Day 4 Yosemite.

“The Whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land” -Gilbert K. Chesterton.  This quote is in the travel book I have used the most – 1,000 Places to See Before you Die, in the United States & Canada.  Today I managed to check off a big one on my must-see list, Yosemite National Park.

First, I grabbed breakfast at a little café near my hotel. I noticed the two other people in the café were both young and fit, wearing Lycra – must be climbers. Last night the other people at dinner were my age, not so fit, wearing clothes with lots of pockets – I think they were fisherman. At any rate I drove through the park from east to west, ending up at the Base of El Capitan. Fortunately, my sister’s husband recommended I bring binoculars. I was standing at the base, and I couldn’t see any climbers, but I could hear them, using the binoculars, I was able to find them about ½ way the face. I didn’t have time to see all the sites in the park, but the drive through was a bout 3 hours long, so I got a good feel for the park.

This is the end of the trip, I am meeting a grade school friend and a junior high school friend for dinner tonight, so a good end to really good trip.  I still have the feeling of being excited to see what’s new every day when I travel through this country, I guess when that feeling end, it’s time to stop travelling.

 Day 3 To the interior, doorstep of Yosemite.

I didn’t have a lot of sites to see today, it was all about getting over to the east side of Yosemite National Park, to get ready for tomorrow. I am going to spend my blog time talking about the difference in the people and masks requirements in California.

Last night I went to dinner at a recommended restaurant in the harbor area of Fort Bragg. The restaurant was busy, but I got a very strange vibe there, a marked difference from the friendly people in Oregon. There was just something off at this restaurant.  It’s probably not a fair review, after all the Holiday Inn Express I stayed at was new and nice, the guidebooks all call Fort Lee Charming, but last night, sitting at the bar, it was just strange.  The elderly lady next to me at the bar, who was a regular, had no interest in talking to me, she was more interested in asking the bartender where her order was. The guy next to her called the bartender over and asked if they could step away from the bar, I could still hear and he was complaining that every time he comes to this restaurant, he is charged for 2 martinis, and he should only be charged for 1 and ½.  Another diner approached the bar and said she ordered Pepsi and got Dr. Pepper. I just couldn’t figure out why the vibe was so different, the landscape looked like Oregon, the town was the same size, it was just different.  

Tonight, in another small town in California but on the eastern side, I ate at the only choice in town, a small diner playing Elvis and other 50’s music, very relaxed and I heard no one complaining about anything.

My mask report is all over the place. Last night in Fort Bragg, all the places had a mask mandate, and today an hour outside of town I stopped at a convince store for coffee and even though the sign said masks were required, nobody inside was wearing. I asked the clerk, and she said the manager did not require them.  Further east, I stopped for lunch to meet an old friend that I worked with 20 years ago at Intel.  This town, Folsom, near the state capital of Sacramento with lots of upscale restaurants and shops, no mask requirements in site.  Here tonight in this very small town of Lee Vining, back to mask requirements everywhere.  I can’t figure it out, I just walk around with my mask in my pocket and try to do, what I think is right.

Finally, a note on my drive today, I had a little bit of everything. Going east from the coast, I went back over the mountains I crossed yesterday, tight turns, logging trucks and impressive forests. Once over the mountain I was in agriculture country, looked like almond and olive trees. Continuing east, it was over the Sierra Nevada’s though the area impacted by the recent Caldor fire, south of Lake Tahoe. From there I looped through Nevada, more high plains but still with some recent fire damage and even some snow on the side of the road, into the town before Yosemite.  Pictures below are from the restaurant last night and my approach into town tonight and from my hotel.

Beer: Yosemite Pale Ale - Mammoth Brewing

Book on Tape: Started American Dirt

Song:  Came on today - and I like this song - I Lived One Republic

 

Day 2 The coast and the Redwoods

Quick recap from last night, I went to dinner at a place I found on trip advisor – well it was the place next to the place I was looking for, the place I found was closed.  As it turns out, the restaurant I went to was nice, the owners had just moved from Maine, where they lived for 15 years, running 5 restaurants in that time.  Oregon was home for them, so they moved back and took over a restaurant that they city had taken over because of unpaid taxes.  The waitress was a former heavy equipment operator who moved back to the coast and was working as a waitress in her retirement.  It was a couple’s anniversary and after the waitress made the announcement, another diner came up to them and said “my wife and I have been married so long that we have had fights longer than some marriages last these days” I got a good chuckle.

