San Diego Trumps All

My favorite stop of this entire journey was San Diego. The first 3 nights we stayed at the coolest hostel ever, located right on Pacific Beach. Nightly beer pong tournaments and free bbq's led to a ton of fun on the beach. The weather was simply perfect, the people were beautiful and tan, and the city itself was just pretty and easy to travel. The next night we stayed in the Gas Lamp Quarter, which gave us walking access to the downtown area and Balboa Park.

So Southern California as a whole has been the highlight of the trip thus far (and came in perfect timing as the funds have run dry, home is in the near-future). Leaving San Diego presented the decision of where to stop along the southern part of the US. Based on my bank account and lack of interest in much more, I decided just to hightail it to the next free place I had to sleep (about 2,200 miles away Austin, Tx). The drive was long and took me just along the southern border, with nothing to look at but tumble weed and cactus after cactus. The most entertainment I had along the way were the very nerve-racking border patrol stops (similar to a DUI checkpoint, but clearly with different intentions). There were 3 of them along the way, which I obviously successfully completed.

Arriving in Austin, I hadn't seen my "free tour guide" in years, so while playing a solid game of catch-up, he showed me the city. I enjoyed the couple-of-day stay, but was interested in heading east, hoping to catch the end of the World Series in Tampa. When that proved to be a lost cause, Atlanta was the final destination on my journey. I am currently staying with a good friend, avoiding the reality of home as long as possible. And essentially that is where it all ends.

Star Studded Bright Lights

The journey down the beautiful coastline of California has been simply amazing. The dramatic coastlines, the constant sunshine, and the friendly people have all made the journey perfect.

After stopping in a few little coastal towns, Los Angeles was home for 4 days. First of all, the hostel that we stayed in was by far the coolest accommodations thus far. Right on Broadway, the location was just perfect. We tried walking the city the first day, which although we walked for miles, we didn't see all there was to be seen. So the next day, we took a tour provided by the hostel that showed us the likes of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air's home, the Hollywood sign, Kat Von D's studio, the place where Biggie Smalls was murdered, Venice Beach, The store where Wynonna Ryder was caught red-handed, The park where George Michael was caught full-handed, and Rodeo Drive. That list could actually go on for days (the tour was 6 hours long), and was a fabulous way to be shown the city. Even before the tour, I had decided that LA is the first of my destinations that I could really envision living in. The star studded history in entertaining, (and I'm sure that I would probably be the only person moving there without fame on my list of ambitions) but the city as a whole is top on my list at this point.

Although I have zero desire to become famous, we did end up being interviewed for a TV show, and played as extras in a movie. The TV show interview was a random stop on Venice Beach. While watching one of the many street performers, we were approached by a television crew and asked if we wanted to be interviewed for their show. Of course we said 'yes', and the interview went on while I stumbled over words, turned bright red out of nerves, and started sweating profusely as though the camera itself was emitting 110 degrees worth of heat. I should've learned then that I wasn't cut out for the pressure of cameras, but when we arrived back at the hostel that night, they just happened to be in the middle of shooting a film. We were promised as extras, a free meal and drinks, so naturally I took one more stab at an acting career. My EVER-SO-IMPORTANT role required me to fake-conversate with the guy next to me, laughing and giggling as if what we were mouthing was funny. This was a serious challenge, but I'm almost certain that this GIANT role could lead to my big brake (where I would inevitably fail miserably again on camera). Regardless, the experience was fun, the pizza was delicious, and I have now played a role in a movie-wahoo!

I Was Robbed...

...and although I am ok, as well as my car, I have officially been robbed while travelling. After cruising the astounding California Rt 1 coastal highway for the last few days, a random stop in Calabasas (just outside of LA) which was only meant for a good nights sleep, some laundry, and a grocery store...has turned into a horrendous idea! While the load of white laundry was in the only washing machine, I was in the pool trying to fix my transparent skin tone. Instead, I should've been guarding the wash room with all of my might. The load of darks that I was waiting to wash (I am 1 of 4 people checked into this hotel so I wasn't concerned for the safety of my grimy attire) was sitting in the laundry room (directly adjacent to the pool)-MISTAKE. Not only did some low-life steel my clothing, I can't even say that they stole ALL of my clothing-they weeded through the bag and kindly left my under ware (took the bras, left the drawers). WOW!..& to think...these are the people that we share the earth with-blah!

