United States of America…again (well times three and four at least). Upon returning from Iceland we landed into Seattle. The initial plan was to drive around for a while and explore, but that was before times one and two. We decided that the country was too big and since we were doing some driving in Canada and then the United States later (time four), that we should just have a sneaky break in Iceland for a week and relax in Seattle and Portland – which, obviously, we did.
For our first visit to Seattle we experienced the drizzle – which apparently happens most of the year (much like Vancouver). We did a walking tour of the city (you must know by now that this is our favourite thing to do in a new city); Pike Place market, the waterfront, pioneer square. Then, we did a second walking tour, of the historic city – with all the stories about how the city started as a logging town, then it burnt down (just in time) for it to set itself up as a gold mining town (i.e. sell goods to the gold miners as they head up to Alaska and Canada), and how it progressed to today. Both tours were very enjoyable (one in the rain and one is the, well, overcast skies), but I think that Laurence enjoyed the market and the food the most. We watched cheese being made, we bought freshly made mac’n’cheese, we ate German sausages, and generally had a great time looking at the giant seafood for sale. I do have to admit that for our third day we headed over to Bainbridge Island where I proceeded to do some wine tasting. I think that after not being able to afford drinks in Iceland (they were about $15 USD per glass!!!) that I was a bit of a light weight. But Laurence helped me home and I felt sorry for myself in the morning.
A short bus ride down to Portland set us up for a new state (two in one trip!). We only had a couple of days and we had booked a place with a washing machine and dryer – we were so excited, clean clothes!!! After cleaning everything that we owned, we went and did a walking tour. The guide was extremely funny and very informative. I can’t really tell you what we saw as Portland is a small place and there isn’t really anything famous there. However, the food and cider is well worth the visit. After our walking tour we proceeded to the cider testing station, I deposited my Laurence for a warrant of fitness and approximately 4 hours later he had been filled with 24 different types of cider. He was so happy that I had to take him home for a nap.
Fast-forward past Vancouver and Alaska and voila, Lindsay, Rosanne, Laurence, and I fly into Seattle. Having already been to the city, Lindsay and Rosanne have wonderful tour guides to show them the most important bits. We head into town to eat a delicious breakfast, wander through the Pike Market, and then spent an inordinate amount of time at the mobile store as Laurence wanted a SIM card so that we could navigate on our drive down the coast to San Francisco (a great idea, but it was not working so well). Now, being the world travellers that we are, we have a lot of phones to choose from. Its just that almost none of them work in USA or Canada (recall us spending a couple of days in Vancouver getting a phone that works there?). In the end, the store let us buy a SIM and leant us a phone for the two weeks that we were going to be in the country; we did not pay a deposit, we just had to promise that we would drop it off to them when we got back to Seattle!
In Portland, once again, Rosanne and Lindsay have expert guides. We also head to places that previously could not have been reached on foot – having a rental car is the best. We took a small look around the city, we headed over to the Japanese Gardens, we looked around the outside of a really old house (it closed 5 minutes before we arrived – sorry Rosanne!) and generally we just hung out and cooked dinner together.
The adventure begins; the drive down the old Highway 101 and along the coast. It is a lot of driving for Laurence but were sure that he was up to the task. I cannot really explain to you what it was like, you will just have to do it yourself one day, but I will try. The coastline is rugged, the spray, mist, and wind rolls in. The colours of the ocean are very blue and the colours of the trees re very green, the contrast is startling. The grass is brown, don’t look down.
We stopped in Crescent City for the night before heading into the Redwood Forests and walking/driving around. The trees are massive; not only tall but very thick.
It was a peaceful day which started in so much fog that you couldn’t see the corner ahead of you and ended in a fire which was coming disturbingly close to our accommodation. Apparently, someone’s trailer/caravan caught on fire on the side of the road, as I said before – the grass is dry and brown, the grass caught fire, the hill caught fire, the valley caught fire, and on it went. We could see the smoke, but we were a couple of valleys away and the fire was moving in the other direction. We kept an eye on the news and warnings as we tried to cool ourselves down in the 30 something degree heat – California is hot in the summertime!
We started the next day with wine – we had made it to Napa!! Lindsay and I had a couple of appointments at wineries to give them a try, Rosanne had a few sips along the way, and Laurence was our sober driver. I know a lot is said of Napa, but I found that the wine is extremely expensive. French wine is famous as well, but you can still find some really good stuff for under $50. I did like some of the wine, however, the price stopped me from buying it.
Last big drive day – San Francisco here we come. I have been wanting to come here for years, I think it was the same for Lindsay and Rosanne. Laurence just knew that there was lots of tech stuff there, not much about the city itself. Our first attempt at the Golden Gate Bridge did not work out as planned. We thought that we would drive over it on our way into the city. We drove over a big, double storied bridge – but it was not THE bridge.
So, we are in a new city, ready to go, looking to explore – yip, we did a walking tour on the first morning. It was very interesting listening to the United States approach to dealing with big companies/corporations when building within the city. The quick version is that the city wants people to be able to see the sky and to have spaces and areas within the city that they can go to have lunch and relax. They city negotiates with the companies in order to get those things (i.e. they can build higher if they build something else lower, they can have a concession if they build a space for the public, etc.). The problem is that, in the past, companies haven’t quite met the expectations of the city (they have met the requirements, but not is the true sense of what was desired). The spaces are hidden, have no seats, or on the roof. The people do not know where they are and so the spaces aren’t used, which is apparently what the company wants. The city is getting better at these deals, but they are not fixing any of the old agreements. The city is scared of the big companies/corporations from leaving the city. It just seems so backwards.
For our remaining time in the city we hit all of the top tourist attractions; fisherman’s wharf, the golden gate bridge, twin peaks (a hill overlooking the city), the cable car, the painted ladies, and Lombard street.
My favourite place was Alcatraz, where we spent most of a day. One of the prisoners was there promoting a book that he wrote about his life and his life in Alcatraz. It was a fascinating place, the book was an interesting read, and the narrative that they provide was interesting. If you are going to San Francisco, Alcatraz would be my must-see place.
We even drove around the ‘tech’ part of the city – a tour of sorts for Laurence.
After dropping Lindsay and Rosanne of at the airport we started the drive back to Seattle. It took us 5 days to get down there and we would take two to get back, after stopping in Sonoma for the day (more wine!). Even though I started drinking earlier, I found that I enjoyed the wine in Sonoma more than in Napa. All up we went to two wineries, but everything I tried was good.
On our first drive day we made it all the way to Vancouver, Washington (so we drove all the way through Oregon). However, on the way up we stopped at a drive-through wildlife safari park (like the one we went to in Texas). Guess what? We SAW bears! Yes, they were in an enclosure, yes, they were not wild, but we got pretty close and they were real. Next time, we want to see them in the wild.
From Vancouver it was only a few short hours to Seattle. We dropped off the rental car, returned the telephone (with a box of beer to saw thank you), and headed up to Vancouver, Canada for work. The time has come, we need to get jobs…