Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 8

Sorry about the dark video.. was in Harry's truck and it was past midnight.

Today was our travel day. We were leaving Aberdeen Washington and our friends The Moyers. We had planned to visit Seattle, WA because we wanted to see the Space Needle. Many folks suggested that we visit the Sci fi Museum and I would have agreed with them but everyone keeps forgetting that we have our dog Daisy with us. That limits us on what we can do and where we can eat.

So we got stuck in traffic in Seattle but finally made it to the Space Needle. It was smaller looking in the skyline compared to the high rises but when you get up close to it, it's pretty tall. Loved the "pride" flag on top.

After Seattle, Amy Moyer mentioned a really cool town that she and Rick had visited called Leavenworth. It's a small town that is built like a Bavarian/German town. Buildings, the food, the beer and the dancers all were all in authentic German/Bavarian style. Since Harry is from Austria Amy thought Harry would enjoy that town.l. she was right. We stopped by for about an hour and walked up and down the streets.. also watched the German dancers (see video in blog). Again because of the dog we couldn't go in any of the stores or restaurants, but it just means we have to go back in the future.

After Leavenworth we didn't have a plan.. well we did have a plan. We were going to drive to Spokane, WA and stay in a hotel but there were several events going on this weekend and every single hotels for 50 miles around were sold out. So we decided that we were going to try and make it to Montana before parking and sleeping in the truck.

So we headed toward Montana, and let me say Eastern Washington couldn't be more different from Western Washington.. if it's much warmer but the big difference is the terrain. West side was nothing but beautiful trees..East side is farm land as far as the eye can see.. some green some dirt. Felt like forever driving through that.

Speaking of driving, Harry drove from 9am to 2pm I drive from 2pm to midnight. I don't think I have every driven 10 hours in one day.

Before we left Washington we stopped in Spokane to pick up some dinner at Panda Express. Then we drove into Idaho. At this time it was dark so we didn't see much and finally we made it to Montana. Just over the boarder of Idaho and Montana was a rest stop and this is were we finally stopped and crashed for the night.

All in all it was a long long driving day but we got to see so many beautiful sights. We also were in three states in one day :)

Day 8 - Leavenworth, Washington

Amy Moyer mentioned this town in Eastern Washington that is themed as Bavarian / German city with building, food, music, beer and dancers. Speaking of dancers there was this really cool troop who street preformed with German Dances... they did about six of them but this was my favorite.

Day 8 - Space Needle in Seattle

One thing I really wanted to do while in Washington I wanted to see the Seattle Space Needle. We got stuck in Seattle traffic for a little over an hour but finally got to the Needle.. I did a little video.

My First Smores

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 7

Today was a very relaxed day. We went over to Ricks place and had breakfast with him and his family. Rick made Belgian Waffles, which were good. After breakfast we hang out and did a recording for a podcast for my friend Meds for his Waffle On program. After that Rick, Harry, Catherine (Rick's daughter), Andrew (Rick's son) and I went to the movies to see Toy Story 3. LOVED IT... you can read more in my separate blog.

After the movies we went back to the Moyer's house where Amy had prepared a special snack... a Deer / Elk Sausage. I had never had deer or elk so I was in for a first.. and I have to say it wasn't bad.. I'd eat it again. While we were at the movies Daisy stayed with Amy and actually did fairly well.. so that was good.

I then tried to find hotels for the rest of the trip. We had booked hotels only up to Aberdeen. We didn't want to drive all the way trough to Montana and wanted to stop in Spokane (WA). Turns out there is some sort of event going on this weekend and it is literally impossible to find a reasonable priced hotel room. So we opted to book hotels for all other stop on this road trip, which almost caused me to have a nervous breakdown.

This of course means that we have no hotel book for tomorrow. Tomorrow we will drive east and visit Leavenworth (WA), a town that is a recreation of a German city. After that we will have to decide if try to find a hotel to stay, continue to drive east and hope to find a hotel along the way, or sleep in my truck in the parking lot of a Walmart.

After that we took Rick and his family out for dinner to the Mazatlan restaurant. All of us love Mexican food and it was absolutely worth it. After dinner we hung out at Moyer's house and made S'mores... and believe it or not that was my first time every having them. (you can watch the video in my blog) Then it was time for group pictures since that was our last day with them. Both, Harry and I, loved spending time with them... and it's sad that we had to say good bye. Maybe they can make it down to our place for my 40th birthday in September. That would be awesome.

