August 5, 2010
Dark and early, Emma and I reluctantly pried our barely living bodies out of bed and into the car. We groggily drove northwest in a slumberous state. After describing to Emma the chances of finding a Starbucks in the state of Wyoming, outside of a grocery store or in general our hearts were filled with a longing for a latte. We got to Casper and while I was asleep, Emma started driving in the wrong direction which was somewhat reminiscent of the scene in Dumb and Dumber in which Jim Carey wakes up to find they drove a day in the wrong direction. She hadn’t gotten a days journey away but a little detour nonetheless. We then used my dear iPhone to google the directions to a Starbucks and eventually found the sweet, sweet nectar of life.
Our trip continued on what is the worst section of road (in my opinion) in existence…and I’ve been on a lot of desolate roads so that is saying something. The road between Casper and Shoshoni is the WORST!!! They literally film movies that are set on desolate planets there (see Galaxy Quest and Strange Encounters of A Second Kind)! We made it Shoshoni, mourned the loss of the Shoshoni Malt Shop to the economy and traveled on to the great metropolis of Thermopolis.
We stopped at the most janky Subway that I’ve ever been to…..in one word- horrifying! Then we went onto the Hot Springs State Park, which is awesome. I have always loved the suspension bridge, smelly hot water, limestone terraces, and people watching there. We walked around looking at the odd additions for the benefit of tourists and even shamelessly used some for a photo opp.
Eventually we made our way to Cody, Wyoming and then on to Yellowstone National Park. By this time we were a little road weary and ready to see some large mammals of the Great Plains. Against the advice of several signs warning against bear mauling we gladly jumped out of our car with the hundreds of other fools to openly gawk at a grizzly bear that was relaxing in a lake. I being wiser that most fools stood well behind the first row of idiots, knowing that if there was a bear attack not only would he probably choose someone closer but I would also have an excellent vantage point to capture the carnage on film. That may sound heartless…but there were warnings, lots and lots of warnings!
After the excitement of a grizzly we drove on and saw another bear in the same lake further on. The main attraction was the buffalo which were like as numerous as the cockroaches in my old classroom….and to that I mean more than you could keep track of. They were not only quite large but they were also quite close and slow moving. We were stuck in traffic for over an hour waiting for one to get out of the road. I’m not sure what was more exciting, the close up buffalo or the tourist who were blatantly disregarding all warning of a goring. I’m not exactly sure what compels people to jump out of their vehicles with such abandon at the sight of a several ton WILD animal but nonetheless I was hoping a little bit that we would get to see someone self-selecting out of the gene pool. The long and somewhat boring waiting was a practice our car dance moves and take ridiculous pictures.
We passed the buffalo finally and drove back to Cody for the Cody Nite (this spelling kills me) Rodeo held every night in June, July and August. We were there for a pretty exciting night. It was fun for Emma to see a part of Wyoming and fun for me to be nostalgic about the many summer nights in my formative years that were spent by a dusty arena hoping for some excitement but not too much excitement, the kind of excitement that ends at the hospital trauma center for someone unlucky/dumb enough to be smooshed by a large wild-eyed beast. I’m not sure which was better the people watching or the clown who was homophobic and who was less than impressed with Obama…I guess there is no blame in pandering to your audience but somewhat unnecessary in my opinion.
After the rodeo and the amazing people watching opportunity that it provided, we went back to the Cody KOA to sleep in our cute little cabin. About 400 motorcyclists traveling to or from Sturgis Rally joined us there. We fell asleep listening to thunder roll in over the mountains, the car alarm of the d-bag next door, and a copious amount of Jack Daniels being consumed by those who donned mullets, cut off t-shirts, and leather chaps. All around a great day.
August 6, 2010
We decided to leave early on this day also…not as early as 4 like the previous day but too early for the faint of heart. We got up and Emma drove to Old Faithful while I did a very poor job of faking like I was awake. We arrived at Old Faithful in time to sit on wet benches by other freezing tourists to wait while the pressure built up enough for her to blow her top. Right before 10:03, a very, very large group of Asian tourists descended on our small huddling group and we got to see a man loose it on some of them which upstaged Old Faithful. The best part by far was watching the varied poses and compositions of the Facebook default pictures that were taken there. If you have never had the opportunity to see large groups of tourists at a somewhat famous geological (or other type) attraction then you should find one in your area and enjoy the show. There are few things I like more than people watching and Old Faithful provided another perfect opportunity.
