2010.09.11
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 8:57 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Today I went o Brian’s American Eatery for a large breakfast (eggs benedict with avocado) which was really good but so filling that I didn’t eat lunch and didn’t even start to get hungry until supper. I drove out to Lakeside for the day to watch the rodeo. It was very sunny and hot (34C) which felt good. The bulk of the day was there, and I had a great, relaxing time.
Back in San Diego, I had fish for supper tonight. It wasn’t anything special but it was still quite good and the rice and veggies were good too. I think I may hit the beach tomorrow.
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2010.09.11
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 8:51 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
At long last I arrived in San Diego. While the trip here wasn’t quick it was a lot of fun. The drive from San Luis Obispo to here was completely on the freeway, with only a single stop in San Pedro where I met up with a friend for lunch. We went to a really funky diner – the food was really good and very reasonably priced. I arrived in San Pedro at 11:00am so I managed to miss the rush hour traffic in Los Angeles and also had lunch before the lunch crowd started to show up at the diner.
In San Pedro, a few things happened – on the way there, the “you need an oil change” light came on in the car. There’s a way to dismiss the warning, but it keeps coming back on every time the car is started unless you fiddle with a bunch of stuff that I’d have to look up in the manual. The car is booked in on Monday in Palm Springs and they’ll reset it there anyways, so I’ll leave it for them.
I also managed to have the “low gas” light come on (which isn’t new) but what I found interesting is that it showed that I had 0 km of fuel left when I was going up a hill (to the gas station). I guess I was actually pretty close to empty.
From there I took the toll road from I-405 to bypass a bunch of traffic getting on to I-5. It was practically empty, and the drive to San Diego was very fast.
Almost a little too fast. I was going a little bit over the speed limit in the fast lane (keeping up with traffic) and I checked my rearview and I saw a CHP cruiser behind me. His lights weren’t on, so I changed lanes when I could to see what he would do, and he just flew past me. Apparently my Alberta plates were too much of a hassle or he had bigger fish to fry somewhere else. Just as well for me.
I arrived in San Diego mid afternoon, and hung out by the pool to wind down before going out for supper. I went to the San Diego Brewing Company and had some very good (but not very healthy) pub food and a good pint of beer.
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2010.09.09
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 9:05 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Today was a long drive down Highway 1 all the way to San Luis Obispo. The day started out grey in San Francisco but the weather improved as I got further south and it was beautiful for most of the drive. My luck seems to be holding out.
The drive started out pretty quick with very little traffic. I stopped first in Santa Cruz and took a look at the beach and the amusement park at the beach. It was early so none of the rides were open, but I was surprised how large the amusement park was. There were a few beach volleyball players out already, but otherwise the beach was pretty quiet.
After Santa Cruz, my next real stop was Monterey where I had a good lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf, and since it was still early, I headed over to 17-Mile drive. The views along the drive were great, and some of the houses were positively gigantic. I’m glad I did it, although the fact that Pebble Beach charges $9.50 just to get in the gate is a little annoying. Also a little odd is all of the no trespassing signs around the members only golf courses. If they really didn’t want the rabble in their little neighbourhood then why bother letting us in the gate at all?
I stopped to get gas in Carmel, and there were about a dozen antique cars filling up at the gas station when I got there. I’m not sure where they were headed, as they went North on Highway 1 and I went South.
The drive through Big Sur was nice, although the scenery was quite different from the North Coast and Oregon. Amazingly the weather was clear and sunny for the whole drive which I definitely appreciated. The highway was quite busy and there was a lot of construction so it’s a good thing I wasn’t in a hurry.
I was getting hungry when I got to San Luis Obispo so my first order of business was supper. I already had the Corner View Cafe bookmarked in my GPS and I found parking easily enough. I decided to try a beer called Old Rasputin which is a California brew from North Coast Brewery. It was quite a good stout with complex flavours, but a little strong (9%). It reminded me of some of the Unibroue beers. I also had a really good burger and sweet potato fries.