California Highway 1

From Portland, I flew back into Oakland. Thankfully no one had taken off with my home (the pathfinder) and she was in just as good shape as when I left it. The sunshine was shining strong, with nothing but an easy drive (breaking it up every day with minimal driving in between) down the coast of a beautiful state in front of me.

Santa Cruz was the first stop. Some random little motel gave me a bed for the night and were probably the friendliest people I've ever met. The motel was conveniently located just 2 blocks off of the boardwalk (every tourist's dream & every local's employment). The view was really the best of both worlds, every amusement ride you could dream of with some sort of greasy delicious food stand adjacent, and the open ocean, with just enough beach to tempt anyone, lining it all. A soft pretzel and a couple games of bowling later and it was time to rest my little eyes and prepare for the next stop, Monterey, Ca.

On the way to Monterey, it seemed as though we were in the middle of nowhere-land. There was nothing around but miles and miles of crops (oh and the 1,000+ men-and I'm sure women-hunched over picked and boxing them). This scenery was somewhat poetic and every bit repulsive. However, it soon became clear what the primary crop for this part of the country happens to be, and I just so happen to have a love affair with it...THE ARTICHOKE (Castroville is apparently "The Artichoke Center of the World"). mmmm! mmmmm! This delicious treat seemed to be most commonly deep fried at all of the local eateries, so I resisted every bit of temptation and kept on keepin on.

Suddenly the crop-field-after-crop-field turned into hillside ending abruptly (yet perfectly) at oceanfront. WOW! And this is where we are staying for the next 2 nights. Monterey, CA. I booked a room not quit as conveniently located as it could be, based on the price and the pictures on a certain hotel-wrangling-web-site. I pulled up to "broke down palace" all blue. This shack of a motel was blinding to anyone, but the first thing that was truly upsetting was the fact that a decrepit washer and drier unit from 1807 were sitting in the middle of the parking lot (you see, laundry had become a necessity at this point, and the phone call that I had placed to the establishment the night before had not only assured me of laundry facilities-but also the pool that was MIA). Suddenly I felt my skin start to boil as I went in to check-in with the (lying bastard) owner. Oh wow, I think this is when that expression-"the shit hits the fan"-is defined-if you will. (sorry for the foul mouth to save the eyes and ears of all I will refrain from telling what happened inside the man's office and skip to the ending)...so I was chased out of the office with my life flashing before my eyes...and went to the hotel next door to book a room for the night. When I shared the events of the last 10 minutes with the lady at this H-otel, she assured me that her relationship with the owner next door could only be described by 4-letter words, though she shared this with me, smile on her face (%50 of her business comes from the people like me who have been chased out of that retched place).

In the end, we drove around a little more to find a better location and a better price-aka a little piece of heaven, just blocks off the beach and a warm, welcoming front desk. This morning, my laundry is done, belly is full of free continental breakfast and coffee, and I plan on laying by the pool before exploring all that Monterey and Pacific Grove have to offer.

Rainfall For All

From Seattle, we took the Amtrak coastal train down to Portland. The ride itself was a beautiful breakin-in for Amtrak newbies.

Portland itself had a great feel to it. The city was super easy to navigate, and public transit could get you anywhere. Although buses and light rails were options, we chose to navigate the streets ourselves and explore via walking. The first day the trek to get to the Greek Fest took us about 3 hours. Sounds as though we hiked a marathon, but in reality the weather was so atrocious, we had to stop off for cover every few blocks. Soaking wet, we arrived at the Greek Fest only to find that this "festival" was as big as 2 or 3 food stands and a shop selling kalamata olives. Don't get me wrong, I love a good kalamata olive, but our destination was a little disappointing. It all proved to be ok, because along the way we met some really great people.

One thing I found to be interesting, in Oregon it is legal to gamble, in the name of the lottery. You still never win, but instead of losing your money to some sort of casino, they continuously remind you that your hard earned money is being reinvested back into their economy to do things like plant trees or save wildlife. (I think that was maybe just the strategic angle that they took so that fools like me would continuously "reinvest") All in all the trip was fun. The parts of the city we saw (missed some "must-sees" due to "don't-go-outside" kind of weather) were really appealing. The city itself is larger than I anticipated, and could easily go unnoticed due to the very "neighborhoody" vibe it gives off.

In conclusion, I really think I would relocate to the pacific northwest if it didn't include so much precipitation in life.

