After being absent from this blog for several months, I've decided to return to it with a new vigor! What is to follow on this blog is a collection of my random thoughts. Subject matter may include anything from my critiques on a recent movie to my philosophical perspective on life to a synopsis of a crazy day. I anticipate writing on this blog at least once a week, like clockwork. There's always a million random things floating around in my head, and my hope is to start getting some of them down in writing. Unfortunately, I don't practice this art enough....but I'm going to make my best effort to start. I have a lot of things to say, and a lot of insight to provide. There are things I want to accomplish with this blog, that go beyond just a random outpouring of thoughts. I look forward to sharing my ideas with you, and my hope is to not only entertain my followers, but start to put certain goals into action.
Peace and love,
Jer
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
I Left My Heart in San Francisco...
I woke up this morning, returned the rental car, and decided to walk down to Fisherman's Wharf for the day. My hotel is conviently located between Fisherman's Wharf and AT&T Park (both within walking distance), so that worked out perfectly.
I decided today that if anyone needs to lose a little bit of extra weight, just walk around San Francisco for a couple of days and you'll burn off calories that you didn't even know you had on you!! Walking up those hills are brutal!!! I made sure to stop by the famous crooked street on Lombard St. before making it to the Wharf. After taking that site in, I made it to the Wharf (via Hyde Street) near Ghiradelli square. I found the first decent looking place to eat, because by this point I was starving!! I decided on Capurro's and ordered fried calamari and one pound of dungeness crab! Delicious! (Although, looking back on it, I wish I would have grabbed a bowl of clam chowder in sourdough bread, because each one of those I saw looked absolutely delicious!). I also stumbled upon an In-N-Out Burger in Fisherman's Wharf, and after a couple more hours of walking, I went in for the real deal, the double double (I couldn't resist!). The views of Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay were quite marvelous from each and every pier, even though the Golden Gate bridge was semi-covered in clouds (how those only clouds in the sky consumed the bridge and nothing else around it still baffles me).
After the wharf, I walked back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before the game. I decided to be good and get to AT&T Park a couple of hours before the game to avoid crowds (because I kept seeing people with Giants gear walking that direction rather early, which scared me). I made it to the park around 5 and the game didn't start til 7:15. I was quite surprised to see the entire city of San Francisco waiting in ridiculous lines to get in!!! I completely forgot it was free snuggie night to the first 20,000 fans, and I didn't realize just how serious people get about snuggies! It was a complete shit show (haha, to coin the phrase from our Baltimore trip!).
Another thing I found rather funny was the same reaction I got from Giants fans upon seeing my Mets hoodie........."The Mets.......really?". Haha, EVERYTIME! You see, the Mets would not exist without the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Quick baseball history sidenote: The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers were two prominent New York baseball clubs back in the day along with the New York Yankees. The three teams ruled the baseball world for quite some time. In the 50's sometime, both the Giants and Dodgers opted to move the ball clubs to the West Coast, relocating them in San Francisco and Los Angeles, thus leaving one New York baseball team (after having 3 awesome teams). The Mets were born as a replacement to these two teams that were relocated, and thus their official team colors are Giant Orange and Dodger Blue. As one Giant fan so eloquently put it tonight (after looking at my hoodie and drunkily staring in my face for about a minute)...."Your Mets are nothing but a bastard son to the Giants and Dodgers." HAHAHA....I couldn't have put it any better myself! Thank you sir, for summing up the entire history of New York / West Coast baseball in the 50's in one magnificent sentence that I will always remember! You see, watching the Giants play baseball in some weird, twisted way, is like watching a part of my Mets play. It means something to me.....
The game was good, but a bit chilly. Tim Lincecum pitched solidly for the Giants in a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals (whom I always enjoy watching lose thanks in large part to the 2005 NLCS when they beat the Mets in 7 games.....it's still heartbreaking). At the end of the game, and really at the end of my journey, it was very fitting to stay in the stadium as Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" played on the loud speakers and sceneic shots of San Francisco rolled on the jumbo screen. Much like the New York baseball teams that San Francisco got it's start from, a local favorite plays at the end of every game (The Yankees are famous for Frank Sinatra's New York, New York and the Mets play Billy Joel's New York State of Mind at the end of every game). So Mr. Bennett, I enjoyed the city, and I'm gonna steal one from you......I left my heart in San Francisco.
I decided today that if anyone needs to lose a little bit of extra weight, just walk around San Francisco for a couple of days and you'll burn off calories that you didn't even know you had on you!! Walking up those hills are brutal!!! I made sure to stop by the famous crooked street on Lombard St. before making it to the Wharf. After taking that site in, I made it to the Wharf (via Hyde Street) near Ghiradelli square. I found the first decent looking place to eat, because by this point I was starving!! I decided on Capurro's and ordered fried calamari and one pound of dungeness crab! Delicious! (Although, looking back on it, I wish I would have grabbed a bowl of clam chowder in sourdough bread, because each one of those I saw looked absolutely delicious!). I also stumbled upon an In-N-Out Burger in Fisherman's Wharf, and after a couple more hours of walking, I went in for the real deal, the double double (I couldn't resist!). The views of Alcatraz and the San Francisco Bay were quite marvelous from each and every pier, even though the Golden Gate bridge was semi-covered in clouds (how those only clouds in the sky consumed the bridge and nothing else around it still baffles me).
After the wharf, I walked back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before the game. I decided to be good and get to AT&T Park a couple of hours before the game to avoid crowds (because I kept seeing people with Giants gear walking that direction rather early, which scared me). I made it to the park around 5 and the game didn't start til 7:15. I was quite surprised to see the entire city of San Francisco waiting in ridiculous lines to get in!!! I completely forgot it was free snuggie night to the first 20,000 fans, and I didn't realize just how serious people get about snuggies! It was a complete shit show (haha, to coin the phrase from our Baltimore trip!).
