1 Mile Down....9999 More To Go: April 2005

It's Popping Time

Day #104

Ouch...Today I woke up much earlier than any other day on my trip so far, and probably early than any day still to come. That's ok. I had a lot of fun. Today we drove to Sandy, Oregon to pop kettle corn at a car show. Most of the cars were old cars but there were a couple of very new and improved cars as well. Most of the cars were very cool. I don't know very much about cars, old or new, but they were still fun to look at. My favorites were the old pick-up trucks. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of any of them. The day started off a little slow so I got to learn a new game. The all of a sudden people started coming and they just kept coming. It was a little crazy at times but not too bad. I guess that's a good thing when you're in business.

Kettle Corn Set-Up

Old Cars

Baby Car

I Don't Know What This Guy Was Thinking

Girls Day Out

Day #102

Today Aunt Tana and I took off for Mt. Saint Helens. The mountain itself was pretty cool. We could actually see a puff of smoke coming out of the top of it. If you look closely at the picture you can tell the difference between the clouds (which there were a lot of) and the smoke. Again, we had to wait for the clouds to disappear before we got a really good look at the top but we saw what we went to see. We each took a ridiculous amount of pictures because every time we moved or the clouds moved it seemed to make for a better picture. Thank goodness for digital cameras. My favorite part of the day was not the time we spent at the mountain but the drive to and from the mountain when we got to catch up on a lot of things that we miss living 3000 miles apart. We should really do something about that...I'm not sure what though.

Mt. Saint Helens

Mt. Hood

Day #100!!!

Today Uncle Rog took the day off of work and we went up to Mt. Hood. We took the scenic road up which was really nice. When we got up to the mountain we walked around Timberline Lodge, an absolutely beautiful building. We saw a video about the making of the lodge which was pretty interesting. The building was constructed during the depression and many of the workers were unskilled laborers who learned as they went along. There was some really beautiful wood and iron work. Outside it was a lot nicer than I was expecting, temperaturewise. We waited for a while to see if the clouds would move enough so we could see the tip of the mountain. Patience paid off.

After a while Aunt Tana decided to make snow angels. She's crazy. After snow angels something happened that made me very disappointed in my uncle. My uncle and I had been taking pictures of the beautiful snow angels being made. When my aunt was done she got up (with a snowball in hand) and told my uncle to put the camera down. Now I understand that he probably didn't see the snowball but still. At first he put the camera down on the stone wall seperating us from my aunt. She then told him to but the camera behind the wall. He didn't get it so I took it from him. He was very willing to hand it over. Only as the snow came flying towards him did he get what had just happened. I'm not sure why but I guess I expecting more from him. To his credit he did deflect the snowball.

Me, Aunt Tana and Mt. Hood

Timberline Lodge

Snow Angel

Rejected!

The Secret Ingredients

Day #98

Don't worry mom and dad. I now have a back-up plan. Today I learned the secrets to the family business. Before we went out and about Aunt Tana and Uncle Rog gave me a very detailed demonstration on how to pop kettle corn. It looks like hard work but all those flavors smell and taste so good. What a set-up. I was definitely impressed. After we popped some corn I got an insiders tour of Portland. We went to the University of Portland where my aunt and uncle pop for women's soccer games. We drove through the trendy section of the city and drove around the AAA baseball stadium. Our final stop on the tour was Uncle Rog's job, which my aunt had never seen either. All in all very nice cubicle.

Kettle Corn

Crater Lake...I Think

Day #97
Tripometer: 12286.6 miles
Mile #12000: Glide, Oregon

I tried to go see Crater Lake, Oregon's only National Park. That plan didn't work out so well. I'm told that the lake is there. I'm not sure I believe though because all I saw was snow, trees and fog. I guess I'll have to come back to check on this supposed lake.

My View Of Crater Lake

After my oh so thrilling visit to Crater Lake I made my way to Portland to visit my Uncle Roger, Anut (I know it's spelled wrong) Tana and her mom Polly. I'm excited to be in one place for a while again and what better place to be.

Creepy

Day #96
Tripometer: 11864.8 miles

As suggested by my Aunt Tana I went to check out the Oregon Vortex and the House of Mystery. The area's history goes back to the Native Americans who referred to it as The Forbidden Ground. Basically the Oregon Vortex is a whirlpool of force that results in strange visual and perceptual phenomena. It is completely understood why this happens but I swear it does. Things and people seem to change size as they walk in and around the House of Mystery. It was a very cool experience but I was very frustrated that I couldn't figure out why this was happening. Matt, you would love this place.

House Of Mystery

You Would Have To Raise The Far Side Corner Of The House Over 8 Ft In Order To Make It Even With The Near Corner

Crooked House

After visiting the vortex I drove towards Crater Lake and found a place to stay for the night. I ended up in a little town called Prospect. I talked to the man who ran the hotel and was asking him about a place to eat. His response..."Well, we only have 1 place. The cafe. It's good but I should tell you, it's also a trophy room so you might bang your head on a deer." I thanked him for the warning and decided that I didn't have much of a choice. He also suggested that I go to Karaoke Night at the bar next door the cafe. At some point in our conversation I asked him how many people live in Prospect. His response..."Well go see the karaoke and count how many teeth you see. Multiply that by 10 and you'll be close." Interesting little town.

