7/14/2007
Day 21
Today we slept in and then went out for a walk around the Berkeley campus with one of our hosts. We walked through the campus and saw some redwoods, and the Freespeach Cafe, and the clock tower. After we got back and took showers, Noah and I went out to get some lunch. We walked just a few blocks down the street to a pizza joint and got some food. I had a sandwich and Noah had sandwich as well. Later in the day we all went out to see the new Michael Moore movie. We though it was very good although as usual very focused in its one sidedness. I also thought that there were a few things that seemed needlessly dramatic. That evening our hosts went out and Noah and I made some tofu with pasta which was quite good.
7/12/2007
7/11/2007
Day 20
Today we woke up at about 9:00. We waited for Milton and Sandra to come home from yoga so that they could help us decide what to do downtown. At 10:30 Milton dropped David and I off at the Bart. We took the train to the Montgomery stop which is just outside of Chinatown. We spent about 30 min trying to find a good place to eat in for lunch. Most importantly a cheap place. We ended up going to this little Chinese place where for 5 bucks we were able to get 2 beef dumplings, 2 pot stickers, a pork filled bun, a Chinese donut, a little meat turnover thing, and this giant fried piece of bread that despite being extra greecey tasted pretty bad. Then we were off to find some souvenirs that would be unique to Chinatown. We hit a home run in this category. We found some kick ass Chinese silk robes that are sexy and reversible. Some other great finds were 79 cent San Francisco Mugs and a porcelain sex figurine. After walking around in Chinatown it was about 3pm and we decided we would walk to the Fisherman's Wharf. We got some good pictures of Alcatraz and of a floating restaurant. By that time it was after 4 and we took the street car back to the Bart. Once we got back to Berkley Milton came and picked us up. After much discussion we ended up going a Indian Restaurant that was slow but good. Now it is 9:45 and we will soon be going to sleep. David keeps complaining about my snoring but I think he has stopped crying about it and realized he will just have to deal with it.
Day 19
After sleeping in the car for the first time on our trip we left for Berkeley. It was a cold night but we slept alright. The drive from Eureka was long and windy. The day was kind of dreary but the views were amazing. We stopped once in Gualala and then drove the rest of the way to Berkeley. We were both feeling pretty sick; the road wound allong the coast with sharp turns every couple of minuets, so our speed was slow and we were fealing crappy. We got into Berkeley arround 4 in the afternoon and decompressed for the rest of the day. We had showers and napped. Then we went to the grocery store and bought food for dinner which we promptly ate. We called it an early night and went to bed around 10:30.
Day 18
On day 18 we drove from Coos Bay Or, to a state beach in Westport CA. It was a relatively uneventful drive. The morning in Coos Bay was cool and very foggy. We had been planing to drive from Coos Bay to Eureka, but we decided to drive a little farther so that we could get to Berkeley faster the next day. Looking at the AAA campground book we decided that the state beach in Westport would be the best location wise. The campsite was cool. It was on a bluff overlooking the ocean with a path down to the beach. We had bought some lighter fluid earlier in the day and using wood we collected on the beach, we made a fire and cooked some hot dogs.
Because the campsite was so cold, and there was a lot of mist coming of the ocean, we decided to sleep in the car. We still set up the tent so that we could pull all of our stuff in it. Sleeping int the car went ok. Noah slept on one of the seats laid back all the way, and I slept on the floor with the other seat folded up to the wall. Before going to bed we watched an episode of top chef.
Because the campsite was so cold, and there was a lot of mist coming of the ocean, we decided to sleep in the car. We still set up the tent so that we could pull all of our stuff in it. Sleeping int the car went ok. Noah slept on one of the seats laid back all the way, and I slept on the floor with the other seat folded up to the wall. Before going to bed we watched an episode of top chef.
7/08/2007
Day 15
Day 15 we woke up at 5:00 AM so that we could be out of the house before John and his family had to leave for their flight to Spain. We got up took showers and were on our way by about 5:40 AM. We drove from John's house to Mt. Renier which Noah hiked up some, and then to Mt. St. Helen's. MSH was a bit of a disappointment, you couldn't get very close to it and it was hard to see all the devastation that you alway hear about associated with the mountain.
