Final road trip update

Internet access was either unavailable (Klamath Falls, OR; June Lake, CA) or ludicrously priced (Reno, NV: $7 an hour) on the last few days of our road trip, so sorry for the lack of updates! When we got back to LA, we were a little tired. The trip was wonderful, but because we were constantly doing things, it wasn't terribly relaxing. Well, June Lake was relaxing, I guess...

Anyhow, Klamath Falls, OR was a typical victim of suburban sprawl. Our motel was on the old downtown side of town. We ate at Wong's Restaurant, which looked like it hadn't changed much since 1941.

We couldn't figure out where all the people were until we hopped on the highway and went another mile south and found the Walmarts and Dennys. We did go bowling that night, which was good times.

On our way back into California, we wandered through a marsh preserve, with more ducks and pelicans than I've seen in my entire life. We also went to the Lava Beds national park, where we were able to wander through a subterranean cave.



The stop for that night was Reno, NV.

Reno is remarkably small. You can walk the entire downtown strip in about 5 minutes. We stayed at the Circus Circus, which had walkways connecting the casino to two other hotels. The casino resort was an interesting contrast to the more rustic, nature-based places we'd been frequenting the past few days, and we've found that an overnight stay in a casino hotel is just right for us. Enough time to take in the sights and see the attractions, maybe hit the buffet. Any more than that, though...well, the cigarette smoke starts to get to ya.


Last stop was at June Lake, CA, one of our most favorite vacation spots. Sigh. Kayaking and swimming in June Lake, visiting the Bodie Ghost town,

hot chocolate at the beautiful Gull Lake, grilling in the evenings,

and...a BEAR at our cabin site.
(Can you see it? Hint: look for its eyes.)
How much better does it get?

Well, after this post, I guess this blog will be going back to its regularly scheduled programming. Since this is a knitting blog, I suppose I will start posting pictures of the project I started on the trip: the Central Park Hoodie. Thanks for reading!

PS. More Bodie photos on my Facebook album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19240&l=de1b2&id=668045780
and some more road trip photots at: http://ucla.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19239&l=11eca&id=668045780

O Canada

O tired. Spent 3 hours at the border today to get back in the US. But I've got a few updates to share. Here's the border crossing into Canada at the Peace Arch:



We arrived in the little mountain town Squamish two days ago. The town was an interesting blend of logging industry, new pricey condos, natural wonders, and cute little shops. We stayed at the August Jack Motel, which was like stepping back into 1973.



Yesterday we went to Victoria, which was a crazy trip: 2 hour drive to the port, 1.5 hour ferry ride (although the boat was really fun), 1 hour bus ride to Butchart Gardens (which were impressive -- and popular), another 30 minutes to downtown to see the Parliament building, and all that in reverse to get back to the hotel.



We uploaded a few more photos here, too:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/complainr/

Oh, here's a major restaurant chain in Canada:



Insert your own obvious joke of choice.

Photos!

Ok, I think I figured out this Flickr thing at last. This link should take you to the photos!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/complainr/

In other news, I finally got a glass of iced tea. I was beginning to think the state of Washington had it in for me.

Wandering around Seattle was fun. We saw the Pike Place Market, which was an awesome visual overload.



Fresh fish,


fresh flowers,


and lots of yummy food.

Later, we took a ferry over to West Seattle and back. Good times. Tomorrow we cross the border!

Day 2: Oregon Vortex, Eugene, and Day 3 pt 1: Seattle

Just made it to Seattle. Our motel room has a certificate on the wall for the "Motel Trespass Program", and I'm not really sure what to make of that. Also, I've discovered that it is really hard to get a decent glass of iced tea outside of So Cal. What's up with that?

Anyway, yesterday we went to the Oregon Vortex...it's like the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot. People seem to get bigger or taller, glasses seem to roll uphill and so on. We got a few weird pictures...see for yourself!

Eugene was pretty interesting...similar to Santa Cruz, lots of hippies and college students, only a little more "low prole." Good Chinese food.

Woke up early this morning to go see Mt. St. Helens (which erupted a scant 4 days after I was born, kthx). The museum there was really good, had a decent documentary running.

Off to go see Seattle. Be back later. Enjoy some pictures: Day 2 and 3!

day 1 photos

I've uploaded them to Flickr...and I have no idea how to link over to them. So let's try this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11341136@N02/sets/72157601434212616/

Day 1: Sacramento, Redding

This is Holley and Chris, writing from Redding, CA. It's day 1 of our long-anticipated, Second Epic Road Trip. First goal is Squamish, a town an hour north of Vancouver. We took the 5 up, which is a really, really boring highway. We stopped in Old Sacramento for lunch, went to the boardwalk and briefly visited the Railway Museum.

On our way to the museum, we ran into a book -- Michael Crichton's Congo -- sitting outside a candy store. It had a yellow sticker on the front, proclaiming it a "traveling book" and directing us to a webiste: www.bookcrossing.com. The website lets you track books that people have tagged and released into the wild. Our book originated from Amarillo, TX. I think we'll take it up to Canada before releasing it again.

In Redding, we visited the biggest sundial in the world, which is attached to a lovely bridge over the Sacramento River.

Sorry there wasn't an update last night. I was having trouble uploading pictures (weak connection to the internets). Hopefully the next hotel will have better internets.

Stay Tuned!

Chris and I are taking our second epic road trip (this time from LA to Vancouver), and starting tomorrow, I'll be updating this blog with pictures and comments from the road!