Another thing I found rather funny was the same reaction I got from Giants fans upon seeing my Mets hoodie........."The Mets.......really?". Haha, EVERYTIME! You see, the Mets would not exist without the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Quick baseball history sidenote: The New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers were two prominent New York baseball clubs back in the day along with the New York Yankees. The three teams ruled the baseball world for quite some time. In the 50's sometime, both the Giants and Dodgers opted to move the ball clubs to the West Coast, relocating them in San Francisco and Los Angeles, thus leaving one New York baseball team (after having 3 awesome teams). The Mets were born as a replacement to these two teams that were relocated, and thus their official team colors are Giant Orange and Dodger Blue. As one Giant fan so eloquently put it tonight (after looking at my hoodie and drunkily staring in my face for about a minute)...."Your Mets are nothing but a bastard son to the Giants and Dodgers." HAHAHA....I couldn't have put it any better myself! Thank you sir, for summing up the entire history of New York / West Coast baseball in the 50's in one magnificent sentence that I will always remember! You see, watching the Giants play baseball in some weird, twisted way, is like watching a part of my Mets play. It means something to me.....
The game was good, but a bit chilly. Tim Lincecum pitched solidly for the Giants in a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals (whom I always enjoy watching lose thanks in large part to the 2005 NLCS when they beat the Mets in 7 games.....it's still heartbreaking). At the end of the game, and really at the end of my journey, it was very fitting to stay in the stadium as Tony Bennett's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" played on the loud speakers and sceneic shots of San Francisco rolled on the jumbo screen. Much like the New York baseball teams that San Francisco got it's start from, a local favorite plays at the end of every game (The Yankees are famous for Frank Sinatra's New York, New York and the Mets play Billy Joel's New York State of Mind at the end of every game). So Mr. Bennett, I enjoyed the city, and I'm gonna steal one from you......I left my heart in San Francisco.
Road Trip!
Let me first start this blog off by strongly suggesting to anyone driving from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, California that you give yourself TWO days to do it!! It was a LONG day of driving, but I saw things today that are hard to describe in words!
I left Beaverton, OR around 9 or so after grabbing some coffee and a bagel to get me started right (I wanted to go to Voodoo Doughnuts, but that would have put me too far back into Portland and the opposite direction). The first of many beautiful scenes for the day was Dundee, OR and the Willamette Valley! I tried to stop in for a tasting at Arglye and Erath, but much to my disappointment, they were both closed until 11 (I arrived around 9:45). I did drive around Dundee, stopping at Erath's vineyards to take in the view. The vines were bare, but the hills and surrounding area were still absolutely gorgeous!
I found myself emerging at the Oregon coast at Lincoln City....and what a site it was!!! The Oregon coast is absolutely breathtaking! I walked around the beach for a bit and jumped on the US-101 headed South. The drive was beautiful and I probably stopped about 15 to 20 different times to stop and take pictures along the way (it's kinda funny...it seems like there's a state park / scenic lookout about every 5 minutes!). There was one point where I was looking out over the Pacific and I couldn't tell where the water stopped and the sky started. It was a site like I've never before seen! I passed the state border into California sometime around 5 or so. I still had about 350 miles to go!!!! (I knew it'd be a stretch, haha). Most of the California part of the US-101 is inland a bit, with the road weaving in and out of redwood forests and exposing breathtaking views of the Pacific every now and again.
I'll cut to the point (sorry, I'm exhausted, so I'll keep this one short). The last couple of hours of driving in California felt like they took about 20 hours! I passed through San Rafael and then Santa Clara before it popped out of nowhere...... The Golden Gate bridge!! (Even at night it was awesome to see!). To get to my hotel in downtown San Francisco, I had to cross the bridge! It was pretty bad ass (not even gonna sugar coat it!), even though I felt like I was half asleep! I crossed the bridge around 12:17!! I finally made it to my hotel around 12:45, and it's the last bit of energy I have right now to write this blog!
I'll end tonight's blog with this....
I never thought I'd see or do half the stuff I've done just in this week alone! It gave me an overwhelming feeling of just how lucky we all are to live in a country as rich n beauty as America. Images were etched into my mind today that will never be erased. Images of rolling hills of vineyard after vineyard, images of the Pacific ocean melting into the sun and the open sky in a blast of a brilliant white and gold upon a greenish blue backdrop, images of redwood trees consuming the landscape around them (and practically the road too), images of a majestic red bridge towering above me stretching into the blackness of night, leading me into a city-scape of wonder! Yes indeed, this country has much to offer, and much that I haven't even imagined....
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
I left Beaverton, OR around 9 or so after grabbing some coffee and a bagel to get me started right (I wanted to go to Voodoo Doughnuts, but that would have put me too far back into Portland and the opposite direction). The first of many beautiful scenes for the day was Dundee, OR and the Willamette Valley! I tried to stop in for a tasting at Arglye and Erath, but much to my disappointment, they were both closed until 11 (I arrived around 9:45). I did drive around Dundee, stopping at Erath's vineyards to take in the view. The vines were bare, but the hills and surrounding area were still absolutely gorgeous!
I found myself emerging at the Oregon coast at Lincoln City....and what a site it was!!! The Oregon coast is absolutely breathtaking! I walked around the beach for a bit and jumped on the US-101 headed South. The drive was beautiful and I probably stopped about 15 to 20 different times to stop and take pictures along the way (it's kinda funny...it seems like there's a state park / scenic lookout about every 5 minutes!). There was one point where I was looking out over the Pacific and I couldn't tell where the water stopped and the sky started. It was a site like I've never before seen! I passed the state border into California sometime around 5 or so. I still had about 350 miles to go!!!! (I knew it'd be a stretch, haha). Most of the California part of the US-101 is inland a bit, with the road weaving in and out of redwood forests and exposing breathtaking views of the Pacific every now and again.
