Category: travel
Finally packed and to the airport in San Francisco
November 1, 2016
Car lights on the bridge at twilight
This blog describes our last day on our road trip to the airport. My next one will share what I thought I knew about sleeping on a plane, and the truth.
Packing
I thought that packing everything a couple of weeks ago, then driving to California would make the day of leaving simple and stress free. While I felt less anxious on the days leading up to our departure, the day of our flight was another matter.
We had each packed a large, wheeled duffel bag. They are a great size for holding the clothes, shoes and extras we thought we wanted for 5 months of living…things like umbrellas, cards, extra camera supplies and a roll of toilet paper, which did in fact need on our first night in our hotel. The downside of these bags is that they are heavy due to the hardware of the handle and wheels. We were close for weight at home but had added and deleted a few things on our way. Without a scale, it was difficult to come with an exact measure for the airport weight.
We also had Pete’s golf clubs in their hard case. His shoulder and knee have been feeling much better and he found a golf course and driving range near to our location in Chiang Mai. He was looking forward to a winter of practice. He was also looking forward to a winter of playing his guitar while I was learning to better photo edit. We had checked on line, and the airline stated that both the golf clubs and the guitar would count as checked luggage. Since Air China allowed 2 free checked bags per person, that was a possibility, as long as we weren’t overweight on our other bags.
Guitar on a Plane
I also looked at stories online about how other musicians manage their guitars on flights. Sandwiched on a luggage cart is not really how you want it to travel. Most said that they took it as a carry on, kept the guitar in a soft case, then spoke nicely to someone on the plane about storing it in a coat closet or overhead bin. At the very least, it could be gate checked with the strollers and car seats. If that was possible, then we had space for the extra weight in another checked bag. If it wasn’t then we needed a carry on size bag for the things that might make our bags overweight.
Who would think so much energy could go into solving such a minor problem? In the end, we took along a carry-on size bag that was needed for the 3 kg we were over in our other bags. We checked it with the duffel bags and the golf clubs in the cargo and took our day packs and the guitar onto the plane. For both flights, the stewardesses were more than happy to find a safe place for the instrument to travel in the passenger part of the plane. The only preparation needed was to loosen the strings and Peter wrapped a yoga mat around it inside the bag for extra protection.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Once everything was loaded we began our final drive to the airport. Our flight was at 1:30 am but we wanted to spend a few hour in San Francisco first. Melissa took us on a quieter back road to the Bay area. We joined the 101 and turned west toward the Point Bonita lighthouse.
Pt. Bonita lighthouse
The first few viewpoints were packed with people late on this Saturday afternoon but it didn’t matter as the views from just above the lighthouse were spectacular. You could see back to the bridge and the city, the coastline south and west of the city, as well as the lighthouse. The light is functioning and it is still used by ships to find their way into the harbor through the fog.
City view from the lighthouse
The fog was rolling in along the horizon as we watched the sun begin to set into the clouds. We returned on another road back to the Golden Gate Bridge and drove over it. Knowing the engineering that went into its construction and the number of men who died building it , I am always in awe whenever I get close to it. We found Melissa’s top secret parking place and walked under the bridge for a few more photos of the area at twilight. The fog made the far side disappear at times. There were surfers in the waves that curl around the rocks and the bridge. It had cooled from 25 degrees in Stockton to 16 degrees in SFO, but the wind didn’t feel as cold as usual there. It was a perfect end to our road trip to the airport.
And it’s foggy again
Stockton,California-The last chapter of our road trip to the airport
November 1, 2016
We are already in Thailand, but we were without wifi while we were travelling. I did my writing in my journal and will get them transferred quickly to complete the Road trip to the airport portion of our adventure.
Napa Valley
Napa Valley is a well established wine growing and wine making region in California. It was the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon on our road trip to the airport. We enjoy a particular Beringer Cabernet at home so we went to their estate to check out some other wines.
Beringer Grounds
Two brothers from Germany planted grapes in 1876 and started a winery. It is a beautiful place with gardens and old stone buildings We decided to taste the reserve wines that are normally around $130-150 a bottle. We were curious how they were different. I was surprised that although they have many more layers of flavor, I really prefer my $15 bottle version. I can enjoy it without feeling I need to analyze every swallow.
We carried on our journey for a couple more hours through vineyards and orchards of olives, walnuts, almonds and unknown fruits to our daughter’s house in Stockton. It is a city that services the agricultural industry. The city itself declared bankruptcy a few years ago and now has a reasonable cost of living for rent and houses. There is also, unfortunately, a high crime rate in many parts of the city.
Our daughter teachers Sports Administration at the University of the Pacific, which ironically has been recognized as one of the most beautiful campuses in the USA We like it because her home is a great base to get to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and Calaveras Big Trees State Park that we visited on Wednesday.
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Gigantic base but shallow roots
The Giant Sequoia are related to Redwoods but while not as tall, they contain incredible mass. These trees can grow for over 2000 years. They have certain water and temperature requirements so are only found in small groves on the west side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The guided trail through Big Trees explained how they grow and survive fires due to their branches growing so high up on the trunk and their special spongy bark that can be 2 feet thick. The bark also contains chemicals that make it resistant to burning. These trees are hard to describe. Their branches can be 6 feet in diameter!