It was a FANTASTIC 3 days hanging out with The Moyers

Toy Story 3

When we left for our vacation Toy Story 3 began. I knew I couldn't wait three weeks before seeing it so we were going to have to somehow see it while we were on our road trip, which of course made it difficult because of the dog. Well a few days before we were to come visit Rick and his family, Rick asked if we wanted to see it with him and his daughter one of the days we were here visiting. They said we could leave Daisy with Amy and not have to worry.. so that is what we did today.

I have loved every Pixar movie that has come out so there was no doubt that I was going to love this movie and I did. Toy Story 1 & 2 are some of my favorite Pixar movies, for that fact they are some of my all time favorite movies all together.. and part 3 has joined them. It's one of the best Trilogies around. Part three was well written, well acted and was a prefect end to a prefect story. I laughed, I cried, I was moved by the plight of these animated characters. It's amazing to me that Pixar can put so much life into these characters that you instantly fall in love them. Their facial expressions, their actions are so moving. I got teary eyed throughout the movie but the last third of the movie tears where rolling down until the very end.

I can't wait till we get home and I watch this again.. and then maybe again.

Another fantastic job Pixar.. you continue to amaze and entertain me... THANKS!!

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 6

Got to Rick's a little later then expected but once we were there we had breakfast and once again Rick's wife Amy made some build your own breakfast burritos, which were very delicious.

Since Tess and Daisy hadn't been getting along with each other, we put a muzzle on Daisy and introduced the two dogs slowly... they managed to tolerate each other. So there are chances that the two might mange to get along with each other after all.

The first thing we did was head to Westport to see Pacific Ocean in Washington. We climbed up the Jetty and took some amazing pix and lots of great video. Next we walked along the docks and Rick and I picked up some sinfully delicious fudge and salt water taffy. After that we stopped at a non-functioning light house.

After the light house adventure went to check out a beach. This was our first visit to a beach in Washington and Daisy's first visit to a beach ever, since there are only a few beaches in LA county that allow dogs. The beach was really great...a little different than SoCal beaches. On the SoCal beaches the sand is a little lighter. This beach had quite a nice amount of driftwood, something you don't see on the LA beaches. First Daisy wasn't to sure about the entire thing, but warmed up very quickly and absolutely enjoyed her time at the beach and wasn't too thrilled when we were leaving.

After the beach adventure, we drove back to Aberdeen to check out a Star Wars Store. I have heard about the Star Wars store for years from Rick so it was awesome to actually see the store in person. It was everything I had expected.. lots of things that I have had/seen over the years. Lots of used toys and some very cool promotional things that I had never seen before. I could have spent hours in the store and still not see everything. I did pick up a poster and put a request in for another cool poster. I'm thinking about getting some Star Wars plates.. have to decide by tomorrow.

After the Star Wars Store we went to Dairy Queen for a rather late lunch. Next we picked up some groceries at Walmart and headed back to Ricks house. After a first few tense moments, Daisy and Tess sniffed each other and started to get along with each other. Well they weren't exactly best buddies, but Daisy tolerated Tess for most part. Tess kept following her around and Daisy was kinda fine with it. Sometimes Daisy got a little annoyed with it but other than that she was fine. So there is definitely hope for our dog.

We hung out at Ricks house for about 1 1/2, then dinner was served. Rick's wife Amy prepared her famous Tater Tot Casserole... I had heard about this for years and I was really hoping to experience it while I was here and I was not disappointed... it was absolutely delicious. As desert Amy and Cathrine prepared an Apple Crisps and it was soooooo sweet.

After dinner we hung out with the Moyers and then took a walk at Friends Landing. It's a man made lake, it's a 1 mile hike around it. After we got back we hung out with the Moyers till about 10 pm. It was another AWESOME day with The Moyers

Our second day with the Moyers

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 5

Today was the day I was looking forward too this entire trip. I was going to get to meet Rick Moyer face to face. Rick and I have been chatting online for years and developed a very close friendship so I couldn't wait to meet him and his wonderful family.

So we got up by 9:45 and arrived at 10am at Rick's place. Meeting the Moyers was liking seeing old friends. It was though we hung out all the time. Amy (Rick's Wife) and Catherine (Rick's Daughter) made some very delicious Swedish pancakes with Strawberries for breakfast.