I'll cut to the point (sorry, I'm exhausted, so I'll keep this one short). The last couple of hours of driving in California felt like they took about 20 hours! I passed through San Rafael and then Santa Clara before it popped out of nowhere...... The Golden Gate bridge!! (Even at night it was awesome to see!). To get to my hotel in downtown San Francisco, I had to cross the bridge! It was pretty bad ass (not even gonna sugar coat it!), even though I felt like I was half asleep! I crossed the bridge around 12:17!! I finally made it to my hotel around 12:45, and it's the last bit of energy I have right now to write this blog!
I'll end tonight's blog with this....
I never thought I'd see or do half the stuff I've done just in this week alone! It gave me an overwhelming feeling of just how lucky we all are to live in a country as rich n beauty as America. Images were etched into my mind today that will never be erased. Images of rolling hills of vineyard after vineyard, images of the Pacific ocean melting into the sun and the open sky in a blast of a brilliant white and gold upon a greenish blue backdrop, images of redwood trees consuming the landscape around them (and practically the road too), images of a majestic red bridge towering above me stretching into the blackness of night, leading me into a city-scape of wonder! Yes indeed, this country has much to offer, and much that I haven't even imagined....
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Leaving Seattle, Starting the road trip...
I woke up Wednesday morning to a very rainy Seattle (big surprise, right?!). Like I've said before, I really don't mind the weather. I enjoy the rain, and I wouldn't expect anything different in Seattle. After showering and getting my things together, I took a walk back up to Pike's Place Market for a cup of coffee at the very first Starbucks, established in 1971 and still true to its old form. The coffee shop was incredibly simple and small, with really no place to sit at all, so I grabbed my coffee to go and headed down a couple of buildings until I found a nice little french bakery called Le Panier. I ordered an apricot croissant and a delicious vanilla creme eclaire with a strawberry frosting. I sat down at the bar next to the window and enjoyed my coffee and pastries as I watched the rain fall in Seattle's Pike Place. It was a great way to spend my morning!
Afterwards, I headed back to my hotel room to map out my drive to Portland and figure out what I wanted to do for lunch (and I'm not gonna lie...it was kinda nice to step outta the rain for a bit). While I was online looking through possible places, Foss sent me a facebook message to try out Red Mill Burgers. I looked at the closest location to where I was at, and decided to go with his recommendation (this also gave me a chance to check out the northwest harbor along Elliott Bay leading into the Interbay area of Seattle). Once I got situated, I started on my walk through the Elliott Bay Park (a beautiful stretch of pedestrian and biker trails along the shore for a good 2 miles or so). I knew that once I got to the end of Elliott Bay, I'd run into 15th Ave, which would take me north to W Dravus St (the cross-streets where Red Mills is located in the Interbay area). I thought I would make it easy on myself and grab a bus that came along as soon as I got onto 15th (but little did I know that this would complicate things like no other....I should have just walked!). The bus went north on 15th Ave for a while, and I was glad to get out of the rain for a little bit. Then we started going over a body of water, which immediately sent a flag up for me, cause nowhere during my mapping process did I figure I'd have to cross a river or a lake!! As soon as we made it to the other side, the bus made its first stop on 17th Ave. and 49th St. I had no idea where I was!! Apparently, the body of water I crossed was the Salmon Bay ship canal connected directly to Lake Union!
Let me set the scene a little more....
I'm basically lost in far northwest Seattle (I think Woodland Park area), I just went over a body of water that I had no idea what it was, and it is still raining ever so steady. The rain wasn't an all out down poor by any means, rather, it was more like a continual mist that kept my shirt damp, my face soaking, and my glasses spotted with water (definately a moment in life that I hate the fact that I have to wear glasses! haha). I quickly walked back over the bridge on 15th Ave. toward Dravus St. as rain continued to mist up my glasses and soak my shirt. I finally stumbled upon W Dravus St., and found the Red Mill Burgers sign just a couple of buildings down the road. It was a pretty small burger place, with no more than 10 - 12 tables, one cashier, and they only took cash or check (you don't see cash only restaurants much anymore!). I ordered what sounded the best to me at the moment, the Red Mill Double Deluxe w/ cheese, no onion, no lettuce, with a side of fries (due to my longer than expected walk, my appetite was certainly in full swing!). My order was up in a matter of minutes, and I sat down and bit into one of the tastiest burgers I have EVER had the privilege of eating (neck and neck with In-N-Out....and most of you know how much I love In-N-Out Burgers!!!). The cheese was melted just right and the burger included a seasoned mayo "mill sauce" that complimented the burger oh-so-well! It wasn't overly fancy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, its simplicity added to the beauty of the burger! Despite my troubles finding the place, I'm glad I went! Thanks again for the recommendation Foss!
After a full stomach, I made my walk back down 15th Ave. toward Elliott Bay and grabbed my bags waiting for me at the hotel. With bags in hand, I made my walk to Budget car rentals on 4th and Columbia. The car for the journey....a fairly new white Toyota corrola (I must say, the car has some get-up). I made my way out of Budget, turned left back onto 4th, made my first right on Marion St. and quickly merged onto I-5 South (quite easy actually!). I decided for this short trip to Portland, for sake of time and convience, I'd stick to I-5 South all the way into Portland. I left Seattle right around 2:15.