Talk About Beautiful

Day #95
Tripometer: 11627.3
Mile #11500: Ft. Bragg, California

Before I said goodbye to San Francisco I had to go check out Lombard St, the "crookedest street". I was impressed but mostly confused...who on earth would want to live there.

Relections on San Francisco
- The weather was really great. It was a little windy but not too bad.
- The hills are ridiculous. If there are people who live here who are out of shape, they are crazy.
- I was not all that impressed. The architecture was really great but other than that it just seemed like a more expensive, less exciting version of NYC.

Those are just my thought. Check it out for yourself if you want.

After leaving the city I headed north along the coast. I made a brief stop at Muir Woods and walked around a little. I drove the rest of the way up California on Hywy 1, which is definitely a slow route but totally worth it. The view is incredible. The colors are so bright and pure.

Ballpark #4

Day #94
Tripometer: 11314.4 miles

Today I took my official ride on a cable car (something I figured I had to do when in San Francisco) which was more fun than I thought it would be. The best part was at the end of the line when I got to see how they turned the cable car around. I then walked to Union Square and listened to some musicians and watched some hippies (old and new) dance. I walked around China Town, got some food and then headed to SBC park to watch the Giants play the Diamondbacks. The ballpark is amazingly beautiful. The views from the park were really something. The game itself was ok but the best part was the woman, Jill, who was sitting next to me. We of course started talking and it turns out that she and her husband were in San Francisco on vacation. They also live in NJ (again...small world). She was asking all sorts of questions about my trip and my plans for when I get home. She was wonderful, a lot of fun. She ended up buying me a hot dog for dinner and a bright orange Giants hat as a souvenir. She made me promise to get in touch with her when I got back to NJ and offered to set me up with her stepson who is also a die-hard Yankee fan. I love meeting new people.

Cable Car

SBC Park

Alcatraz

Day #93

Today I walked from my hostel to Fisherman's Wharf to get a ticket so that I could check out Alcatraz Island. I had a couple of hours to kill before my boat was scheduled to leave so I walked around Pier 39. There were a lot of stores to check out (most of which I passed on), cable cars passing by, great views of the Golden Gate Bridge, people performing, and sea lions.

Golden Gate Bridge

Sea Lions

Beautiful Boat

Alcatraz itself was so cool. I loved the history and the mystery of the building. I took an audio tour of the prison which was told by a combination of a narrator and past inmates. I was impressed with the inclusion of the imprtance of the island to Native Americans. It was a little bit of an afterthought but I guess most people who come to Alcatraz aren't there to hear about the Native American occupation of the island. They're more interested in Al Capone, the Birdman of Alcatraz and escape attempts.

Alcatraz

A Cell

"The Hole"

Golden Gate Park

Day #92
Tripometer: 11291.9 miles

The weather in California is fantastic. I love it. I spent the day in Golden Gate Park. First I walked around the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens and checked out some very beautiful flowers. I've been seeing a few days just looking at flowers, something I didn't think I would like but it's really relaxing and beautiful. Maybe when I get back I'll try to learn more about what I've grown to like so much. I think it might make the experience more fun if I knew what I was looking at.

Pretty Flowers

After the arboretum I went to the Japanese Tea Garden which was really cool. I loved the all landscaping, plants and statues. It was a very comforting and soothing place.

Then, because I won't be able to for much longer I went to the Warriors game. They were playing the Lakers so I thought it would be fun to hear what west coast basketball fans would yell at Kobe Bryant. It was.

Ballpark #3

Day #91
Tripometer: 11249.7 miles

On my way to spend a few days in San Fransisco I decided to stop and watch an afternoon baseball game in Oakland. It was a great day, weatherwise. The A's are a fun young team to watch. The stadium itself was very nice. I thought it was fun that the bullpens were on the field and a ball boy had to get up everytime a pitcher warmed up so that he could protect them. The guys in Oakland need some help designing their parking lots. It took me almost 2 hours just to get out of the lot. It was ridiculous. Finally I made my way to San Fransisco, found a place to stay and got me some dinner.

McAfee Stadium

Make New Friends

Day #90

Today I did some serious hiking. I was really impressed with myself. I hiked to the top of the Vernal Falls and then to the top of the Nevada Falls. It was really incredible. It was a sunny day which was good because you get a little wet at some spots but it felt good. The hike took a lot out of me but it was totally worth it. The waterfalls were gorgeous. The plan going into the hike was to make a complete loop so that I wouldn't have to climb down the waterfalls. That plan didn't exactly work out. At some point the rest of the trail was closed because of all the snow so unfortunately I had to climb down. Not a lot of fun. But I took my time and as you can guess I made it down in one piece. I went back to the lodge for dinner and met a guy named Tim from NJ who is also taking some time to see the country after graduating. Small world.

I Hiked All The Way Up There

1 Mile Down....9999 More To Go

Saturday, April 30, 2005

It's Popping Time

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Girls Day Out

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Mt. Hood

Sunday, April 24, 2005

The Secret Ingredients

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Crater Lake...I Think

Friday, April 22, 2005

Creepy

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Talk About Beautiful

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Ballpark #4

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Alcatraz

Monday, April 18, 2005

Golden Gate Park

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Ballpark #3

Saturday, April 16, 2005

Make New Friends

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