"That's the whole thing with the hog. It's you and 80 wild horses under your butt, just sitting on 10 square inches where the rubber meets the road. That hurricane gale wind whipping you in the face, leaning into a curve you can feel that gravity wanting to suck you down into it and what do you do? Give it a little more gas. Pure centrifugal force. You can see yourself hurtling ass end over teakettle into oblivion."
Chris,

Northern Exposure

Jaws of Life, 1993

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 
We're at the top of the U.S.!

Well, we drove up the coast Wednesday and got to San Francisco in time for dinner. Had dinner in Chinatown somewhere we couldn't read the menu, then checked out the waterfront, but of course, it was too dark to see anything. We drove around Berkley and found a bar that had karaoke to live music. It was interesting, but no, we didn't sing. Anyway, after camping in the van for the night we headed across the Bay Bridge at 6 a.m. (before some of the commuters, but not all). Had breakfast at a coffee shop, walked with Alex up some major hills to Hyde park, then left her in the van and saw the sea lions and other sights at Pier 39 and the Fisherman's Wharf by day. To Niles' delight, we rode the cable car back up the hill to the van, and visited the cable car museum before hopping back in the van.

After driving around through the Castro district, Haight Ashbury, and through the Golden Gate park, we were over the Golden Gate Bridge. The morning was very foggy so we skipped Muir woods, since we would be headed towards many other redwood parks as we traveled up the coast.

For the first hour we drove on route 1, along the coast. But the road was so curvy we were more woozy than after the Tea Cups at DisneyLand, so we slid over to HWY101 for the rest of the drive. Eventually, 101 and 1 merged and took us along the 'Redwood Highway' which, needless to say, was beautiful. We stopped at the next Redwood park at dusk, and didn't stay long for lack of light. The poor van was too big for the drive-through tree, so we drove around it and walked under it. An hour and a half of driving in the dark and we were at the end of the boring part of the highway, about to enter the Redwood National Park. Here, in Eureka, we stopped for dinner (and a microbrew) and a long, much needed sleep at a hotel.

The next morning, Amie and Alex took a quick jog on the historic waterfront, and then we headed towards Portland through the beautiful Redwood National Forest. Amie and Niles took a short hike through an old growth area, complete with informational stops all along the trail. It was drizzly all day, but we did get to see a quite a few rainbows while driving when the rain picked up. Finally, we left California after lunch in Crescent City, where Niles and Alex walked along the coast while the hugest waves we've ever seen were crashing.

BTW, California is VERY long, top to bottom, for those who don't know. And we drove the whole bit. Whew! Check it off the list; we won't be doing that again.

It was around 8 when we arrived in Portland, staying with one of Niles' Dad's friends, Liz. After resting for the evening, we headed into Portland the next day, home of the best public transit in the country. And the parking meters are great they take credit cards and you can move spots all around the city and still use the time you purchased until it runs out. The train is free in the downtown area. We took it a ways, then took it back to our car. There was a Trailblazers game and tons of people were parking on the outskirts of the free zone and taking the train to the Rose Garden. Niles loves to see things like this working. We walked around quite a few areas of town, the Pearl District (old warehouses turned into art galleries) where we had a fabulous lunch, Chinatown, Old Town and the Skidmore district. Then we drove around the historic part looking at old buildings that have all been renovated and are in use, before hoping on the aforementioned train. After, we drove to the northeast of the city and had the best pub food ever at a local brewery. Good beers, too.

The next morning we said good bye to our friends in Portland, Liz, Darrel, and Ruger (the German Shepard). The drive up to Seattle was pretty foggy, so we didn't see much along the way. Once, we got to Seattle we headed over to Greg and Molly's (friends from Raleigh) to watch the Super Bowl.

This is our last stop before we meet up with folks in the Midwest, so we will let you guys know when we decide where we're off to next.

Don't forget to check out the latest pictures!


Love,
Niles and Amie and Alex