Got off the plane from Tokyo around mid-day June 30, having left Tokyo in the evening that same day. I was pretty tired as my body was telling it was time for sleep, but I was also excited to be back in the States and starting a roadtrip. My initial destination was Seattle, where I was going to pick up my dad to start a trip back to Louisville together.
The drive up through Northern California was pretty cool. It was my first time north of San Francisco on the west coast. Took a few pictures of Mount Shasta as I was driving. Lake Shasta looked beautiful from the interstate as well. I remember a friend in college telling me stories about a houseboat party weekend on Lake Shasta. It sounded amazing, but then that guy was one of the best story/joke tellers I´ve met so maybe it´s only great, not amazing.
Stopped to refuel at a gas station in Oregon...the people I saw there were definitely not like what you´ll see in California...more like what you´d see at a truck stop in Arkansas. Actually went ahead and changed a tire there as a tire-check revealed to me that the rubber was getting dangerously thin on one tire. I neglected to thoroughly check the spare...something that would have an effect the next day.
It was dark by the time I got to Portland so I decided to stay there for the night. My intent was to stay in a Motel-6 that I saw from the freeway, but I couldn´t figure out how to get there so I went to the Best Western instead. After hearing the high price, I went back out to my car and headed off in search of the Motel-6 again. Again I could not figure out how to get to it. I could see it the freeway but couldn´t get over there. Literally, 30 minutes I tried before throwing in the towel and going back into the Best Western with my tail between my legs. Now, I know I was tired after not really sleeping for a day and a half, but I have to say the roads in Portland (that area at least) are pretty confusing. There are exits that exist northbound but not southbound and vice versa, lots of divided highways with no spots to turn around, no signs, and just generally not coherent road structure. Anyway, that´s my opinion.
So got up and headed across the Columbia to Washington. My awesome spare tire blew out on me while I was chatting on the phone with someone just as I was coming into the Seattle area. Luckily, I got over to the emergency lane without incident and got the original tire back on there in under 5 minutes. My own one-man pit crew. When I went to get two new tires the next day the tire-man informed me my blown spare was from 1992...and that even if it hadn´t blown it would be a crime for him to put it on my car again with that much age.
Seattle...incredible in July - awesome weather, beautiful bay and islands. Picked up Dad at the airport. We spent a few days in Seattle - checked out the aviation museum, which is well worth a day (or more) of time. Did the Underground Tour...still not sure of the exact process of how a town rebuilds itself above its former self, thereby creating Underground tours for us tourists years later. Guess I should have paid better attention. Seattle also has the Klondike Gold Rush Museum right there in the middle of town...it´s run by the National Parks Service, which is a little strange to see Park Rangers in a buidling in the middle of Seattle, but the museum is really pretty cool.
We headed over to Vancouver to see what that was like...maybe 3 hours up the road. There was quite a long line to get into Canada. As if anyone pays enough attention to Canada that they have legitimate security risks, thereby creating long lines at Immigration.... As I was switching lanes to get into the faster moving lane at Immigration, I got lectured by some guy (talking out his car window) about how it was wrong to change lanes like that. Canadians.
Vancouver was very pretty...although it was a bit sterile for my taste. The town certainly is full of gays and Asians, and Asian gays. We stayed at the Pan Pacific since I knew a guy who worked there, having met him in Kyoto on a day tour a couple months previously. 4 and 5 star hotels are nice and all, but I really get bothered over how they nickel and dime you...they tried to charge me $10 to use the gym. I told them no way I was paying that, that I would only be 30 minutes, and just walked right in without them stopping me or saying anything. Between Canada´s high taxes and our dollar doing so badly on the world markets, Canada is generally pretty expensive these days. All the more reason to rush home.
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