Thursday, October 28, 2010

Seattle, Washington, United States of America

I'll warn you in advance, this post is going to be heavy on dorky golf talk.

Yesterday we got up from Portland and started getting ready for the day and then headed down for breakfast. Unfortunately for us we showed up 5 minutes late to a breakfast that concluded at 9am. We found alternative place for breakfast (Safeway) and headed up the I5 towards Tacoma. It was going to be a big day for me because we had a 1:44pm tee time at Chambers Bay Golf Course. The true golf dorks out there will know that this course hosted the US Amateur this summer, and the even dorkier know it's the venue for the 2015 US Open. I had been to the course before, but because of dreadful conditions I only got to play the front 9.

Going into the round, I had exactly zero expectations because I'm still in my 'early season' mode with this being my 3rd round of 2010 (sacrilege, I know). After discussing things with Kari and Riley I decided an appropriate goal for the day was to simply finish the round. I had no thoughts about it being a tough task, just a humbling one. It turned out to be both as we played in near darkness for the final two holes. I played the 600+ yard 18th hole completely by feel, but managed to keep finding my ball, stayed determined and finished the round.


After getting back to the car, Riley took the scorecard and added up the totals for all three of us. And that's where the humbling part came in. 104. Ouch. We played the furthest back set of tees we could find, and luckily for us most of the back tees weren't accessible so the course was 'only' playing 7300 yards instead of the potential 7600 (at sea level). What I do know now is that I will greatly enjoy watching the US Open in 5 years, and I'm just hoping I get another shot at the course before then.

After the round we hauled from Tacoma to Seattle to our last hotel of the trip. Upon arrival to the hotel we discovered that there is a free shuttle to the market so we headed to one of favorite places in the whole world: Pike Place Brewery. It's pretty much on the list because of their BBQ Chicken Nachos. I over-hyped them to Kari and Riley for weeks and even with that, they were still impressed.

So to recap, 18 holes and best nachos in one day. And that was followed up with a soak in the hot tub. 'Twas a great day.

Portland, Oregon, United States of America

Today was yet another normal day for me, which is to say, it was jam packed with fun. We started the day on the Oregon coast and drove through the rain for a while before we finally got to a point where there was sunshine. We stopped the car and got out for a walk at Perpetua Cape. We discovered Devil Churn which turned the ocean water into a milky foam. We were on our way back to the car when we saw a sign for a blowhole and went to check that out as well.


After that stop, we traveled a little further up the coast before heading inland for Portland. The hotel we found is on an island in the middle of the Columbia River and our room is spectacularly big. We also got a free breakfast and free drinks at the bar. Anyways, we spent a few hours wandering around downtown before settling in for a great dinner at a restaurant called Southpark.

On tap for tomorrow is Seattle and GOOOOLLLLLLFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Coos Bay, Oregon, United States of America

My trip around America marches on as we now approach the final few destinations. Yesterday we awoke in northern California, to sunshine for once, and started driving towards Redwood National Park. We managed to get in a short hike before the rains began again in earnest. That didn't stop us from seeing a few other random stops along the way, including some random beach where we were able to see the true force of the massive surf. The waves we so big that the water was being turned into a foamy lather and at one point they just about came completely over the tall beach where we were standing.


We then proceeded up into a new state (Oregon) to see the coastline. We made a few stops along the way, in between the rain, to experience the coast. I tried to get a few videos to show what it felt like to be standing there. Words and pictures have failed to do it justice.




Monday, October 25, 2010

Eureka, California, United States of America

For most of the day we were slowed by rain
We visited the wineries to ease the pain
And then we spent the rest of the day
Winding through Cali, driving away

Eureka

Sunday, October 24, 2010

San Francisco, California, United States of America

Since I last checked in with you I was in eastern California but have been very busy since. We traveled through Yosemite National Park yesterday stopping at a multitude of scenic spots. We saw snow, water falls, high elevation, and fire remains. We started that day by driving up to 10,000ft and ended it by sleeping along the San Francisco Bay. The next day we did a complete day tour of San Francisco that included the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Macy's, etc, etc.

All of these wonderful things that I have seen in the last 2 days seems wholly trivial because of some news. The last 4 days I have been impatiently waiting with my mothers cell phone awaiting news on my sister who was about the give birth to my newest nephew. I was secretly hoping he would not be born till I got back, but I am glad he was for my sisters sake. This is yet another moment in life that I wished would not have happened while traveling, but nothing could damper my excitement. And in an unexpected twist, I was able to see all my family back home and the newest member of the family a mere few hours after he was born (via Skype). Very proud and happy for Helen, Regan, Jae and Ry.

To celebrate the good news, I have a mountain of photos to show you from the past two weeks. Enjoy.