Only down side to our meeting was Daisy and Tess didn't get along with each other at all. Tess is way too excited and Daisy doesn't quite understand what to make of it. So the only solution was to keep the 2 dogs apart from each other. Maybe with time they will warm up to each other.

After breakfast we left for a trip to the Washington Rain Forest. It took us roughly a hour to get there. Again we were driving through lots and lots of forest. We got to hang out at the beautiful Lake Quinault. After that we walked over to the world's largest Spruce Tree and took lots of videos and photos. Next up was lunch at the Mercantile, a 'mom and pop' restaurant near the lake, and lunch was absolutely delicious. After lunch we hung out at the lake a second time. Next was a tour of a architectural very interesting lodge. After that we went to see Marriman Falls. It might not be the tallest waterfall, but it is certainly the most beautiful waterfall Harry and I have seen on this trip so far.

After that we headed back to Ricks house and a delicious pot roast for dinner. Then we hang out with Rick's family for a couple of hours. All in all it was a fun filled day and it was so much fun hanging out with The Moyers.

Our first day with the Moyers

Here is my friend Rick's little video from today's adventures.

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 5 - Marriman Falls

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 4

Today Harry and I were going from Hood River (OR) to Aberdeen (WA). We got on the road around 9:30. It was only going to be a 200 mile drive so the night before I told Harry I wanted to see Astoria, OR. This is where they shot Goonies and I'm a huge Goonies fan so I thought it would be fun to see the place.

So we took I-84 west and on the outskirts of Portland we merged onto the 205 North. It's rather odd as the GPS made us go up north into Washington and than back south into Oregon. So we passed the outskirts of Vancouver (WA) and then took highway 197 west and were supposed to go via the Lewis and Clark Bridge over the Columbia River back into Oregon. But somehow our GPS got at little confused and told us to go right and that way we ended up in a lumber yard. So we turned the car around and took the Lewis and Clark Bridge into Oregon.

This is a big and architecturally very impressive bridge. From the Oregon side you have a absolutely stunning view of the bridge. We then followed the historic US Route 30 west. It's a 2-lane highway and you get some interesting views. What you see most of the time is lots and lots of forest. So made it to Astoria and stopped at the entrance to take a picture with the city sign and than drove into town.

While we were driving through town in search of a fast food place we found a much better 'Welcome to Downtown Astoria Sign' so we stopped and took a picture in front of that sign and then we hit the road again. We didn't find any fast food place that would have agreed with our stomach, so we opted to drive over the 4.3 mile long Astoria Bridge into Washington. This bridge is absolutely amazing... not only because of it's length, but also because of it's architecture. I was terrified driving over it.. but manage to get across with no issue. We stopped at the next turn out on the Washington side and took quite a number of pix and videos and we also took picture right in front of the Washington State Sign.

We merged onto the 101 and followed it north. Again we came across some quite interesting views, lots of forest but also lots of dead and fallen trees. We drove for about 1 1/2 hours and didn't come across any city. We finally reached the city of South Bend but didn't find any fast food place that would have agreed with us. So we continued on the 101 north and soon reached the city of Raymond where we had lunch at a Diary Queen.

After lunch we got back onto the 101 north. That's when a really odd thing happened with the GPS: We had about 30 miles to go and the GPS estimated that we would need another 2 hours. That struck us as rather odd. Turns out that the GPS was wrong, as about 40 minutes later we reached Aberdeen and checked into the Hotel. So far this hotel is the nicest on the entire trip but the internet is super slow and I'm not able to upload videos.

All in all another great day...

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 3

Today was the first time during this vacation that we weren't doing any major traveling, instead we planned to visit a couple of waterfalls about 20 miles west from where we were staying and to explore parts of the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway, which is part of the old US Route 30.

