Love Me Like a Rock

This is Cannon Beach and the huge rocks are called Haystacks. The largest one is called Haystack Rock and is 235' and one of the largest free-standing rocks in the world. The smaller rocks are called needles and all of them are covered with gulls and other sea birds and are all along the Oregon coast.

We walked along the beach and saw lots of people on the beach although few go in the cold water and there are no lifeguards. Later we went to dinner at a local restaurant that was touted for its great clam chowder. We thought the chowder and food very mediocre at best. Great views made up for the food.

Back at the campground they had pet bunnies running all over the place which Ziggy found very interesting.

He's Ba-a-a-ack

I've been getting grief about my not contributing to the blog very much over the summer, so I will try to catch up. Judy's specialty is the play-by-play. I will try to add some color.

First of all, as we all know gas prices are through the roof. Here is a video that kind of sums up the situation.



All through Alaska, Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest I have noticed what appears to be a serious health issue. It seems that a large number of young women have body parts that are in danger of falling off. They have tried to stop this problem by using a variety of decorative devices to hold themselves together. If not for these devices I believe that there would be a great number of nostrils, eyebrows, tongues and lips lying all over the ground. I am happy that these decorative devices are so readily available.

We are glad to be back in the states where we are paying "only" $4.50/gallon of gas. That's more than a dollar less than we were paying in Canada. And everything else there is expensive as well. Most meals cost at least 30% more than a similar meal in the U.S.

But I have to say that the Canadian people are as nice and friendly as they can be. We could all learn something from the Canadians.

Now, if the Canadians are so nice, why did it take almost 2 hours to cross the border coming back in? Yes, we want to keep terrorists out. Having said that, the check was, at best, cursory. It would not be hard to get across the border. The delay could have been eased if all the available lanes had been open, but only about half were in use.

I really have to believe that this delay was in the same category as taking off your shoes for airport security -- all sizzle and no steak. It gives the appearance that we are doing something when very little is being accomplished. But some people will believe that because they were inconvenienced we will be a little safer in our country. If I wanted to smuggle 4 or 5 terrorists over the border in HaRVey the RV it would have been no problem. Even assuming that 10% of RVs crossing the border are inspected it is a loss ratio for which the terrorists would gladly settle.

More to come...

Let's Go Fly A Kite

My song title today is from Mary Poppins and it was another glorious day. We left Seattle and stopped at a Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed in HaRVey the RV. The we drove about four hours to the southeast corner of Washington to the Long Beach Peninsula.

We decided to spend a night here and explore the beach and area. This is where the Lewis and Clark expedition finally found the Pacific Ocean and there are many historical sites and forts to visit. In the town of Long Beach we found a small seaside place which reminded me of the Jersey shore minus the boardwalk and crowds. Surprisingly it was nearly deserted and this is the middle of July. It is quite windy and cool and definitely not swimming weather, but they have all the shore type shops, amusements and seafood restaurants.

After a nice lunch we opted to see the Kite Museum since Long Beach is the site of the International Kite Festival each year. The museum takes itself a little too seriously though it was interesting to see flying gadgets from around the world and how kites have been used in the military and in aviation. They even have a Hall of Fame and some amusing uses of kites. Jeff is posing in the photo with an enormous bird kite, probably a Phoenix.

Naturally we decided to purchase a kite and set off for the beach. Jeff is demonstrating how you fly a kite from your chair. It was so windy he undid the string and the kite took off with no running or throwing it in the air like we did as kids. We sat there and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

We were surprised to find a sandy beach although the sand was almost black with the same texture as the Jersey shore. No big waves here and just a few brave souls were in the water. You can drive your cars on the beach and they have a small boardwalk which is just a raised pathway along the back of the sandy area. There is also an eight mile trail that connects all the Lewish and Clark sites.

Later we went out for dinner and I had oysters which are a specialty here and harvested nearby in Willapa Bay. They were good!

Monday Monday

Another gorgeous weather day and a great time to do laundry and some cleaning. Jeff has gone to have some work done on the Acura and we have no plans. Around 1:00 we decide to take a ride to Tacoma to see some of the famous glass art. Dale Chihuly has set up his studios in Tacoma and they have an art museum, a glass museum and a glass bridge.