Fallen tree from a hundred years ago.
Branches grow at the top
They were exploited in the early 1900’s. Holes were cut so cars could drive through them. A promoter got the idea of stripping off the bark in 6 ft. sections, then reconnecting them in London to show the size of these massive trees. It was a way to make money off a “wonder of the world.” He was surprised at the negative response, which resulted in the failure of his show, but the beginning of a movement to preserve these trees. By 1935, the Giant Sequoia groves were protected areas.
Great for pics but tree is dead at the top
Reclining bench so you can see up to the top of the tree
University of the Pacific
I spent a little time each day walking through the University of the Pacific campus. It really is an oasis in the city. The buildings are 2-3 story brick and most of the campus is only accessed by sidewalks. The roses were still blooming and the community garden had a big row of ripe strawberries. The athletic facilities were extensive and included an outdoor pool. We went there Friday night to cheer on the Tigers playing water polo against Long Beach. I’d never seen this sport played live before. Such athleticism! It was fun cheering with the hometown fans, outside, at the pool in October.
Water polo
Lodi Wines
We enjoyed another wine tasting near Stockton in an area near Lodi. It’s an up and coming wine region for visitors, although there are hundred year old vines still producing grapes. Lodi is where A&W and their famous root beer originated. Now it’s primarily known for its rich and jammy Zinfandel wines. Our daughter is a member at a couple of wineries. She commits to buy 8 bottles of wine through the year, then gets free tastings, with her friends and family…which would be us. We tasted at Peltier Station and M2 and tried a range of wines from sparkling whites and dessert wines to naturally fermented zins and a wonderful port. The views may not be what you get in Napa or the Okanagan, but the tasting rooms have character, the wines are delicious, the stewards know their stuff, and it’s less than an hour from Stockton Unfortunately most of the wines aren’t available in Canada.
One more day and we are on our way. Our California road trip to the airport is almost finished.
Road to the Airport-Seaside, OR to California’s Redwoods
October 29, 2016
After fog and rain for so many days, both at home and on the road, we finally moved into mixed sun and cloud. We drove to the coast of Oregon and arrived in Seaside, OR. We had been there before in the spring as well as in the summer on previous trips. It’s a cozy little town that is geared to visitors. It has never been very busy though, regardless of the season.
If you know me, I tend to prefer to live on the more frugal side of things. Sleeping in a tent in a state park for $20 a night has a satisfying appeal. I decided I wanted to really live it up in Seaside and stay in an ocean front hotel. Usually at this time of year, you can just walk in to a hotel and request a room. The first hotel I tried was doing painting and deep cleaning and didn’t have any rooms left with a view. The second one, the Shilo Inn
Sunset at Seaside
had an ocean front room with our AMA discount for $149 a night. It was reasonable for the location, we decided. When we got to the room, not only did it have an unobstructed view of the ocean and beach, but it had a kitchen and fireplace too! I was ecstatic. Sometimes you just have to decide not to cheap out when you have a chance to take advantage of such a special experience. After a meal of fantastic clam chowder and fresh seafood at Norma’s Diner, we slept with the doors open, listening to the waves crash into the beach.
It was so relaxing there, we decided to stay for 2 nights. We walked along the beach and took pictures. When the ocean showers came along, we sat next to the sliding doors by the deck and worked on pictures and reflections. When the rain stopped, we flew kites on the beach. We bought our own lobster and shrimp to cook for dinner our second night. With only a broiler top and a small fry pan we managed to make a great meal with some creative planning.
How to spend a rainy afternoon at the beach
On our final morning, there was a crowd gathered on the turnaround below our window. Speakers were set up and before we knew it, people were square dancing to a master caller. It was the weekend of the Seaside Sashay. The dancers were all ages and dressed in a variety of styles, but they all knew the steps and were very entertaining to watch. I wish I knew enough to join them. It was so refreshing to see everyone keeping a perfect beat with their feet.
Seaside Sashay below our window
We finally pulled ourselves away from our window and headed down the coast. We had a quick stop in Tillamook at the Cheese Factory. Cheese doesn’t travel well to Thailand, but the pumpkin pie and marionberry ice cream were worth the stop.
Most of the road follows closely along the coastline, which is great for the passenger when you are travelling from north to south. There are long beaches as well as rocky cliffs. We stopped and saw some whales breaching just south of Depoe Bay. They were close enough we could see the puffs of breath and body parts above the water line, but too far away for my camera to really capture them. Some things you just have to take a picture with your mind. We spent the night in our tent in the rain at Carl Washburne State Park. Parts of it were closed, but there were quite a few units and tents staying there.
In the morning, we walked the trail to the beach. The trees were engulfed in moss. There was no one at the beach. We tried to fly the kite, but there wasn’t enough wind. Time at the beach in the morning was a treat we could afford because of our open ended timeline.
There is a working lighthouse at Heceta Head and a nice view looking back up the coast.