We headed out around 10.30 am and took the I-84 west. At Cascade Locks, we stopped at The Bridge of the Gods, which is this very cool steel bridge that spans the Columbia River Gorge. We continued on the old US Route 30 and entered Ainesworth State Park, we stopped at a rest stop for a little hike, then explored the Horsetail Waterfall... it was absolutely gorgeous. After that we went even further west to the Multnomah Waterfall, a 611-foot-tall roaring, awe-inspiring cascade of icy water. . This waterfall is absolutely stunning and definitely worth a visit. We did hike up to a bridge from where you have an awesome view of the waterfall and we managed to take lots of pix and absolutely stunning video of the waterfall. After that we hiked back to the base of the fall and decided that it was time for lunch. We checked a restaurant near the fall, but neither Harry nor I were willing to pay 12 bucks for a burger. So we got back onto the I-84, headed east and picked up lunch at Dairy Queen. Taking lunch back to the hotel was definitely the easier thing to do.

After lunch we relaxed for a couple of hours at the hotel and then we headed back out. This time we wanted to explore parts of the historic US Route 30 east of Hood River. So we got onto the I-84 and headed east. One of the first few exits lets you explore the historic Columbia River Gorge. We took that exit and followed US Route 30. This is a very scenic road, but also very windy. Highway 30 brought us higher and higher up where we found several great spots to stop and view the gorge from high above. One of the places was called Memaloose Overlook. From there you have a absolutely gorgeous view of the Columbia River Gorge. You have an almost 180 degree view from up there and it is definitely well worth the drive. We then continued on highway 30 and reached it's highest point at Rowena Crest. This is another place from where you can enjoy absolutely stunning views of the Gorge. We then took the narrow and windy US Route 30 down back to I-84 and followed it to a city called The Dalles. We drove across the Dalles Dam Bridge and into Washington.

We took US Route 197 north to Highway 14 and followed the 14 west. The scenery of the the Gorge on the Washington side is equally impressive. I just wish there would have been more turn outs, so that you can stop to take pix and videos. We stopped at one turn out and got quite a number of great pix and some good video as well. After that we took the Hood River Toll Bridge back to Oregon. While we were crossing the Gorge we got some awesome pix of
Mt. Hood and Toll Bridge. Turns out that this bridge isn't paved, and you have to drive over steel plates across the Gorge. On top of that this bridge is very narrow and a drawbridge... and it was very strange driving over it but you definitely get some stunning views.

All in all it was a really great 3rd day of our vacation and Harry and I enjoyed it a lot.

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 3 - Bridge of the Gods

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 3 - Multnomah Falls

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 3 - Horsetail Fall

Pacific Northwest Road Trip - Day 2

Here's my video blog for Day 2. Today we drove from Mount Shasta, CA to Hood River, OR.

On day 2 of our vacation we wanted to drive all the way up to the Columbia River Gorge. We had planned to leave Mt. Shasta at 9 am, but we were running about 1/2 hour behind again. I decided to drive the first leg of the trip since Harry started yesterday.

The scenery of Northern California is very beautiful and is very different from Central California. On the way to the California - Oregon border we passed through a number of very small towns.
Around 11 we made it to the CA - Oregon state line.

We stopped right at the Oregon State Sign and took a couple of pix. We continued north on the I-5 and stopped at Country Junction rest stop to let Daisy out. Of course she loved it... but all the new and different smells were driving her crazy. We got back on the Interstate and headed north. Driving through Oregon is absolutely beautiful. Trees as far as the eye can see and everything is soooo green. At Sutherlin we got off the freeway to have lunch at Burger King.

After lunch Harry took over as driver, since I had driven a little over 200 miles. We got back onto the I-5 and headed north. We passed through Eugene and Salem where the skies got more and more gray and then it started to rain. It rained on and off the rest of the way. But I guess that's just the way Oregon is.. I mean if it didn't rain as much it wouldn't be a green as it is.

About 25 miles south of Portland we stopped at the Baldock Rest Area, to give Daisy a chance to get out of the car... and of course she absolutely loved it. I have to say one thing about Rest Stops in Oregon they are very wooded and really beautiful. We also found out that it is against the law in Oregon to pump your own gas. We noticed this when we were at lunch and eating in the truck and watching a gas station.. I mentioned to Harry that must be a full service but found out later that it's a law.. crazy....

We headed into Portland. Not exactly sure exactly what it was but I was very unimpressed with Portland, maybe it was because of the pouring down rain.. but it looked dirty and very industrial.

We finally started to head East on I-84 with the last part of today's travels. It took about 1 hour but we reached our final destination in Hood River. We checked into the Sunset Motel, unpacked the truck and finally relaxed

Will be in Hood River for the next 2 days