We decided to go to the glass museum and saw two good exhibits. Then we went into their "hot spot" where a real glass artist was doing glass blowing and making a teapot. It was very interesting and Jeff loved it since he had taken two glass blowing classes in Philadelphia. The studio is inside the metallic cone in the photo.

Afterwards we walked across the glass pedestrian bridge which crosses a highway in the center of town. There are two Chihuly sculptures on the bridge that looked like blue rock candy on a stick and then what looked like two sections of display cases. One was filled top to bottom with hundreds of Chihuly glass pieces and the other area had a ceiling filled with more glass works. Jeff said they were all extra pieces that didn't sell. It was kind of overwhelming and made the flowered ceiling at the Bellagio look like a practice run.

That was enough art for one day and we drove back and had dinner in and watched TV.

Sitting On Top Of The World

Another Sunday and a day to sleep late. After a relaxing morning we drove to the downtown area for our lunch date at the Space Needle. Thank goodness for the GPS which gets us everywhere we need to go and we arrived and got the car parked. Next door to the Space Needle is a new museum conceived and funded by Paul Allen, who is the partner of Bill Gates and also a billionaire. It is two museums under one roof, one is science fiction and the other a tribute to Jimi Hendrix and other musicians. The building is designed by Frank Gehry and it looks similar to his Disney Symphony Hall in LA, but not nearly as impressive. One side is blue and the other metallic silver.

We started in the science fiction section where Jeff was excited to meet Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of his favorite old movies, but soon had to leave for lunch. We got our hands stamped to return later and went next door to the Space Needle. We got our elevator passes and headed up to the restaurant - 500 feet in the air - and great views of the city and Puget Sound. The meal and service were much better than we expected. We enjoyed our lunch and spent over an hour admiring the scenery from our table. Later we went up a flight to the observation deck and looked out some more.

Next we took the monorail which goes only a few blocks to the downtown area and walked from there to the Pike Place Market. We looked around some more and explored some surrounding streets. I got an iced chai tea at the original Starbucks location. Back on the monorail and to the car. A stop at a supermarket and we were home.

It was a beautiful night to sit outside and Jeff grilled some sausages for his dinner. Later we finished up some odd and ends from the trek and watched The Usual Suspects and Animal House.

Seeing Seattle

This morning we took a half day city tour and saw much of the city. I am so impressed by the beauty here and it is great for tourists. First we saw the area with the stadiums and big public venues. The Safeco Field for baseball has a retractable roof and next door the QWEST Field looks like a space ship. Next we visited Pioneer Square where the gold rush miners passed through on their way north. There was a firemen's festival going on here and we also saw a street fair in Chinatown.

Downtown we passed the art museum and some tall buildings. The city is very hilly and reminded me of San Francisco. Next we drove to the harbor and saw the ferries headed for the island communities and also Victoria. We saw some beautiful homes and also the houseboat where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed. An interesting stop was the locks, just like the Panama Canal. They also had a fish ladder here and we finally saw salmon swimming upstream.

Pike Place Market is wonderful and we hope to go back tomorrow and spend more time. It covers a huge area and there is so much to see. I did pose with the lucky pig which is a huge piggy bank with the money collected split between four charities. Near the University of Washington campus we saw a sculpture of a troll under an overpass. He takes up the entire area under the road and in his hand he's clutching a VW Bug.

Last stop was a park with great views of the Space Needle and Mount Rainier. It was a gorgeous, clear day and we had a good opportunity to enjoy the scenery and take photos.

Shopping in Seattle

On our tour we stopped in a glass gallery. Seattle is famous for glass and mostly because of the Tacoma native Dale Chihuly. Then we visited Pike Place Market which is wonderful. The market is an area with indoor and outdoor stores and booths. They have famous fish stalls where they throw the fish and it is quite comical. Large displays of flowers, fruits, fish, bakeries and crafts are just some of the wonderful things to eat and enjoy. One busy store was the original Starbucks location.