i'm baaaack...

I made my triumphant return to San Francisco last night. Dropped Paddington off with my friends, where he's actually settling in pretty well, then took Leah to a yummy Senegalese dinner.

Today, I did my taxes and am starting the next fun phase: looking for an apartment. If you know of one in the city that allows dogs, let me know! After that, I suppose I need to look for work.

crater lake, AKA: MA:2 (Mission Accomplished:2)

AAKA: Or "how I got lucky twice, first by avoiding a speeding ticket, then by driving through rain and snow on slushy roads in a front wheel drive car, past the 'chains should be carried' sign, into the national park, where the snow only fell heavier, the temperature dropped well below freezing, the light was fading, the only other people were high tailing it in the opposite direction, I almost missed a head on collision with a snow plow on a curve, only to get into the park, but never see the lake, yet make it out alive and without getting stuck and only skidding once."

Here's a shot in the direction of where I believe Crater Lake lies. The snow banks were really high, and I ran out of road that still had tire tracks on it. There was a spot in the middle of the road where the minivan that passed me by earlier must have stopped for some time, as there was a rectangular shaped patch of wet street (no snow) the size of a minivan, yet surrounded by snow. I decided to turn around here, as it was already past 6PM and I really didn't want to get my car stuck out here.

Oh, and you're probably wondering about the ticket. Or if not, then I'll tell you anyway. I pulled off I-5 at Roseburg to make the 200 mile detour to Crater Lake National Park. I was being a little speedy, and I knew it, too, but didn't back off until I saw the cop ahead of me, who, when he passed me, put on his turn signal and turned around, lights flashing. I pull over and we go through the regular drill. For once I was neither belligerent or obsequious. He left me for a few minutes, but he never returned to his car, only stood behind it for a few minutes. I started running scenarios through my head. Maybe he was calling for backup and was going to search through all my stuff in the car. Maybe my "new" address didn't check out. Then a minute later, he returns to my car and says he's giving me a warning. Phew! I did my best to keep my speed in check the rest of the day.

camping out in eugene

Last night Paddington and I camped out in my friend John's backyard. This morning John loaned me his fisheye lens so I could have some Fun with Fisheye (TM pending). Here we see poor little Paddington, his head about three times the size it should be for his little body.

Around lunch time I took the dog downtown for some sightseeing. We drove to the top of Skinner's Butte (we would have walked if it were drier out today), where I saw the old mascot E buried in the trees. The O was fully exposed a little to the east of E, so I'm presuming it's more up to date.

Then, some tasty organic pizza, and we hit the road. I want to make Crater Lake today, and the snow level is down to 3000 feet. Joy!

yet another volcano

As if we didn't see enough volcanoes in Iceland (OK, actually, we really only saw one), I detoured out to see Mount Saint Helens. Unfortunately, the Windy Ridge road was closed for the winter still, so I had to satisfy myself with seeing the view from the main road from the west. (Dan and Heather said the Windy point view gives you a more raw perspective, since this is the side that Weyerhauser hasn't replanted yet, so all the devastation is still on display.

From this vantage, tho, you still can see the side of the mountain that exploded outwards. There's also a great shot of the volcano here.

shotless in seattle

I crossed the border back into the USA, Paddington in tow. I was a little worried if they questioned me about his residency status, since his shots, while up to date, were from north of the border, and everything that identified me pointed to the US, obviously. It seemed to me the perfect little snag that would hold me up, lead to a cavity search, or worse. Then the truck in front of me got the once over with the drug sniffing dogs, making me a little more leery and of course, nervous. Five minutes later, I'm at the head of the line and the guy barely looked at my passport, never mind asking about Paddington.

About two hours later, I'm at Dan and Heather's house in Seattle. We had a mellow couple of days together, which was very welcome. This trip has been winding down the past few days, and after Vancouver, with Paddington in tow, I'm trying to keep the excitement level to a minimum.

Tho, we did see Grindhouse, the new Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature. While the zombie half was cool in an over the top silly sense, the chase scenes in Tarantino's half were outstanding, better than Mad Max. I literally (yes, not figuratively) was on the edge of my seat, I got so caught up in it. We saw the movie at the Neptune, this great old theatre that still has a balcony.

Anyhoo, given the mellow nature of most of this visit, I neglected to take out my camera even once! So, to give you a little idea of who I visited, here are two pictures I took of Dan when we hiked part of Mount Rainier a couple years ago.

among the canucks

Vancouver is a pretty fetching city. I really love the cities along the west coast, from San Francisco (hell, even Santa Cruz) up to Portland, Seattle and now Vancouver (OK, the last three are not technically on the coast, but they are port cities). There's a cultured yet laid back vibe to them all that is a refreshing change from the frantic antics of east coast cities (I love New York, but it can be exhausting after a while).

I've been staying at a very cool loft right off Main Street near Broadway, a Mission-like area of the city (in that gritty, urban, gourmandizing, cultured sort of way). In the past, the building was both a brewery and a candy factory, so it's got a lot of good feng shui going for it.

Every meal I had out has been great. I ate at the Whip Gallery and Restaurant (which apparently used to be a big lesbian hangout and serves this amazing fried baramundi with yam fries on the side), the Five Point (a pub), the Foundation (vegetarian/vegan, typos on their their thoughtful quotes about power aside), and Nirvana (Indian).

As for sightseeing, on my first day, Paddington and I explored Stanley Park, the largest city-owned park in Canada. These totem poles are the most visited tourist attraction in BC. Then we walked along the Seawall up to and under the Lion's Gate Bridge, a couple of miles round trip. I'm a little rusty on the dog wrangling, so I didn't bring any water with me. I overworked the little guy, so when we got home and he inhaled some water, he actually threw it (and his breakfast) back up. Poor little guy. He recovered well, though.

The next day, we went to the beaches at Spanish Banks. I read for a bit, then Paddington mingled with the other dogs before we went home. I had dinner with my friend Phil from VMware and his girlfriend Fiona, which was a pleasant surprise. It's always good to have friends to eat out with; it's much better than eating alone (though it apparently has its merits).

Yesterday I did a little bit of the touristy thing, heading to Gastown, named for some dude Gassy Jack (no, not that kind of gas) who set up the first saloon in what would first be called Gastown, then eventually, Vancouver. As you can imagine, there are all sort of touristy shops in the area. After leaving one, I noticed a large group of tourists gathered expectantly on a corner. At first I couldn't figure out what they were waiting for or looking at, as there was no street performer or anything. Until I realized they were watching a clock on the corner steaming. I happened to arrive here just as the hour was turning, and caught the clock at full steam.

travels with charley redux

Before I left on this trip, a friend suggested I read Travels with Charley, by Steinbeck. I already had a few books with me, so I figured I'd either pick it up along the way, or just read it when I got back. Fast forward a couple weeks to Albuquerque, and Rich and Galen give me an old copy (a 75 cent Bantam paperback from the Fredonia, AZ, library) as a going away gift (along with a cool t-shirt Rich designed for Galen's reservation bicycling program, not to be confused with the Native American motorcycle club).

I've been reading the book on and off the past couple of weeks and it's quite good. Now, it seems, I'll be emulating Steinbeck as I'll be driving back to San Francisco next week with my dog, Paddington.

He's been staying up in Vancouver these past couple of years, and now it's my turn to watch the little monkey. I just hope it's not too hard to find a nice place that takes dogs.