After supper, I wandered over to the Mission, and on the way there I discovered what appeared to be a street festival of some sort. Exploring further, it turns out it was a farmer’s market, which is held every Thursday evening on one of the downtown streets of San Luis Obispo. For the most part, the stuff was typical farmer’s market fare however some of the food vendors were grilling up stuff that smelled really really good – if I had known, I probably would have just eaten supper there. I wandered around for a bit and bought some fruit for breakfast tomorrow, but nothing else.
With only one more day of driving to get to San Diego, I’m quite happy with the drive so far. The car has been great to drive everywhere I’ve taken it and I’ve seen a lot of things that I will probably never have a chance to see again. The drive tomorrow is going to be mostly freeway driving with a stop in San Pedro for lunch on the way past LA. Time to get some sleep.
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2010.09.08
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 8:04 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
The drive from Guerneville to San Francisco is quite short if you take 101 all the way, which I had no intention of doing. Instead I drove further up Highway 116 to Sebastopol and chose Hanna Winery to start my day. 6 wines tasted, 3 bottles heavier, and $90 lighter I continued by trip to another Dutton-Goldfield (suggested by the first winery I visited), where another 3 bottles were purchased after tasting 5 more wines. The girl there was good enough to suggest a fantastic lunch spot on Highway 116 called Mom’s Apple Pie (I kid you not). Lunch was a sandwich and macaroni salad, homemade style. Delicious and Inexpensive!
From there I went to the Iron Horse winery which had some fantastic whites, of which I tried 6 and bought another 3 bottles. Iron Horse’s tasting room was outdoors and it was really nice to look out over the vineyards while tasting.
After that, I made my way back to Highway 1 to get my curvy road fix for the afternoon and then arrived in San Francisco via the Golden Gate bridge which was half-obscured by fog. The GPS suggested I take Divisadero to where I’m staying, and I had forgotten just how steep the hill on Divisadero street was. I’m definitely not used to driving on hills like that, even on the coast highway. Traffic was as expected, and now I’m off for dinner.
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2010.09.08
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 7:48 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I left Eureka early, before the marine layer had burned off, but it got sunny pretty quickly. Just south of Eureka there was construction on 101, but one of the signs made me laugh. Instead of the usual blah blah about slowing down, the sign actually said, “Slow for the cone zone.” I loved it.
After driving on 101 for a short while I was anxious to see something besides the freeway so I made a quick side trip to Ferndale, which was interesting to see. There were some very funky buildings downtown.
Once I had some more options than just the freeway, I drove on the Avenue of the Giants through the redwoods which was a nice drive. I attempted a few photos but they didn’t really turn out as the light was so low in the forest at that hour of the morning.
Back on 101, I took the exit for Highway 1 towards Mendocino. The drive along the coast was fantastic as expected. The road was a lot of fun although it did require a lot of attention and constant speed adjustments. I really enjoyed it overall, and got to Mendocino about lunchtime.
Mendocino was a nice town but a little too touristy for my liking. I’ve never seen so many jewellery stores in such a small area before. After wandering around for about 30 minutes, I found an interesting looking pub and ate lunch. The pub was in a great old house and had lots of character, and I had a really nice pear salad along with a pint of Locally-brewed beer (from Humboldt). The bartender was an older gentleman who looked a lot like he should have been somebody’s butler, but we had a good chat.
From Mendocino I continued down highway 1 all the way to 116, and followed it up the Russian River to Guerneville where I set up my tent and then hung out by the pool and soaked in the hot tub for the rest of the afternoon. For supper I had pork tenderloin which was good, although the vegetables stole the show – the green beans were done to perfection.
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2010.09.06
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 11:59 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Another beautiful day weather-wise, an early start, and a shorter drive than yesterday left me with more time to explore. To pick up from yesterday, I did manage to find a nice beach near Coos Bay, further South on 101 at Bandon.
101 runs a bit inland from there, returning to the coast and providing some spectacular views at Port Orford, where I stopped briefly and chatted with one of the friendly locals for a while. He was kind enough to suggest a good place for breakfast, but I had already eaten before I left Coos Bay.
Several sections of the drive were very captivating. Humbug Mountain stands out in particular.