Heceta Lighthouse
Oregon Coast road
It was almost dark before we arrived into Northern California where the Red Woods start. The state park was surprisingly called Prairie Creek State Park. The trees are enormous but they just suck up all the light. Day is dark, and night is blacker. We set up near the washroom so we could see the light from it. It was easy to feel like we were all alone, absorbed by the darkness.
The wind in the night sounded like a train up in the trees, although it was quiet at the tent, except for the falling needles and leaves. The rain started about 6:30 am. We planned to wait until it got light to pack up, thinking the big trees would shelter us. We fell back to sleep. By 8, the ground and our tent were saturated and the wind was howling. The umbrellas helped us a little, but it took 2 days for the tent to dry out. We continued to drive south along the 101 with the wind howling out to the water from the inland side. That area received over 6 inches of rain that day. The Pacific Highway #1 is pretty special south of San Francisco but the northern end is very twisty and hilly with few views of the ocean. I’d take the Oregon road anytime instead.
Redwood forest storms
Our search for Hyperion, the tallest redwood was put on hold and we headed to Napa instead to do some wine tasting. Again we were reminded that you can’t control the weather. You always need a plan B in mind. Napa is a pretty tough plan B to take.
Roadtrip to the Airport-Calgary to Mt. St. Helens
October 26, 2016
Before I continue discussing our plans for leaving Canada for Thailand, it seems appropriate to stop and spend some time sharing our roadtrip to the airport. Our daughter lives and works a couple of hours east of San Francisco. She’s the one who we sent off to university in Pennsylvania with a, “you’ll love this new experience!” We wanted to see her before we left so we booked our flight to Chiang Mai from the San Francisco airport. I don’t think we saved much money after we added the travel to get there, but we had a wonderful trip.
A sample screenshot of My Maps of our trip to Utah in March
We spent a few days looking at all the possible routes to California. We have taken most of the obvious ones already. Some are fast, some scenic, some exciting, some are calming. We used Google My Maps to keep track of routes and attractions as well as distances. It looks like regular Maps, but you can include links to campgrounds or hotels. You can also save it in Drive and share it with travelling companions or those at home who want to see where you are going. I decided that I would like a less adventurous trip to relax after all the packing and planning of the previous weeks. We passed up on the trip through Utah and agreed to travel down the Oregon coast.
It was snowy and foggy when we left Calgary. We had taken a day to say goodby to our family there. It was one of those days where you realize that you have been pretty inward looking in planning a trip away without really thinking about what your mother or sister might think about the idea. I realized we were going to be missed quite a lot. We had to be sure that we had an easy means of communication ready to use with family. What’s App is what we will use with our immediate family, and Facebook Messenger should work best for family that don’t use their cell phones much.
We headed west to the mountains. After a quick stop in Canmore to pick up some sandwiches, we took highway 1A, just because we could. Travelling without a set destination or time constraint is wonderful. We had 12 days to make our flight. Highway 93 past Radium and Fairmont was a replay of fall. Leaves were yellow and mixed amongst the dark evergreen. There were so many larch trees in full color. I didn’harealize they grew taht far west. We stopped at St. Eugene’s Mission at Cranbrook for a drink and a tour of the residential school museum. It was sobering to say the least. The building is so magnificent and the story so tragic. Our first night was spent in Sandpoint, Idaho in a hotel, out of the steady rain. The draught beer at $3.50 a pint was definitely a highlight of being in the United States.
Our second day led us through the Columbia Gorge of Oregon. It was busy but a it’s a good road. It was built in the 1920’s to be accessible for Model T Ford’s to drive on a “European Style” touring road. We didn’t get down as far as
Western Washington north side of the Gorge
the waterfall section but crossed the bridge at Cascade Locks and took the back road to Seaquest State Park
Not our “ridiculously good at camping” set up, but it works.
across from the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center. It felt kind of like “Groundhog Day,” experiencing the height of fall all over again. It’s odd having the same season twice in one year.
View of the washrooms from our tent.
There were showers through the night but our tent stayed dry enough. The falling leaves were much larger than the ones at home. We awoke to cloud and mist. After checking out the visitor’s center and watching the movie about Mt. St. Helens eruption, we took the hour long drive up to see the mountain itself. The eruption was in 1980. We visited the area in 2000 when all we could see were stumps of trees twisted off by the force of the explosion and the beginning of regrowth, mostly in the form of fireweed and other wildflowers. I wanted to see what
Regrowth at Mt. St. Helen’s
was growing now.
Weyerhaeurser Forest Company had cleaned out the fallen lumber and replaced it with new trees. They were planted in the late 1983 and will be ready for harvest in 2028.
Even though the fog obscured the peak itself, I was amazed at the natural regrowth of plants within the blast zone.
What used to be a valley of ash and mud
Some of the plants are invasive species that
Some days are just like this.
blew into the area. Many are adaptations of naturally occurring plants. This area is such a great biology lab!
The views were not what we planned, but some days are just like that when you travel. You have to make the best of them by either looking for what is still great about the day, or else having a plan B altogether. I still very much enjoyed our day exploring the area and seeing the changes since our last visit. Our drive to Seaside was an improvement and I will share our time along the Oregon Coast in another edition.