Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2009

Home, Sweet Home (and a Stop at Bend)

Sunday, June 7th, was the last day of our amazing roadtrip across Amer'ca. We started realizing we had to work the next day and mild dread and plots to run away to Canada or Texas spontaneously occurred throughout the day.

I slept hardcore at Diamond Lake, and both Web and I agreed that sleepinging in the outdoors feels so much better than indoor sleeping. I'd agree more fully if it hadn't been super cold that night in tent that isn't very well insulated.

However, due to a combination of Sunday's Day of Rest implications and 8 days on the road (and possibly drugged olives) I passed out in the car most of the day and didn't record much by way of film or photographs. Documentary fail. Web accounts I was very passed out and slippig into dream sleep cycles quick. At some point I had a nightmare about a centipede and scared myself awake.

When I woke up, we had made it to Bend, OR. A little out of the way, yes, but we figured downtown might have something cool to do. As it turns out, Bend isn't interesting at all, despite being the largest city in Central Oregon. But we did find a Sonic for lunch, Web's first Sonic. For those of you that haven't seen the savory teaser commercials on TV, Sonic is America's drive-in and they have a plethora of choices of food and drinks:


We got some grub for the road:

home
Mmmmmm, limeade:


Mmmmmm, jalepeno burger:


Mmmmm onion rings:


After Sonic, which was a tasty meal, we headed towards my hometown of Vancouver, WA. Again, I must have slipped into a deep food coma or Sonic's secret sauce is roofies, because I was out cold until we got well into Washington state.

I'd like to proudly point out how that our state route signs are the profile silhouettes of a bust of Geroge Washington's head. They are cute:


Also, that the people of the Northwest have adapted to live in a climate without sunlight, much like bats and small albino cave-dwelling animals on Planet Earth:


In the Hazell Dell neighborhood of Vancouver, WA, where I am from and where my mother and brother live, there is a cornocopia of fast food joints, used car lots, strip malls, and big box stores. In fact, it reminds me of Cincinnati. Except we have an awesome fast food burger joint called Burgerville with seasonal milkshakes and the option of veggie burgers:


If you ever visit my next of the woods, you should try a Tillamook cheeseburger and a shake.

We got to my mom's house and unloaded all my stuff into the house. I took a much needed shower after conversating with my family for a bit. Web and I then joined his parents, also Vancouverites, for a homemade dinner. Yum yum. I have met the majority of the Web clan in a matter of 9 days, incredible.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

T-Minus 3 Days

Only 3 more days left in Maryland before Weber (Web) and I hit the road in what looks to be a Hertz rental SUV, since even though I could save hundreds of $s on a 24' long truck... the parking & driving limitations would defeat the purpose of the fun parts of a road trip. Either way, this isn't just a move, it is an adventure. I think SUVs scream "ADVENTURE," as well as "low mileage."

This is the tentative itinerary:

Sat. 5/30:
1) Leave Germantown, MD for maybe a long while (starting point)
2) Lunch @ Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh, PA (as I saw on Travel Channel)
3) Dinner in Vandalia, OH (Web's relatives)... note this is RED Ohio... near... DAYTON
4) Camping in Indiana most likely

Sun. 5/31:
1) Go to Chicago, the Windy City for the day
2) Eat Chicago-style deep dish pizza in Chicago
3) Couch surfing

Mon. 6/1:
1) Go to the largest truckstop in the world (as I saw on Travel Channel) in Iowa
2) Lay to rest my long-held suspicion "Nebraska" is a government conspiracy and in fact, not a state
3) Visit the birthplace of Kool-aid
4) Kamp at a KOA (aka, get out hot tub on)

Tues. 6/2:
1) Go to Denver, the Mile High City
2) Consume Beau Jo's mountain pie pizza, LK's favorite pizza in the world... unless pizza in Chicago changes her life for the better
3) Hang with PIRG ppls/coach surf/get wasted

Wed. 6/3:
1) Go to Lucin, UT to see the Sun Tunnels by Nancy Holt (earthworks art)
2) Camp in the desert

Thurs. 6/4:
1) Go to Reno
2) Gamble
3) Camp near Lake Tahoe

Fri. 6/5:
1) Go to the Bay!
2) Hang out with Web's sista
3) Eat in Chinatown

Sat. 6/6:
1) Go to Crater Lake
2) Enjoy nature/gather pumice
3) Camp

Sun. 6/7:
1) Arrive in da Couve! (destination)