I stopped for an early lunch in Brookings. It wasn’t anything too remarkable but they did have good Clam Chowder.
I made it to the California border before noon, and was a little surprised that I had to stop at the border. The only question they asked was whether I was bringing fruits or vegetables, to which I truthfully answered, “no.” I was on my way in about 30 seconds.
I wandered off 101 to take a detour through Fort Dick for no particular reason. The sign promised ocean access, and I didn’t have the GPS plugged in so I set off on a road which (as I look at the map now) doesn’t actually go to the ocean unless you make a particular series of turns that I didn’t make. Oh well – I was back on 101 quickly enough and really didn’t lose any time.
When I got to Crescent City, I stopped to pick up a map and some information about Redwood National and State Parks where I would be spending the rest of the trip to Eureka.
After chatting with the rangers for a bit, I decided on an assortment of different things, including several of the suggested scenic drives.
I’m glad I took the time to chat with the ranger because I would not have been prepared for some of the roads I was planning on travelling otherwise. Today was almost certainly the closest to off-road driving my car will get on this trip.
First up was a windy, steep road up to Klamath River Overlook where I was treated to incredible views given the clear weather. It was the wrong time of year to see they gray whales on their migration, unfortunately. The road was paved and in very good shape, something I wouldn’t appreciate until a little later in the day.
After stopping for fuel in Klamath, I turned off the highway to take the coastal drive down Klamath Beach Road. The views were great, the road was not. It’s a rough gravel road with steep grades and some very narrow (one lane) sections. It was an interesting drive nonetheless, although very slow and it required a fair bit of attention. The road eventually runs back to meet up with the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway which is a nice road through the redwoods. The scenery was beautiful although difficult to photograph given the lighting conditions and the fact that there were only a few places to stop on the side of the road.
After being back on 101 briefly, I turned off onto Davison Road so I could head to Fern Canyon.
Although it’s really not all that bad to drive, Davison Road is not for the timid. The first half is a very rough gravel road through the forest with sharp curves and steep grades. Some parts of the road are too narrow to pass a vehicle going the opposite direction, and visibility is very poor. The speed limit is 15 miles per hour. There are parts I was able to drive a little faster, but more parts where even 15 was pushing it given how rough the road is.
At about the halfway point you hit the beach, and drive on a wider, much flatter gravel road in much better shape. What makes this part of the drive interesting is that 3 small, shallow creeks run across the road at various points, and you have to drive through them since there are no bridges. The creeks were each about 8 inches deep and 10 feet wide. Nothing too crazy but a little intimidating. The honda civic in front of me was obviously not feeling adventurous – it turned back at the first creek, which is a shame since it was well worth it to continue at that point.
Fern canyon is an easy half-mile walk, and quite beautiful. I took my time here, and also checked out the incredibly broad (and virtually deserted) beach. The winds were quite strong so nobody was around.
After spending that much time in the redwoods it was time to get moving, so I took 101 the rest of the way to Eureka without any more detours. The car needed washing badly (crossing creeks + dusty gravel roads = filthy car) so I took care of that, then had sushi for supper.
I did wander around Eureka which is a very cool town in terms of architecture, but alas my camera was back at the hotel. after supper the sun had set and so I didn’t have a chance to get any photos then either. They’ve managed to preserve a good amount of their 150+ year history from what I could see.
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2010.09.05
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 8:54 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
I covered a lot of ground today, backtracking from Portland to Cannon Beach then South down 101 as far as Coos Bay. Being a holiday weekend, traffic was a little crazy in places but the drive only took me about 8 hours including all of the stops I made.
The weather started out cool and grey in Portland, and it turned to rain as I drove West on Highway 26. Once I got to the coast, the sun came out and while it was cool and breezy it was a great day weather-wise – no rain at all on 101.
The drive down the coast was incredible. The coastline here is dominated by craggy cliffs and wide sandy beaches. In some cases the beach access was a little hard to find, but I soon learned that for the most part if you see a sign for a state park on 101 and it appears to be on the west side of the highway, that’s usually a guaranteed beach access point.
