Kids & Coast
Day 1
The Kids Are Alright
Day 2
The Sound and the Ferry
Day 3
North, West, South
Day 4
Into Oregon
Day 5
Keeping the Show On the Road
Day 6
Back to the Coast
Day 7
Good Luck All Around
Day 8
Through the Trees
Day 9
Across the Golden Gate
Day 10
Around the Bay
Day 11
Last Day Out
August 12, 2008 (day 11)
Crispian and I headed out with no particular place to go and darned if we
didn't get there. A very nice finale to a very nice trip.
August 11, 2008 (day 10)
A day in San Francisco spent walking around the water front then driving
to the Lincoln Hghway's western terminus.
August 10, 2008 (day 9)
A gorgeous drive down the coast then over a fog shrouded Golden Gate.
August 9, 2008 (day 8)
Yes indeed, those trees are big. Today took me along the Newton B Drury
Scenic Parkway and the Avenue of the Giants to the beginnings of CA-1.
August 8, 2008 (day 7)
It must be a good omen when your day starts with a whale sighting. I found
a really cool theater, missed an accident by minutes, and drove a gravel
road without incident. The day ended in Gold Beach, Oregon.
August 7, 2008 (day 6)
I drove some interstate then overcompensated by foolishly fumbling my way
onto some logging roads. Found a very small brewery and a wonderful motel.
August 6, 2008 (day 5)
I met Dave "Keep the Show On the Road" Paul for lunch and he
accompanied me on the east segment of the HCRH. I re-drove the western bit
before that and headed to Mt Hood after. Surprise bonuses included a
commercial filming and a high class "car show". A very full day
that resulted in a page with what I believe is a record number of photos.
August 5, 2008 (day 4)
I crossed into Oregon at Astoria and followed the coast to just past
Seaside. I then left US-101 for US-26 and headed to the Historic Columbia
River Highway.
August 4, 2008 (day 3)
I made it around the northern edge of the peninsula and started down the
coast. Wood was the day's theme with one big wooden burger and big
(wooden!!) trees everywhere.
August 3, 2008 (day 2)
As Noah would say, "Anyway, there was this big boat..." We rode the big
boat to the big city (but just the edge) for a visit to the aquarium. Had
a great time and got some photo help from Little Fletch.
August 2, 2008 (day 1)
I caught up on my sleep just a little then headed around the sound to
visit my son and his family. On the way, I got a look at the new bridge at
Tacoma Narrows.
Prelude 2 - July 21, 2008
Things have become rather firm since April. The next thing nailed down was
the return flight on August 13. Next was a "crash pad" for my
late night arrival and a couple of nights lodging at each end of the
drive. The middle of the trip wobbled a bit until a plan for the Historic
Columbia River Highway took shape. The "King of Roads" was
always part of the agenda but I wasn't sure which part. Big time
American
Road Forum poster Dave Paul (a.k.a, Keep the Show on the Road) lives
in Olympia and I hoped to connect with him for some pie and coffee. In the
middle of an otherwise innocent exchange about motels and such Dave slid
in "I might prefer connecting along the Historic Columbia River
Highway (HCRH)...". Shazam! Things started to firm up and then, in
another message I read "...consider instead backtracking to Hood
River, then going over the shoulder of spectacular Mt Hood...". Huh?
Mt Hood? I didn't even realize that Mt Hood was anywhere close. Things jelled quickly. The historic Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood was booked solid but I obtained a room near by for Wednesday, the day I'd drive the HCRH. From there I booked rooms for before and after and soon had all but a couple of night's pillows reserved. Not too spontaneous, I know, but I can live with that.
I still have a couple of unreserved nights near the end of the trip but I'm pretty sure I know where they'll be and I've added a third night to my San Francisco lodging so I'll have two full days with Cris. The route has become firm enough for me to post the locator map - something that's been happening post-trip on recent outings. I'm psyched.
Prelude 1 - April 22, 2008
The "kids" are my two sons, both in their thirties, who live in
Seattle and San Francisco and the coast is, duh, that stretch twixt the
two. It's a stretch that I've heard good things about and a rare visit
with the offspring is the perfect excuse... er, opportunity... to drive
it. Fletcher is a Navy journalist currently stationed at Bremerton. He
will be reassigned later this year so I best be taking advantage of that
opportunity soon. Crispian's the one in San Francisco. He does something
involving advertising and a Mac. He's not planning on relocating any time
soon but he might just take off for awhile. You know how those Mac folks
are.
I'll fly to Seattle and visit Fletch & family for a couple of days then head around the Olympic peninsula and down the coast on US-101. I do intend to turn away from the ocean for a day to drive the Columbia River Highway. I also intend to drive across the Golden Gate for the first time ever then spend a couple of days with Cris before flying home. I have booked the outbound flight for August 1 but haven't quite decided on the return date yet. It will likely be Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week.