We arrived in Portland Or. around 6 in the evening. The city is very nice so we parked and wandered around and got some street vender food. Around 7 we went and picked out
Cousin Amy up from work and then went back to her house. After she had some dinner we went out and walked around her neighborhood and saw where she hung our and what there is to do. The last place we stopped before returning home was to a restaurant with an outdoor section where we watched silent movies projected on a wall.
We arrived in Portland Or. around 6 in the evening. The city is very nice so we parked and wandered around and got some street vender food. Around 7 we went and picked out
Cousin Amy up from work and then went back to her house. After she had some dinner we went out and walked around her neighborhood and saw where she hung our and what there is to do. The last place we stopped before returning home was to a restaurant with an outdoor section where we watched silent movies projected on a wall.
Day 14
Day 14 was our last full day in Seattle. First thing in the morning we went out to a Microsoft research building where we saw and conducted and interview about Microsoft's new product called surface. The interview went well and we even got to try out the prototype. After the interview we drove into downtown Seattle, parked, and returned to the Pike St. Market. There we stopped at and Asian food stall and had curry beef Hombows. They were fantastic and very very cheap. After lunch we went to our second interview with the director of portfolio management at Parametric in Seattle. The interview went well and at its conclusion, we returned to John's house and cooked dinner. That night we relaxed and went to bed early so we could get up early the next morning.
Day 13
Day 13 was our first full day in Seattle. We woke up in the morning and headed over to the Mercer Island Beach Club where we were to have our first interview of the trip. We conducted the interview with great success. The person we were interviewing was very friendly and helpful and clearly passionate about his job. After the interview, we spent the rest of the day (July 4th) at the beach club where we swam and had a barbecue.
That evening we went for Dinner at P.F.Chang's and then came back to the house and watched fireworks.
That evening we went for Dinner at P.F.Chang's and then came back to the house and watched fireworks.
Day 12
Day 12 we arrived in Seattle mid afternoon.After visiting John's office, the three of us walked down to Pike St. Market and bought some fresh fruit which we then ate in the adjoining park. After that we left down town Seattle and headed over to Mercer Island to John's house. When we got there we just relaxed and caught up with his family. Later that evening when John got back from work, Noah, John, his son, and I all went out for dinner at the Space Needle's revolving restaurant. After that we went back to Johns house and just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
7/05/2007
Day 11
Day 11 we drove from Yellowstone to Post Falls ID. This was the longest drive of our trip at over 7hrs. The drive wasn't bad though. We switched off driving every two hours, and it all went very well. We arrived at our campsite "Suntree RV park" in the afternoon and then tried to used their wireless internet which was down. We then went to the heated pool which was very cold, but we still swam. After that we drove into town to use the internet. Starbucks didn't have free internet, but the Del Taco next door did and we took full advantage of that. When we came back the campsite a few hours later, they had filled up the hot tub (which had been empty before) so we decided to go for a soak. The hot tub was a little cool, but still nice. While we were floating around talking about the trip, two other people joined us. They were very locals, and lived in the campsite, but had some really interesting stories. The woman had grown up just outside of Yellowstone so we talked to her about that for a little while, and the man had gone touring for a year with a car show which was also interesting. The funniest thing was that the man told us many times that we HAD to get high before dring through the redwood highway.
7/04/2007
7/02/2007
Day 10
We spent all of day 10 in the park. We woke up early b/c of the cold and headed out to see the park. We were probably on our way before 10AM. The first thing we saw was a big traffic jam. There was a line of cars a far as we could see so we pulled the car over and walked up to take a look. It turned out that there was a maintenance crew removing two dead buffalo from the road. We got there after they had been mostly loaded into the dump truck, so we don't know the circumstances of their deaths. Noah did remark that they were "Buffalo Soldiers."
From there we kept driving and eventually found a swimming spot.
The swimming was fantastic, possibly the best part of our entire trip. You could swim upstream and them jump into a rush of water and be shot down the river.