The drive was pretty smooth and fairly pleasant. I passed through Tacoma and Olympia (the state capitol) along my journey south on I-5. Olympia was beautiful, with trees of every color of green you could imagine. As you drive through Olympia the beauty of the area catches your attention, and then out of nowhere, the state capitol building pops up through the trees, providing a pretty stunning scene along the way. An hour or two from Olympia, I noticed a bunch of signs for the Mt. St. Helens state park and visitor center. I was doing pretty well on time, so I decided to pull off of I-5 and take the 5 mile drive east to check it out. I got to the visitor center just as they were closing, but managed to look around.....and I saw a whole bunch of nothing. There's nothing there!!!! It's a marsh land and a small lake...and that's about it. If you ever find yourself in the area, I don't really recommend it, unless your thing is to look at nothing and do boring stuff! (You'll have to excuse my sarcasm, but I was pretty disappointed in the whole thing). I hopped back onto I-5 southbound for Portland. It's kinda funny, one minute you're driving along in Washington state, you come up to a rather large bridge, you cross it (crossing the Columbia river which is freaking HUGE!) while at the same time crossing not only into Oregon, but BOOM.....you're in Portland! It all happened so quickly, haha! Portland looks beautiful and kinda seems like one of those little big cities. It's big...don't get me wrong, but it seems manageable. I didn't stay in the main Portland area for long because my hotel is actually in Beaverton, just southwest of Portland. I arrived at my hotel right at 5:30, checked in, and quickly went back out to grab some dinner. I stopped at a local Italian restaurant called Pastini Pastaria, and had a really good dish of linguini pesto pollo (grilled chicken, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in pesto cream sauce). I also stopped by Best Buy which was right next to the restaurant (that's right....ain't no state boundaries on a little Best Buy action!! haha). Actually, I had good reason to stop, I needed to grab some CD-R's so that I could make some CD's for my long drive to San Francisco tomorrow. I also filled up the tank before going back to the hotel.
Really quick, two little fun facts I learned about Oregon tonight..... (1) you cannot physically pump your own gas, apparently. I pulled into a Chevron and I felt half like I was back in the 50's and half retarded. I've never been in that situation before, and I kept wanting to do something to help while this poor boy pumps my gas for me (it was actually very tough to refrain from just wanting to grab the hose from him and fill-up my own tank). (2) Apparently Oregon does not have state tax, which made my purchase at Best Buy and my dinner that much more enjoyable!
Well, the end to another long and adventure-filled day. My hope is to get up early tomorrow, hit up a couple of wineries as I drive through Willamette Valley on my way to the US-101 and my eventual arrival in San Francisco.
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
Afterwards, I headed back to my hotel room to map out my drive to Portland and figure out what I wanted to do for lunch (and I'm not gonna lie...it was kinda nice to step outta the rain for a bit). While I was online looking through possible places, Foss sent me a facebook message to try out Red Mill Burgers. I looked at the closest location to where I was at, and decided to go with his recommendation (this also gave me a chance to check out the northwest harbor along Elliott Bay leading into the Interbay area of Seattle). Once I got situated, I started on my walk through the Elliott Bay Park (a beautiful stretch of pedestrian and biker trails along the shore for a good 2 miles or so). I knew that once I got to the end of Elliott Bay, I'd run into 15th Ave, which would take me north to W Dravus St (the cross-streets where Red Mills is located in the Interbay area). I thought I would make it easy on myself and grab a bus that came along as soon as I got onto 15th (but little did I know that this would complicate things like no other....I should have just walked!). The bus went north on 15th Ave for a while, and I was glad to get out of the rain for a little bit. Then we started going over a body of water, which immediately sent a flag up for me, cause nowhere during my mapping process did I figure I'd have to cross a river or a lake!! As soon as we made it to the other side, the bus made its first stop on 17th Ave. and 49th St. I had no idea where I was!! Apparently, the body of water I crossed was the Salmon Bay ship canal connected directly to Lake Union!
Let me set the scene a little more....
I'm basically lost in far northwest Seattle (I think Woodland Park area), I just went over a body of water that I had no idea what it was, and it is still raining ever so steady. The rain wasn't an all out down poor by any means, rather, it was more like a continual mist that kept my shirt damp, my face soaking, and my glasses spotted with water (definately a moment in life that I hate the fact that I have to wear glasses! haha). I quickly walked back over the bridge on 15th Ave. toward Dravus St. as rain continued to mist up my glasses and soak my shirt. I finally stumbled upon W Dravus St., and found the Red Mill Burgers sign just a couple of buildings down the road. It was a pretty small burger place, with no more than 10 - 12 tables, one cashier, and they only took cash or check (you don't see cash only restaurants much anymore!). I ordered what sounded the best to me at the moment, the Red Mill Double Deluxe w/ cheese, no onion, no lettuce, with a side of fries (due to my longer than expected walk, my appetite was certainly in full swing!). My order was up in a matter of minutes, and I sat down and bit into one of the tastiest burgers I have EVER had the privilege of eating (neck and neck with In-N-Out....and most of you know how much I love In-N-Out Burgers!!!). The cheese was melted just right and the burger included a seasoned mayo "mill sauce" that complimented the burger oh-so-well! It wasn't overly fancy by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, its simplicity added to the beauty of the burger! Despite my troubles finding the place, I'm glad I went! Thanks again for the recommendation Foss!
After a full stomach, I made my walk back down 15th Ave. toward Elliott Bay and grabbed my bags waiting for me at the hotel. With bags in hand, I made my walk to Budget car rentals on 4th and Columbia. The car for the journey....a fairly new white Toyota corrola (I must say, the car has some get-up). I made my way out of Budget, turned left back onto 4th, made my first right on Marion St. and quickly merged onto I-5 South (quite easy actually!). I decided for this short trip to Portland, for sake of time and convience, I'd stick to I-5 South all the way into Portland. I left Seattle right around 2:15.