Today my first stop was over an hour away, so I took off in the dark and when the sun came up I stopped at Cape Blanco lighthouse and continued down the coast admiring the views, much of the trip is along the ocean and view after view was amazing.  Crossing into California I stopped in Crescent City and picked up a map at the national forest service office and got advice on where to stop to see the Redwoods.  Soon after leaving Crescent city, right on the highway you are driving through the Redwoods. I got off at the recommended stop and walked through big tree wayside on a half mile walk.  Later I stopped at Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Richard Nixon named the grove after the former first lady, because of her work in helping save the environment. Can you imagine Joe Biden naming anything after Melania Trump?

After the National Park I stopped in Eureka for lunch – turns out it was an all you can eat Barbecue place – today was Chicken – there were some big eaters here today for lunch. I stopped at a ½ chicken and kept heading south.  At one point I saw a sign for the “famous drive through tree” Thinking it was something I should see; I made the detour.  I don’t think it’s the same tree I have seen in pictures, my little rent a car just squeezed through – but I guess it was worth the $10 to know I drove through the tree.  From there I headed to the coast again on route 1 and it was an amazing winding road with hair pin turns, switchbacks and a genuine fun drive, no problem paying attention, even with ½ a barbecue chicken inside me. Stop for the night was Fort Bragg a little town on the coast.  The Northern California coast is just an extension of the beauty seen in Oregon.

Today I finished The Path Between The Seas David McCullough, story of the Panama canal.

Beer: Anchor Steam

Song of the Day: Traveller Chris Stapleton.

 Tuesday October 12,2021

Portland to San Francisco

Day 1: The Coast of Oregon

Last year, on my 48 states in 48 days tour, one drive I had penciled in, was the coast of Oregon. My plan was to stay in Newport Beach, drive down the coast of Oregon, to Redwood National Forest and then over to Redding California for the night.  Three days out of Oregon, I became concerned about Forest Fires in California, specifically about one near Redding. I called the hotel I had booked to inquire about the fire and the front desk clerk told me “According to a fire fighter staying here, the fire is moving away from town” Not wanting to be stuck in a fire, or even take a room from an evacuee or firefighter, I changed my route to cross over through central Oregon and stay in Lake Tahoe California.

Yesterday I flew into Portland and headed to the coastal town of Seaside. Seaside is a cute little town on the coast, not far from the Washington State border.  One of the things I could not do last year was hang out at a bar or talk to people at dinner.  I was able to do so today, the Red Sox we in a playoff game and I got to hang out and watch the game.  One guy I talked to was a newly retired Portland Police Officer who was a big Red Sox fan. I convinced him to investigate Team Rubicon in his retirement. Another guy and I talked about how much we enjoy watching sports with our daughters. My conversations, plus a Red Sox win made my night.

Today, I with through my guidebook and wrote down 9 different stops along the Oregon Coast.  The highlight was the little town of Cannon Beach. In 1999 I worked for Intel Corporation; at the time my division’s headquarters were outside of Portland. I was there over a weekend and took the same drive from Portland to the coast that I did yesterday.  On that day my first stop was Cannon beach and I always thought it was a cool town.  Today I stopped at the same state park I went to in 1999. Even though it was early, and I didn’t see anybody around, after walking to the ocean to take some picture I came back and found a note on my car, remaining me to pay the $5 park entry fee.  Thinking it would be bad karma, to not pay the fee I complied. Speaking of karma, in 1999 I went to a park and started talking with a guy who was going surfing.  He said he expected more surfers that day and because of safety he didn’t want to go in the water without somebody being there.  He asked me if I could stay and watch him for a while. I declined saying I had places to be – which I really didn’t, I was driving north to Washington State but without a time commitment. I have felt bad about that ever since.  Today when I pulled up to the same spot, two surfers were getting their gear on. I told them the story, and the women told me she absolved me of my guilt, and they didn’t need me to watch them today.

The rest of the day I wound my down highway 101 stopping at beaches, overlooks, lighthouses and even the Sea Lions Cave (but all the Sea Lions left in August to go feed, and won’t be back until May.) One of the other things I noticed everywhere on this drive, is the help wanted signs. I even saw an ad during the morning news that Intel was hiring. Ironic that Intel gave me a severance package in 2002 to leave the company. My mask report is that it’s required almost everywhere inside in Oregon and the compliance is very good.