Though sad to leave San Fran, I couldn't wait to board the plane. The car was left behind, and the next journey is by air, train, and bus. First stop, Seattle, WA.

Seattle proved to be a really cool city. Although it had the big-city-metropolitan feel, it really wasn't very big at all. In fact, everything that we did and/or saw was walking distance. Our hostel did place us in a pretty prime location. The view from our window was looking at Pike's Market, the fish slinging market with well-built males wearing fisherman garb tossing giant fish back and forth. Of course the space needle was on the to-do list, as well as taking a peek at one of the most bizarre buildings that I have ever witnessed, the Experience Music Project building. I think I'm inclined to love this city so much because they have more public works of art per capita than any other city in the world. One of them is the Fremont Troll. He sits under a bridge (obviously he's a troll) and is this giant sculpture made out of concrete. (Fremont is the only American city that has tried to secede from the US twice in the last 15 yrs)

Walking the town, along the water, under beautiful sunny skies, you couldn't help but notice the enormous homeless population. The multitude of "drug-exchanges" I watched were a little intimidating & I can't say I've figured out why this seemed to be so prevalent. However, the city just had such a great vibe to it (from the not-so-cranked-up-on-illegal-drug part of the population), that I think it is one of my favorite stops so far. We did take the underground walking tour which told the story of the city (the original Seattle) that is built 12 ft. under the modern-day-Seattle. The history behind all of that was really interesting, and really just amounted to the original settlers being somewhat lazy and trying to build a town on marshland. After the great Seattle fire burned down the city (whom hadn't yet figured out how to deal with sewage) it was decided by half the town to build the city higher, in order to deal with the sewage problems. The other half wanted to rebuild instantly and since the building-it-higher people were going to take a decade, they didn't work together. So there were two separate Seattles being built simultaneously. The end result has left an entire part of the city underground. This kind of city history is part of what my exploration of this country is all about and I don't think it gets any cooler than that!

From SLC to SF

The quick trip (although it was so far from quick we were entertaining ourselves with American idol singing competitions and fashion shows by the end) from Moab to SLC would only have been entertaining to a human-fly-on-the-wall. By the time we were there and pulled up to the hostel (homeless shelter) that we had booked, we both looked at the place and went sprinting in the opposite direction. So we broke down and stayed in some motel with 3 deadbolts featured in the amenities.

After SLC, came Lake Tahoe. I think I have found my new vacation destination for all times. I had booked some $30/night room prior to arriving that has ended up to be my most favorite accommodations up to this point. The joint catered to all, exactly on the California/Nevada state line and simply across the street from the beautiful and massive Lake Tahoe. Aside from the ridiculous views (lined by all mountains in the background), literally anyone could entertain themselves here (and I won big on the tables). Enough "gambling-on-a-budget" on to San Fran.

I have forever been told that San Fran is the place to be by all I know that have been. I think that I can agree. The rolling streets (aka mountains) are somewhat intimidating when facing them face-on, but the view from afar is brilliant. The hostel was in the heart of North Beach (centrally located in betweeen downtown, Chinatown, fisherman's wharf, and more nude bars than I have ever seen). Carefully avoiding all of the well-lit arenas of barely dressed women, we saw all of the touristy and not-so-touristy hot spots. The "big expensive splurge" was the tour by cruise ship around the bay area getting the low-down on places like Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Although that was well worth the money spent, the city also had tons of things to do for free, and the hostel put on various shows and/or free dinners for the good of all. Even just a random walk turned into all kinds of fun and free entertainment. (on the way to Chinatown we passed a crowd of about 50 men and women dressed (or undressed) wearing items such as chaps &NOTHING ELSE or maybe a color around their neck & NOTHING ELSE) Apparently we had stumbled upon a festival full of about 10,000 people celebrating their love for leather. Though I didn't have the guts to traverse the entrance and wander inside, the sites to see along the street were so shocking you just had to stare.

So while I was staring, jaw dropped to the floor, you could clearly get a feel for who was a local to San Fran and who wasn't. The tourists were drenched in their own drool (only in shock while jaws are scraping the ground) while the locals just kept on walking. This only goes to show that anything really goes in this city. Diversity is everywhere. Artists out-number taxi cab drivers. Dreaded and non-dreaded haired folk walk the streets with joint in hand. Friendly faces are around every corner. What isn't to love when everyone is loved?