The drive was pretty smooth and fairly pleasant. I passed through Tacoma and Olympia (the state capitol) along my journey south on I-5. Olympia was beautiful, with trees of every color of green you could imagine. As you drive through Olympia the beauty of the area catches your attention, and then out of nowhere, the state capitol building pops up through the trees, providing a pretty stunning scene along the way. An hour or two from Olympia, I noticed a bunch of signs for the Mt. St. Helens state park and visitor center. I was doing pretty well on time, so I decided to pull off of I-5 and take the 5 mile drive east to check it out. I got to the visitor center just as they were closing, but managed to look around.....and I saw a whole bunch of nothing. There's nothing there!!!! It's a marsh land and a small lake...and that's about it. If you ever find yourself in the area, I don't really recommend it, unless your thing is to look at nothing and do boring stuff! (You'll have to excuse my sarcasm, but I was pretty disappointed in the whole thing). I hopped back onto I-5 southbound for Portland. It's kinda funny, one minute you're driving along in Washington state, you come up to a rather large bridge, you cross it (crossing the Columbia river which is freaking HUGE!) while at the same time crossing not only into Oregon, but BOOM.....you're in Portland! It all happened so quickly, haha! Portland looks beautiful and kinda seems like one of those little big cities. It's big...don't get me wrong, but it seems manageable. I didn't stay in the main Portland area for long because my hotel is actually in Beaverton, just southwest of Portland. I arrived at my hotel right at 5:30, checked in, and quickly went back out to grab some dinner. I stopped at a local Italian restaurant called Pastini Pastaria, and had a really good dish of linguini pesto pollo (grilled chicken, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers in pesto cream sauce). I also stopped by Best Buy which was right next to the restaurant (that's right....ain't no state boundaries on a little Best Buy action!! haha). Actually, I had good reason to stop, I needed to grab some CD-R's so that I could make some CD's for my long drive to San Francisco tomorrow. I also filled up the tank before going back to the hotel.
Really quick, two little fun facts I learned about Oregon tonight..... (1) you cannot physically pump your own gas, apparently. I pulled into a Chevron and I felt half like I was back in the 50's and half retarded. I've never been in that situation before, and I kept wanting to do something to help while this poor boy pumps my gas for me (it was actually very tough to refrain from just wanting to grab the hose from him and fill-up my own tank). (2) Apparently Oregon does not have state tax, which made my purchase at Best Buy and my dinner that much more enjoyable!
Well, the end to another long and adventure-filled day. My hope is to get up early tomorrow, hit up a couple of wineries as I drive through Willamette Valley on my way to the US-101 and my eventual arrival in San Francisco.
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
Hello Seattle!
Before I begin this post, let me start by saying that there is something special about true friendship. In the last couple of days, I've been witness to several instances of this type of true friendship. True friends can reunite after living on two different sides of the country and hang out and joke around like nothing ever changed. True friends will tolerate going around town with their buddies despite having allergies bad enough to put someone out of commission, and on top of that, still find the humor in it all. True friends can be knocked on their ass, get up, and laugh about what just happened instead of fighting about why it happened (you went for my pivot leg Foss... I wasn't expecting it, haha). I've been lucky enough in my life to share these moments with friends that I know I will have until the day I die. Thanks for a great weekend in Baltimore fellas, I look forward to the next one....
Well, a couple of days later, a few flights more, and I find myself in a different city, on a different coast, on a different journey. The flight to Seattle was 100x better than the Delta experiences of the previous weekend. Southwest airlines is still the airline to beat. I had an entire row to myself, my bags could fly free (and not get lost...I'm still sorry about that shit show fellas), and we landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Seattle's airport might very well be the cleanest and nicest airport I've ever been in. It looks more like a mall than an airport. As soon as I landed I hopped on the light rail (Sound Transit - it's Seattle's new light rail that stretches from the airport all the way north to Westlake). Apparently they kick it old school and rely on the honor system, because I never really had to show my ticket to anyone, I just hopped on and hopped off. No gates, No scanning tickets. The only mistake I made was getting off a couple of exits too soon, which really wasn't all that bad as it gave me a chance to take in most of the downtown / waterfront area. My hotel sits right on the waterfront, and thanks to Foss and his dad, I managed to get a great deal on the room. My room overlooks Puget Sound and Alaskan Way (Alaskan Way is the highway / road that runs along the coast). After getting a chance to drop off my bags and freshen up a bit, I quickly took back to the streets of Seattle to grab a bite to eat. I was surrounded by a million choices, but ulimately decided on The Crab Pot, a rather large crab restaurant sitting right on the pier. I decided to sit in the atrium along the water to get more of the effect, and ordered the crab / crab combo (that's right...3 different types of crab for one individual). The dish was basically a crab steam pot. They bring out the meal in a huge metal bowl, dump it on the table, give you a wooden mallet, and let you go to town. It reminded me a lot of Steamworks in Durango. The crab combo has the crab, corn on the cob, and red potatoes all thrown together with seasoning added. DELICIOUS!! I washed the meal down with a Portland root beer that was made with honey instead of sugar, which was quite delightful.
After finally getting a full stomach, I hit the streets of Seattle to do some site-seeing. The first place to visit was Pike's Place market. I'm sure you've all seen the famous fish market where the guys throw the fish around. I got to see that in person, which was pretty cool. Pike's Place market has a very hippie-ish vibe about it, with fresh fruit stands, herbal stands, and fresh fish stands everywhere. I was pretty surprised to see the abundance of flower stands. I grabbed a quick cup of Starbucks to keep the energy up (not the original location...I'll visit that tomorrow morning) and headed back toward the waterfront to take all of that in. I went from pier to pier, at each point stopping to just stand there and enjoy the cool air, calming flow of the water, and the beautiful city-scape behind me. The entire day was overcast (can't say that I was surprised by that), but I'm actually glad that it was. I've always had this image of Seattle in my head, and I must say the weather kind of matched. Despite the lack of sunshine, there is something very peaceful, very beautiful about Seattle. I must say, I'd live here in a heartbeat if I could. Everywhere I walked, I was always stepping to the side for a jogger or biker. Everyone here is outside and doing something active, which is awesome. If I lived here, I'd be running along the picturesque waterfront also!
After walking, and walking, and walking some more....it was time for me to start thinking about getting over to Safeco Field to catch the baseball game. I took the light rail from Westlake to the Stadium stop (which was incredibly convient, easy, and cheap....only $3.50 for a roundtrip ticket). I got to the stadium pretty early (about an hour or so before the game), which was fine by me. I always enjoy walking around the stadium before the crowds get there to enjoy it for what it is. I must say, Safeco Field is a beautiful, modern baseball stadium. Its sandwiched between the waterfront on one side, and train tracks on the other, with Qwest Field (home of the Seahawks) right next door. Safeco Field does have one really cool feature that sets it apart from most baseball stadiums. It has a retractable roof that rolls over and away in a matter of minutes. When I got to the Stadium, it was open, with the roof actually over the railroad tracks (which made it look like an awning or something of the sort over the tracks. Once the game had started, the roof was completely over the stadium, with the only open parts being on the sides.