After swimming we drove around the park some more and eventually ended up back at the campsite. After we finished dinner, we were approached by a pair of German Teenagers. They were do a cross country road tip and were trying to camp in the park. They had been unable to find a spot in the campground and offered to split our site with us for the night. We agreed as a result saved $10 on our camping.
From there we kept driving and eventually found a swimming spot.
The swimming was fantastic, possibly the best part of our entire trip. You could swim upstream and them jump into a rush of water and be shot down the river.
After swimming we drove around the park some more and eventually ended up back at the campsite. After we finished dinner, we were approached by a pair of German Teenagers. They were do a cross country road tip and were trying to camp in the park. They had been unable to find a spot in the campground and offered to split our site with us for the night. We agreed as a result saved $10 on our camping.
Day 9
On day 9 we drove from Greybull WY, to Yellowstone National Park. Just outside of Greybull was the museum of flight and aerial firefighting. The museum was great. It was free and you could go inside and explore all of the planes. The museum was run by an old my who has been flying for over sixty years. He was very friendly and informative, but had a very strong opinion of the past. While he was talking about a plane that was of the type used to do the Berlin Airdrop, he commented that they should have continued pushing forward and wipe out the "damn Russians." He said they could have just used a few A-bombs and wiped them out. "We could have killed millions". Needless to say that was a little awkward, but all in all he was very nice. From there we pushed forward to Yellowstone. The drive was short and uneventful. When we got to the park, we thought we were almost there, but we still had to drive almost another full hour until we got to our campsite.
The campsite was very nice, but a bit of a ripoff. When I first got reservations I was happy b/c the campsite was only like $20 a night after tax, but I didn't realize all the hidden fees. The campsite didn't have electricity which was to be expected at that price, but what we didn't see coming was the pay showers. I have done enough camping that when I hear pay showers I think like 25 cents for a few min, which is reasonable and makes a good shower cost less than a dollar. Here they have a very different setup. The showers don't have a time limit, but they cost $3.25! Needless to say we didn't take showers. Not only were they expensive, but they were like a mile from our campsite. Instead we improvised and just poured water over our heads using a big water jug.
After we got to our campsite and set up our tents etc, we took a drive around the park. Within the park there are two big loops each with a number of points of interest. On this first day we decided to do the smaller of the two loops. On this loop we saw a bunch of animals like Bison and Elk, and some cool hot springs and rapids. (We will have pictures of these up soon). For dinner we had pasta with meat sauce and then cleaned up for a while because posted on our table, in our camp paperwork, and on the bathroom doors were warnings about attracting bears. We went' even allowed to have water in our tent.
We went to bed relatively early after watching an episode of Top Chef. The night was a lot colder than we had expected. It was as cold or colder than the first night in Ohio, and I had a lot of trouble sleeping.
The campsite was very nice, but a bit of a ripoff. When I first got reservations I was happy b/c the campsite was only like $20 a night after tax, but I didn't realize all the hidden fees. The campsite didn't have electricity which was to be expected at that price, but what we didn't see coming was the pay showers. I have done enough camping that when I hear pay showers I think like 25 cents for a few min, which is reasonable and makes a good shower cost less than a dollar. Here they have a very different setup. The showers don't have a time limit, but they cost $3.25! Needless to say we didn't take showers. Not only were they expensive, but they were like a mile from our campsite. Instead we improvised and just poured water over our heads using a big water jug.
After we got to our campsite and set up our tents etc, we took a drive around the park. Within the park there are two big loops each with a number of points of interest. On this first day we decided to do the smaller of the two loops. On this loop we saw a bunch of animals like Bison and Elk, and some cool hot springs and rapids. (We will have pictures of these up soon). For dinner we had pasta with meat sauce and then cleaned up for a while because posted on our table, in our camp paperwork, and on the bathroom doors were warnings about attracting bears. We went' even allowed to have water in our tent.
We went to bed relatively early after watching an episode of Top Chef. The night was a lot colder than we had expected. It was as cold or colder than the first night in Ohio, and I had a lot of trouble sleeping.
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