Leaving the tourists and the great caldera behind we travelled on towards Jackson Hole. I can’t say that I have any affinity towards Jackson. That it is the only thing that most people know about the great state of Wyoming is somewhat annoying to me. I love Wyoming, but there is far more in the other 99.9 percent of the state than tourist traps, overpriced goods and services, and some of the most disturbingly un-Wyoming people I’ve met.
We drove on towards Boise through southern Idaho, I was impressed with its agriculture base and overall beauty. Idaho sometimes gets a bad rap and I think some of that is probably undeserved. We stayed the night with friends from college and got to meet their precious new baby. We also played a game, Bang, which was fun and I am looking forward to playing again. Another great joy of the day was that we started listening to Harry Potter 7. Emma and I frequently would start talking to each other in horrible English accents while alternately cheering, hating, mourning, celebrating and generally enjoying the story.
August 7, 2010
This was one of the two big day of our travels as we drove from Boise to Bellingham. There was nothing notable that happened on the trip besides a continued dependence on Harry Potter and several questionable choices regarding good food for road trips. The drive was beautiful from the rolling fields of soy and other undetermined crops to the winding drive through the fog-shrouded mountains. We hit a wild wind storm at some point during the day and my car grill was filled with tumble-weeds…we decided to leave them in as an experiment in how long they would last (and maybe a little bit because we are both lazy)
We arrived in Bellingham a little earlier that anticipated but it was a relief to be able to stretch and walk off the teriyaki jerky, sprite, and funyons that were irritating my lower gastrointestinal track. Jell-o took us to dinner at the Bellingham Brewery, we not only got to eat wonderful mac n’ cheese but also got to see what can only be described as a hot mess getting started. As we enjoyed our meal, a very large group of similarly dressed college students came in and ordered drinks. They rowdily drank and then marked the number of drinks they had on their “Pub Golf” “scorecards”…and by “scorecards” I mean t-shirts decorated with sharpie marker. The brewery was only the second place but by their general demeanor I imagine that there was a Text From Last Night submission and maybe a bail that had to be paid before the night was up. Then we went back to Jell-o’s and played games while generally enjoying each other’s company. It was a delight as always to see sweet Jell-o. Her apartment is dreadfully adorable; she had made us cookies for our arrival, and had even made a little basket for fun times. I can’t tell you how much I miss Jell-o at camp and throughout the year. She really brings out the best in everyone around her…and especially me! It’s nice to have friends like that.
August 8, 2010
With Jell-o in tow, we drove down to Seattle and met Slide at the Science Museum. If you have never been to the Pacific Science Center…GO! It’s awesome. I’ve been three times in the past few years and every time I spend hours and hours there. They have a great physical science place, a good planetarium, dinosaurs, butterflies, hissing cockroaches, a tide pool, and so many other things! I’m sure it’s fun with kids but unlike some places not necessary to take the little ankle-biters along. We spend most of the day doing things like seeing how well our super sniffers worked, petting starfish, learning how to swallow swords, blowing gigantic bubbles, and found out our genetic pathways.
After playing at the museum, we went to a very nice little Thai restaurant. It is called Rice and Spice and it was very delicious! We met up with Emma’s family afterwards and they took us to a fish restaurant for drinks and dinner. Then to top of the night we walked through Pike Place market to the gum wall. At the gum wall we took photos, as everyone should. I pretended to lick it and this girl who was the epitome of stuck up gasped in shock like I had actually licked it. I was surprised that she thought that anyone would like the wall (ok I probably would have for like 5 bucks…It builds up the immunity!) but then a minute later when she was posing for pictures her hair was getting stuck in it….a small victory for not-cheerleaders.
We walked on to the best gelato store that I’ve been to outside of Italy. I had pear and lemon and it was AWESOME!!! The flavors were amazing and I was delighted at everything I tried. So again if you are in Seattle, Bottega Italiana on First Ave. It’s worth it. After leaving Emma’s family, Jell-o was a rock star and drove Slide to her car and then back to Bellingham as Emma slept and I pretended (poorly) to stay awake.