The game was awesome. It featured the Baltimore Orioles (which I thought was pretty funny, considering I just came from Baltimore, but couldn't see the Orioles because they were out of town) and the Seattle Mariners with newly reacquired Ken Griffey Jr. I was very excited about this latter point. As a kid growing up, I really got into baseball primarily because of two players. The first being Mike Piazza, who I watched bounce around from the L.A. Dodgers, to the Florida Marlins, and finally with the New York Mets (and he is also the primary reason I'm a New York Mets fan to this day). The second player was Ken Griffey Jr., who is arguably the greatest baseball player of this era (and a damn good argument too, considering he's the only candidate who hasn't had his name tarnished from the steroids scandal.....In fact, one would argue that he has proven his innocence in the steroid scandal with a career that has been injury plagued over and over again). I grew up playing Ken Griffey Jr. video games and I have always admired his playing style and his ability to stay true to his fans. Griffey had two hits in the game as a designated hitter, and the Mariners won 3 - 1.
After the game, I caught the light rail back to the Westlake Station, and enjoyed an evening stroll through downtown Seattle, and eventually back to my hotel. Tomorrow, I'll begin my drive to Portland, Oregon around 2 pm or so. I do want to visit the first Starbuck's and possibly have breakfast at a place called Beth's Cafe. I saw it on Man vs. Food, and they are famous for their 6 or 12 egg omelettes! It's quite a distance from the hotel, so I'll need to figure out if I can pull it off. If not, there's plenty of stuff to eat around the waterfront.
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
Well, a couple of days later, a few flights more, and I find myself in a different city, on a different coast, on a different journey. The flight to Seattle was 100x better than the Delta experiences of the previous weekend. Southwest airlines is still the airline to beat. I had an entire row to myself, my bags could fly free (and not get lost...I'm still sorry about that shit show fellas), and we landed 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Seattle's airport might very well be the cleanest and nicest airport I've ever been in. It looks more like a mall than an airport. As soon as I landed I hopped on the light rail (Sound Transit - it's Seattle's new light rail that stretches from the airport all the way north to Westlake). Apparently they kick it old school and rely on the honor system, because I never really had to show my ticket to anyone, I just hopped on and hopped off. No gates, No scanning tickets. The only mistake I made was getting off a couple of exits too soon, which really wasn't all that bad as it gave me a chance to take in most of the downtown / waterfront area. My hotel sits right on the waterfront, and thanks to Foss and his dad, I managed to get a great deal on the room. My room overlooks Puget Sound and Alaskan Way (Alaskan Way is the highway / road that runs along the coast). After getting a chance to drop off my bags and freshen up a bit, I quickly took back to the streets of Seattle to grab a bite to eat. I was surrounded by a million choices, but ulimately decided on The Crab Pot, a rather large crab restaurant sitting right on the pier. I decided to sit in the atrium along the water to get more of the effect, and ordered the crab / crab combo (that's right...3 different types of crab for one individual). The dish was basically a crab steam pot. They bring out the meal in a huge metal bowl, dump it on the table, give you a wooden mallet, and let you go to town. It reminded me a lot of Steamworks in Durango. The crab combo has the crab, corn on the cob, and red potatoes all thrown together with seasoning added. DELICIOUS!! I washed the meal down with a Portland root beer that was made with honey instead of sugar, which was quite delightful.
After finally getting a full stomach, I hit the streets of Seattle to do some site-seeing. The first place to visit was Pike's Place market. I'm sure you've all seen the famous fish market where the guys throw the fish around. I got to see that in person, which was pretty cool. Pike's Place market has a very hippie-ish vibe about it, with fresh fruit stands, herbal stands, and fresh fish stands everywhere. I was pretty surprised to see the abundance of flower stands. I grabbed a quick cup of Starbucks to keep the energy up (not the original location...I'll visit that tomorrow morning) and headed back toward the waterfront to take all of that in. I went from pier to pier, at each point stopping to just stand there and enjoy the cool air, calming flow of the water, and the beautiful city-scape behind me. The entire day was overcast (can't say that I was surprised by that), but I'm actually glad that it was. I've always had this image of Seattle in my head, and I must say the weather kind of matched. Despite the lack of sunshine, there is something very peaceful, very beautiful about Seattle. I must say, I'd live here in a heartbeat if I could. Everywhere I walked, I was always stepping to the side for a jogger or biker. Everyone here is outside and doing something active, which is awesome. If I lived here, I'd be running along the picturesque waterfront also!
After walking, and walking, and walking some more....it was time for me to start thinking about getting over to Safeco Field to catch the baseball game. I took the light rail from Westlake to the Stadium stop (which was incredibly convient, easy, and cheap....only $3.50 for a roundtrip ticket). I got to the stadium pretty early (about an hour or so before the game), which was fine by me. I always enjoy walking around the stadium before the crowds get there to enjoy it for what it is. I must say, Safeco Field is a beautiful, modern baseball stadium. Its sandwiched between the waterfront on one side, and train tracks on the other, with Qwest Field (home of the Seahawks) right next door. Safeco Field does have one really cool feature that sets it apart from most baseball stadiums. It has a retractable roof that rolls over and away in a matter of minutes. When I got to the Stadium, it was open, with the roof actually over the railroad tracks (which made it look like an awning or something of the sort over the tracks. Once the game had started, the roof was completely over the stadium, with the only open parts being on the sides.
