as one of the places I should check out on my first drive from Seattle to Minneapolis. Since I took the northern route during the first trip, I figured I'd see South Dakota this time. The way Stephen described it, it didn't sound like much. All he said was, "You have to go to Wall Drug." What could be so special about a pharmacy?

Well, let me tell you what's so special about a pharmacy. It's a marketing blitz! That's what it is! Even before I crossed the border into SD, I saw a sign saying, "355 miles to Wall Drug". And that was just the beginning. There were 355 miles of billboards talking about Wall Drug! Souvenirs at Wall Drug. Indian art at Wall Drug. Largest collection of Western art at Wall Drug. Western clothing at Wall Drug. Five cent coffee at Wall Drug. Refreshing ice water at Wall Drug. The Traveler's Chapel at Wall Drug. New T-Rex at Wall Drug. A what? Yup! A dinosaur at Wall Drug.

When you take Exit 110 from the west, you see the town's water tower saying, "Wall - Home of Wall Drug". There's the typical freeway sign pointing to the left. Then a billboard saying four blocks to Wall Drug. Then another sign saying that an arrow to Wall Drug is coming up. Sure enough, there was another sign directing you to turn left to go to Wall Drug. And then you think you're lost because you expect a big sign saying "Wall Drug" when you see another billboard all the way in the back that says "Wall Drug parking" and asks that trucks please park on the gravel side.

To be fair, Wall Drug really is a drugstore. And then around it grew all these little shops. Either that or Wall Drug acquired all these little shops around it and became the biggest conglomerate of South Dakota. And then motels and B&B's sprouted around it and put up billboards saying they're only a few blocks from Wall Drug. And tour busses take people to see Wall Drug.

So, today, Wall Drug is two long blocks of stores facing each other. Not including the parking lots. The drugstore itself is just one little shop in the middle of one side. One of the entrances is reminiscent of Pike Place Market with people sculptures standing around or sitting on benches, way too many stuffed wild game and antlers, museum-like displays. The front looks a bit like a Western town. Behind the drugstore is a small lot called the "Wall Drug Backyard" with antique dioramas that move if you put a quarter in, horse sculptures, a jackalope, a miniature Mount Rushmore, a buffalo with fur, a huge rabbit with fur. Inside the building, there was a display where you can pan for your own gold/precious stones/whatever, more stores, more people sculptures, a stuffed bear (which I think is a real one because it's inside a glass box).

I was checking out the gold panning display when I heard an alarm on the other end of the building. People weren't flying out of there so I figured it was probably a false fire alarm. And then I heard the growls. Well, imagine a theme park display based on Jurassic Park. That's
what it is. But, hey, I'm easily entertained.

Actually, when I got to the "Backyard", the guy was already untethering the gate, but he said I still had lots of time, so I went in. He kept me from putting in a quarter in one of the dioramas because he said it's not good. The duck's foot is wobbly and the bunny's ear is broken. But he smiled to himself; he seemed amused that a grown woman would actually put a quarter into those things. So, when I asked him to play the T-Rex again, he accommodated me so I could record it. And after that, he continued turning off and unplugging the displays. He said I could still stay and take pictures, but the lighting wasn't good, so I thanked him and left.

So, anyway, I got some postcards and a few souvenirs, including three jackalope furs. Seriously.

I figure, the three most important industries in South Dakota are follows, in decreasing size:

• the tourism industry around Mt Rushmore,
• Wall Drug (which qualifies as an industry by itself), and
• the highway billboard industry.

And, oh, yeah, there must be a black beef industry around these parts, as evidenced by the black cows along the freeway, but it's smaller than any of the first three. Why? I saw more billboards than black cows. 'Nuf said.

From MN to SD

I was taking a picture of the bug splats on my windshield but caught a nice cloud formation too.

I started late yesterday. My first stop was Morrie's Subaru in Minnetonka for them to give Wapple a quick once-over in preparation for the trip. They changed my oil and rotated my tires as well. Then, after dropping off my keys with Jan, I was off. The highlights of the drive:

• My fortune cookie from lunch at a Chinese buffet in Albert Lea, MN : "Your life becomes more and more of an adventure!"
• A very friendly employee at a GoodYear store giving me directions to I-90.
• Bug splats on my windshield as numerous as the stars in the sky.
• A bee as big as my thumb getting caught in my windshield. Eeewwwww!
• Occasional downpours that cleaned my windshield.
• Five minutes after I cleaned my windshield, as many bug splats as I had before I cleaned it.
• A 15-minute nap at 3pm and a 10-minute nap at 7pm. (I only had two hours of sleep the previous night.)
• In Murdo, SD, a young waitress who admired my tiger-eye bracelet and said that tiger-eye was for protection. (I was wondering why I had the urge to take it with me.)
• In the same restaurant, a short-order cook with a blonde mohawk that looked like the fin of a fish.
• Intensely green grass, like the Windows XP wallpaper, just 200 miles to Rapid City.
• Gray asphalt, green grass, black cows, blue horizon, lavender clouds, red lining, orange sunset.
• Allelujah clouds: Instead of sun rays streaming down through the clouds, clouds streaming down from the sun.
• Crossing into Mountain time at 9pm CST 8pm MST.
• Playing phone tag with my travel agent about my PI plane tickets.