August 9, 2010
Our wanderlust took us to Vancouver, BC on this fine (but rainy) day. We eventually made it into Canada after being rigorously questioned by the border officer who could not believe that we “came all the way from California just to go to the aquarium.” We simply had to stop by Tim Horton’s on our way through. If you haven’t been to a Tim Horton’s then there is a little something missing from your life. It’s basically a coffee shop but has excellent food and donut holes (TimBits). There is kind of a cult following by people who have the excellent fortune to go to them. After filling up on soup, bagels, coffee, and TimBits we drove on to Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. I have to say that as nice as Canadians and Canada in general are the roads in Vancouver are not well designed. This is my third time there and every time I am amazed at how industrial it seems and how poorly planned the infrastructure is. I guess I am spoiled because I can hop onto any number of freeways and get to where I’m getting but there the highways wind (annoyingly slow) through residential and commercial areas. I have no idea how they survived being flooded by the Olympic traffic.
The Vancouver Aquarium is one of my two favorite aquariums (the Shedd being the other one but that is an entirely different story). It is in the middle of Stanley Park and is amazing. There are belugas, dolphins, seals, hagfish, octopi, Amazon fish that are over 12 feet long, sharks, lionfish, sea turtles, and my favorite jellyfish. I love that aquariums are a glimpse into a world that is so different than the one I live in but also so tranquil, life-abundant, and richly textured.
We spent the day exploring the underwater world and then drove back down to Bellingham to end the day by collecting seaglass on the beaches of Bellingham. We didn’t find a lot of seaglass but did enjoy the sunset on the beach. This was our last night in Bellingham so we lived up to the motto of “Subdued Excitement” by subduing our excitement.
August 10, 2010
We got up early and drove to Seattle to eat a very good homemade breakfast with one of my friends from way back in the day. We then continued down the 5 on our way through Washington and Oregon. Somewhere in the middle of Washington we thought it would be an excellent idea to stop and get some blackberries for jelly and other delights. We were lacking some of the things we needed to know about picking blackberries, which might have limited the enthusiasm in which we jumped into blackberry brambles. Let me explain what we found out…. 1) blackberry brambles are thorny 2) the best blackberries are just out of reach 3) apparently when you are hooked on thorns you should push towards the bush instead of ripping flesh outwards 4) long sleeves, pants, and shoes are recommended…none of which we used 5) tiny little splinters will get in to your hands, arms, legs, and feet and then fester over the next several weeks 6) there is a chemical in blackberry brambles that make the scratches almost intolerable. We picked about 28 cups of berries and then continued on a little more beat up than before. The rest of the day was driving and thinking of how to smuggle theses blackberries into California. We made it to California and declared a peach at the agriculture check point but didn’t find it necessary to declare the huge amount of berries too. Emma was a rock star with the driving. She drove through NorCal and got us to Davis safely. We staying in a motel room there because of our arrival time. It was at this point in the trip that I was getting ready to be home. I get a little barn sour.
August 11, 2010
We awoke refreshed and ready for some adventures in the wonderful city of Davis. Emma and drove to Fairfield to the Jelly Belly Factory to people watch and get some Jelly Belly Flops (the beans that are not quality). We were in a tour group with the most unenthusiastic tour guide ever. I wish that this blog had sound because I can do an excellent impression of her….imagine the most monotone, job-hating, angst ridden teenager you have ever met-times that by 10 and you have our tour guide. It was cool to get to taste the jelly beans at every stage of their making.
After sampling candy to our hearts content, we went back to Davis for the world famous Davis Farmer’s Market. It was so good! We had corndogs from The Hotdogger, awesome peaches from the market and a pretzel croissant that blew my mind. We met up with Chelsea and her fiancé, Blake, and listened to some great music and watched little kids do what little kids do best…dance without reservation. We played games and went to bed pretty early.
August 12, 2010
Feeling ready to hit the road again we travelled to San Francisco and visited the Castro. We walked around for a while and then we went to see the Golden Gate Bridge. We saw the bottom half of it and I was supremely frustrated by driving in San Fran…annoying hills, people, and tourist. I was getting kind of annoyed with everything though…it had been a long couple of days. Emma drove through Monterey and we sat in hours and hours of traffic. We then drove down the 101/1 which was awesome. It is the most scenic route, even if it is very time consuming. We got to the Hearst Castle sea lion beach right at sundown (it was freezing) and decided to continue on to San Diego. The rest of the trip was a haze of sleep, Disney music, and RadioLab. I was delighted to be back in my bed and out of the car, it’s nice to be able to stretch out after so many days of sitting.
For the rest of the photos you can go here...http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202283&id=503376579&l=e99dba49b8