The game was awesome. It featured the Baltimore Orioles (which I thought was pretty funny, considering I just came from Baltimore, but couldn't see the Orioles because they were out of town) and the Seattle Mariners with newly reacquired Ken Griffey Jr. I was very excited about this latter point. As a kid growing up, I really got into baseball primarily because of two players. The first being Mike Piazza, who I watched bounce around from the L.A. Dodgers, to the Florida Marlins, and finally with the New York Mets (and he is also the primary reason I'm a New York Mets fan to this day). The second player was Ken Griffey Jr., who is arguably the greatest baseball player of this era (and a damn good argument too, considering he's the only candidate who hasn't had his name tarnished from the steroids scandal.....In fact, one would argue that he has proven his innocence in the steroid scandal with a career that has been injury plagued over and over again). I grew up playing Ken Griffey Jr. video games and I have always admired his playing style and his ability to stay true to his fans. Griffey had two hits in the game as a designated hitter, and the Mariners won 3 - 1.
After the game, I caught the light rail back to the Westlake Station, and enjoyed an evening stroll through downtown Seattle, and eventually back to my hotel. Tomorrow, I'll begin my drive to Portland, Oregon around 2 pm or so. I do want to visit the first Starbuck's and possibly have breakfast at a place called Beth's Cafe. I saw it on Man vs. Food, and they are famous for their 6 or 12 egg omelettes! It's quite a distance from the hotel, so I'll need to figure out if I can pull it off. If not, there's plenty of stuff to eat around the waterfront.
Peace, Love, Respect,
Jer
Monday, April 19, 2010
Day 3...
After a much needed Starbucks run on Sunday morning, we headed off to see some sites in D.C. First off was the White House (seeing as how it was only 3 blocks down the street). Next on the monument tour was the Washington Monument. In between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial was the new World War II Memorial. The Lincoln Memorial was quite the site to see! After a lot of walking (a lot of walking....) we had to head to Nationals Park to see the Nationals vs. Brewers game. We had to hop on the Metro to get there and arrived just before game time. The weather was pretty chilly, not gonna lie about that, but the sun was out, so it could have been worse. Nationals Park was pretty awesome and the game started off pretty crazy. The Brewers started things off with a 10 run first inning, including a grand slam. Parker's roommate recommended that we try Ben's Chili Bowl in the stadium....two chili dogs and some chili cheese fries later, I concluded it was a great recommendation! The final from the game was 11 to 7, and it was quite an enjoyable experience. We went back to the monuments after the game to take in some more sites. First off on the second round was the Jefferson Memorial. It's a beautiful memorial, sitting right on the water. Next up, the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. It's very modern, and quite different than the other three. Of the four I saw, I must say the Lincoln Memorial had to be my favorite. We left D.C. late in the afternoon, a little wind burnt and pretty cold. That night was the first chill night of the trip. We ordered a pizza and had some laughs before Parker had to retire for the evening. Well, that's it for this leg of the trip......
Seattle, here I come.....
Jer
Seattle, here I come.....
Jer
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Day 2...
Hello from Baltimore.
OK, I've got some catching up to do. I have to apologize, the hotel we got in D.C. wanted $13 for internet connections, and we just didn't see the point (but more on D.C. later...).
When I last left you all, we were enjoying the local flavor of Baltimore. On Saturday morning (ok...let's not lie)... On Saturday mid-day, we woke up, got ready and went in pursuit of lunch in the inner harbor area of Baltimore. Parker suggested the Little Italy district (his Italian blood was shining bright). I'm glad he did, though, because I had some of the best food I've ever had in my entire life. We ended up at a little place called Amicci's. Honestly, some of the best Italian food I've ever had. I believe I got the the Rigotoni Bolognese (as did Foss), but my poor fallen friend was suffering from a wicked hang over, so he didn't get to quite enjoy it as much as I did. Matt has been suffering from a fierce case of allergies all weekend, and he can't taste or smell anything. I think Parker and I were the only ones truly enjoying lunch. Parker and I split some awesome calamari with this marinara sauce from heaven. (Quick side note: I'm going to refer to a lot of the food in this blog as being heavenly, divine, etc., etc. I've had some awesome food this weekend!!) And on with my story..... After we finished the main course, we ordered what might possibly be the best canoli I've ever had in my entire life! (Close competion from a place in Little Italy, New York and Saggio's in Albuquerque). Our lunch experience was enhanced by a beautiful, young, blonde waitress who said "shit show" and "retarded" a lot. Example sentence: "We went to this bar you guys would like in downtown D.C., and it turned into a shit show. It was a retarded time." (all compliments believe it or not). Anyways, she was really cool and recommended a bar called Irish Times in D.C. (but more on D.C. later...).
After lunch we walked down to the inner harbor and enjoyed the sites. At this point, the weather started taking a pretty cold turn. Winds really started to pick up, and the cold was intensified by the water completely surrounding us. The four of us decided to check out Fort McHenry, birthplace of the Star-Spangled Banner by a Mr. Francis Scott Key. Luckily, we all love history, so it only made sense. Fort McHenry was a quick 5 minute drive from the inner harbor area where we were coming from, not too shabby. The history involved and seeing all of the canons facing the harbor really put the historical significance into perspective. It was quite a site, and I'm glad we did it!
At this point, we had already decided that we were going to spend the night in D.C. to avoid some really bad traffic driving home. We found an awesome hotel!! The J.W. Marriott, roughly only 3 blocks from the White House!! Thank God for Foss and his dad's Marriott discount!! This was definately one of the Marriott's nicer lines. We got our room (standard rate as posted on the door...$999 a night) for only $230! Split four ways...overall, not a bad deal.
We drove into D.C. Saturday afternoon to begin the D.C. part of the journey. Once we finally found parking for the hotel, we checked in and started to get ready for the evening. After some freshening up on our part (looking damn good too) we found an awesome restaurant just a block down the street from the hotel. The place was called Central Michel Richard (Foss totally butchered the name when making reservations, but let's just say it's French pronunciation). It was a very fancy, really nice restaurant with a good atmosphere. Parker and I shared an appetizer of frog legs (first experience with that, not bad). I had a really good hanger steak with pepper corn main dish, accompanied by a great glass of Argentinian Malbec. And the best part.........the dessert. OK, you all know me, and you all know how big of a part dessert is in my life. I've had several desserts in my day, but none better than the $9 chocolate bar at Central Michel Richard on Saturday, April 17th in the year of our Lord 2010. Here's the run down.....a
double layer chocolate bar served in what can only be described as a lake of maple / peanut butter sauce. The top layer of the bar was soft, easy to cut through, milk chocolate. The bottom layer was a slightly darker chocolate, slightly denser, and included bits of rice krispies. The chocolate bar was accompanied by a simple scoop of house vanilla bean ice cream. Unbelievable dessert........seriously, the best of my life!!!