The morning started out with a number of beach visits, and watching my car roll over to 10,000km. I also made a brief stop in Tillamook (but not at the cheese factory there) to get breakfast. With limited options I decided McDonald’s was a safe bet. Or would have been if they hadn’t stopped serving breakfast about 10 minutes before I got there. I used my charm and good looks to get breakfast anyway (actually, I scowled, which did the trick).
The next 80 miles to Newport were quite slow going but rewarding to drive. Just north of Newport there’s a really great park called Yaquina Head which has a light house and a number of other really interesting spots you can hike to. It was well worth the $7 admission.
After leaving the park, I attempted to go to the historic part of Newport. I say attempted because there was no parking to be had within about 8 blocks. The restaurant I was considering for lunch there also appeared to have a large number of people standing around out front (I presumed waiting for tables) which didn’t bode well, so I decided to continue on. I would eventually get lunch at a nondescript Mexican restaurant that was decent but average. It was nice to have fresh Mahi Mahi on the tacos though.
I made a few other stops along the road side and visited a few beaches, but by this point I was kind of “beached out”. I also made part of a drive into the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It was neat to watch all of the ATV folks in the part that allowed ATVs, but I didn’t stay long (didn’t get out of the car) because I didn’t realize I was supposed to have a pass to park in there and I had neglected to buy one.
From there, I made my way to Coos Bay, stopping to take a picture of the bridge across the bay. After checking in to the hotel, I drove around for a bit too check out the town. Unlike Newport or Cannon Beach, Coos Bay isn’t a tourist town, and so it has a lot less charm. A lot of it is downright ugly actually. The beaches on the ocean side didn’t look very nice either (at least the ones I saw, perhaps there were others further South).
I did swing by a grocery store and bought a few things to make a light breakfast tomorrow, and I’ll be off to bed early tonight.
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2010.09.04
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 9:42 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Today I wanted some downtime before heading on the big drive, so I stuck somewhat closer to portland. After eating breakfast, I decided to check out the beach. Collins Beach on Sauvie Island. The island was interesting, and the beach was great.
It’s a clothing optional beach, so for obvious reasons I didn’t take any pictures.
After getting back, I went out for an incredible supper at a small restaurant called Pok Pok. I can’t begin to describe how awesome the food was. It’s definitely the best meal I had so far this trip.
Other than that I didn’t really do much today. And that’s just fine with me.
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2010.09.04
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 9:34 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
For supper last night I decided to check out the Deschutes brew pub downtown. I had venison stew which was great, and it was a really fun atmosphere in the place. Plus, their dukelweizen was very very tasty.
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2010.09.03
Posted in Road Trip 2010, Travel at 7:30 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel
Today was a pretty busy day along the Columbia river for me. I left downtown with very little planned aside from hiking the Eagle Creek trail about 40 miles East of Portland. I wound up taking my time getting there, driving down part of old Highway 30 and stopping at 3 waterfalls: Wahkeena falls, Multnomah falls, and Horsetail falls. They’re all easily accessible. I didn’t hike up any of the trails beyond those falls because I wanted to save some time and energy for Eagle Creek.
Next, I hiked Eagle Creek as far as Lower Punchbowl falls. That made for about a 5 mile round trip because I had to park in the overflow parking 1/2 mile down the road. The trail was quite busy but the hike was a lot of fun. In some spots, the trail is only about 2 feet wide and there are steel cables anchored into the cliff face because the rock can get a bit slippery. The two falls I saw on the hike were both really nice.
After all the hiking, I jumped back in the car and drove to Cascade Locks where I had a substandard salad for lunch. I also spent a bunch of time wandering around the port taking pictures of the Columbia River
I drove on I-84 East as far as Hood River, got gas, and washed the car. Somewhere along the way I acquired some tree sap that I decided I should wash off before it made a bigger mess.
On the way back West to Portland I stopped at Bonneville Dam which was quite neat to see. They have windows where you can see into the salmon ladder from underwater, and watch the fish swimming upstream. Now I’m back downtown and contemplating supper.
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