After dinner, we took the Metro to the Irish Times bar recommended by our lovely waitress from Amicci's. It was a charming Irish bar (definately college crowd!). We met up with a bunch of Parker's friends in the downstairs portion of the bar (his roomate Brian, Diana, Alyssa, and Sarino). Sarino (real name also Brian) is one of the funniest people you'd ever meet. He's from Jersey and talks out of the side of his mouth like nobody I've ever known. We decided to leave the over-crowded Irish bar and took a cab to another bar district in D.C. (that's right....8 people in one cab!). As soon as we saw the lights from the cop cars, we knew we found our place. We stopped by two little bars in the area, the last one being a cool little place called the Capitol Lounge. Another fun night!
I'll continue on with Day 3 tomorrow.
Peace and Love,
Jer
OK, I've got some catching up to do. I have to apologize, the hotel we got in D.C. wanted $13 for internet connections, and we just didn't see the point (but more on D.C. later...).
When I last left you all, we were enjoying the local flavor of Baltimore. On Saturday morning (ok...let's not lie)... On Saturday mid-day, we woke up, got ready and went in pursuit of lunch in the inner harbor area of Baltimore. Parker suggested the Little Italy district (his Italian blood was shining bright). I'm glad he did, though, because I had some of the best food I've ever had in my entire life. We ended up at a little place called Amicci's. Honestly, some of the best Italian food I've ever had. I believe I got the the Rigotoni Bolognese (as did Foss), but my poor fallen friend was suffering from a wicked hang over, so he didn't get to quite enjoy it as much as I did. Matt has been suffering from a fierce case of allergies all weekend, and he can't taste or smell anything. I think Parker and I were the only ones truly enjoying lunch. Parker and I split some awesome calamari with this marinara sauce from heaven. (Quick side note: I'm going to refer to a lot of the food in this blog as being heavenly, divine, etc., etc. I've had some awesome food this weekend!!) And on with my story..... After we finished the main course, we ordered what might possibly be the best canoli I've ever had in my entire life! (Close competion from a place in Little Italy, New York and Saggio's in Albuquerque). Our lunch experience was enhanced by a beautiful, young, blonde waitress who said "shit show" and "retarded" a lot. Example sentence: "We went to this bar you guys would like in downtown D.C., and it turned into a shit show. It was a retarded time." (all compliments believe it or not). Anyways, she was really cool and recommended a bar called Irish Times in D.C. (but more on D.C. later...).
After lunch we walked down to the inner harbor and enjoyed the sites. At this point, the weather started taking a pretty cold turn. Winds really started to pick up, and the cold was intensified by the water completely surrounding us. The four of us decided to check out Fort McHenry, birthplace of the Star-Spangled Banner by a Mr. Francis Scott Key. Luckily, we all love history, so it only made sense. Fort McHenry was a quick 5 minute drive from the inner harbor area where we were coming from, not too shabby. The history involved and seeing all of the canons facing the harbor really put the historical significance into perspective. It was quite a site, and I'm glad we did it!
At this point, we had already decided that we were going to spend the night in D.C. to avoid some really bad traffic driving home. We found an awesome hotel!! The J.W. Marriott, roughly only 3 blocks from the White House!! Thank God for Foss and his dad's Marriott discount!! This was definately one of the Marriott's nicer lines. We got our room (standard rate as posted on the door...$999 a night) for only $230! Split four ways...overall, not a bad deal.
We drove into D.C. Saturday afternoon to begin the D.C. part of the journey. Once we finally found parking for the hotel, we checked in and started to get ready for the evening. After some freshening up on our part (looking damn good too) we found an awesome restaurant just a block down the street from the hotel. The place was called Central Michel Richard (Foss totally butchered the name when making reservations, but let's just say it's French pronunciation). It was a very fancy, really nice restaurant with a good atmosphere. Parker and I shared an appetizer of frog legs (first experience with that, not bad). I had a really good hanger steak with pepper corn main dish, accompanied by a great glass of Argentinian Malbec. And the best part.........the dessert. OK, you all know me, and you all know how big of a part dessert is in my life. I've had several desserts in my day, but none better than the $9 chocolate bar at Central Michel Richard on Saturday, April 17th in the year of our Lord 2010. Here's the run down.....a
double layer chocolate bar served in what can only be described as a lake of maple / peanut butter sauce. The top layer of the bar was soft, easy to cut through, milk chocolate. The bottom layer was a slightly darker chocolate, slightly denser, and included bits of rice krispies. The chocolate bar was accompanied by a simple scoop of house vanilla bean ice cream. Unbelievable dessert........seriously, the best of my life!!!
After dinner, we took the Metro to the Irish Times bar recommended by our lovely waitress from Amicci's. It was a charming Irish bar (definately college crowd!). We met up with a bunch of Parker's friends in the downstairs portion of the bar (his roomate Brian, Diana, Alyssa, and Sarino). Sarino (real name also Brian) is one of the funniest people you'd ever meet. He's from Jersey and talks out of the side of his mouth like nobody I've ever known. We decided to leave the over-crowded Irish bar and took a cab to another bar district in D.C. (that's right....8 people in one cab!). As soon as we saw the lights from the cop cars, we knew we found our place. We stopped by two little bars in the area, the last one being a cool little place called the Capitol Lounge. Another fun night!
I'll continue on with Day 3 tomorrow.
Peace and Love,
Jer
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