South for the Winter - day 1 - Burnaby to Astoria

I woke in the darkness at 4:30. I’d done all the final details the night before. Early in the week I’d moved all I needed to the Adcventurer Camper and Ford F350 Truck.  With Dave’s help I loaded the Vespa for the first time on the front carrier.  

Laura left early boxin day after we’ enjoyed her family Christmas dinner , ham, turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans. John was up at 4:30, normally an early riser, but not to peel potatoes. He and Caroline did a magnificent spread.  John’s brother Rob provided all manner of tasty treats like candied citrus fruit.  I had a blue berry cup cake.  Rob’s son Randy, the railway engineer was there.  Carolin John’s daughter was there.  Laura’s daughter, Shannon and the granddaughter, Erie was a delight. Along with Bandit the big dog and Madigan the little dog. An unforgettable Christmas. I was so appreciative to be invited.  No white Christmas. Just pouring rain.  

Boxing Day morning when the light came up and there was a break in the rain, Laura headed home in her Smart Car.  She has to start and work in Vancouver.  Dave met me at  Chilliwack Storage where I left my car and was driven home by Dave.

Everything was done. The Passport, the Rabies, the new Vet requirement, the work items, lap top and printer and iPads.  I stayed up late reading a Tom Clancy then a William Black western.  I was ready to go but didn’t want to drive in the dark.  

It was dark when I drove out at 7 am. I’d thought to go to Aldergrove but found out that it was closed.  Sumas was open so I drove to Abbotsford and took that crossing.  A young man with a short hair cut, good looking, dedicated.  

Where are you going?

Astoria, and on to Yuma,

Why are you headed south.

For the heat and dry.  

There were a few more questions. Not so self evident.  Then I was through.  What a relief.  I’d gone through my camper and truck a couple of times trying to make sure I’d not had any ammunition slip out of my pockets from hunting season.  I’d passed on the opened meat and veggies and fruit. Still border crossings are a challenge, with a dog, and a moveable house.  It’s not like my normal travel with a single carry on bag,  I’ll be down south for a couple of months all goes well,

The first challenge was the truck fob not working. I fiddled with it and it worked but I was fortunate to get new batter in auto place like Lordco.  I filled up the truck there, $100 American. Trudeau money is $65 cents so my cost was closer to $150 Canadian.  At least I can afford to pay fuel and groceries. So many Canadians are resorting to the food bank.  My problems are Cadillacs problems.  

I was glad to get almost to Seattle before the skies opened and the rain came down.  Even with high speed wipers it was hard to see at time.  Driving down to Seattle i had many fond memories of time with friends and motorcycle excursions.  I always think of George when I pass Le Connor.  

I was going to stop in Olympia but there was a few more hours of light so I continued on to Astoria planning on staying at the place I’d recorded in my phone.  The phone died when I took the dog for a walk at a rest stop. I think when I dropped it earlier something went wrong because it overheated. Now it’s not taking a charge and I arrived in Astoria without a clue where the RV park was,

Thank God I saw the KOA sig n and end up in this really terrific Astoria Warrenton Seaside KOA resort 1100 NW Ridge Road Hammond, Or. 97121. 503 861 2606, astoriakoa@racpack.com.  The girl at the front was so friendly and welcoming. I was delighted to see the sign and follow the signs here and it’s just perfect.  

I’ve had liverworst sandwiches with peasant bread.  I’m planning on getting out the tv and vegging.  I’m so wiped from the long drive in poor conditions. I’d stopped in a school parking lot past Tacoma to make coffee and have a nap. Madigan and I had our Macdonalds’ Egg Sausages and he actually ate the sausage. I had to break it up in little pieces and hand fed it.  He doen’st need this for the burgers.  I’d planned to have burgers in the afternoon but a bag of chips and a chocolate bar sufficed.  I liked that I could make my own coffee in the camper.  I liked to that I had my own bathroom for pee breaks.  It’s a challenge but I’ve made it to the first stop and am looking forward to getting below the rain and chill into the warm and dry.  I’ll have to stop at Apple and thanks to Apple Care they’ll have a solution tomorrow for my phone.  I just don’t know if I’ll be in a big enough town for an Apple Store for a day or two. Thankfully I have the iPad with its Cellular and wifi link. Then I’ve the satellite phone for emergencies.

I have to charge up my camera I’m glad I remembered to bring. The phone is my camera as well.. I’ve redundancy built into everyone. My sailing and survival days but today I’m looking forward to being more laid back.   It’s all pretty exciting.  

Vancouver BC to Seattle to New York City to Moscow

It was a bit of a gruelling flight stretched over a day and 2 nights. .  First Vancouver Seattle then overnight  Seattle to New York City.
Some idiot left his iPhone charging in the Seattle Airport Lounge.  (Alternatively, a devious unconscious will go to any length to get the latest iPhone.)
Arriving in New York at 7 am, not having to fly out to Moscow until the afternoon, I took the A train to Manhatten.  What a thoroughly different city Manhatten is in daytime. Just people going about their business, not at all the ‘party central’ of night Manhatten. I found the 5th Avenue Apple store and bought the latest iPhone 5S. Thanks to iCloud back up I was able to download contacts and apps including the Kindle with Moscow and Russia Lonely Planets.
With time to spare I caught a taxi back to the JFK and linked up with my friend Barrett who’d  just flown in from Alaska.
Now a 9 hour Delta flight from NYC to Moscow.  Captain Phillips was an awesome movie. Tom Hanks is an amazing actor.  Lone Survivor was a terrific Afghanistan war film of a platoon caught outside the wire and the morality of beyond Geneva conventions.  A lot of stiff messages and a large dose of reality.  I also liked the new tv series Turn. The Tom Clancy Ryan movie was fast paced intrigue and adventure,  with some excellent filming in Moscow. I’ve really enjoy world travel  if only for recognizing all the places I’ve been. in movies and on tv.
I drank lots of water which helped with flying. I take an extra Vitamin water along these days.    Still the trips  a bit of blur.   The pilots flew fine and the  Delta staff were great .   Still I felt like I’d done a couple of nights of obstetrics call when  I staggered off the plane into Russian Customs.
Given all the issues of visa,  concerns right now with international relations,  and fears from past cold war days, I was happy that my contact with Russian officialdom was anticlimactic.    Barrett's dual citizenship put  her ahead of me. She waited,  then we both headed off to the washrooms.  I shaved.  I didn’t ask what she did.
A guy offered us a taxi into the city ranging in price from 300 to 3000 roubles.  The lonely planet recommended 1500.  We took the bus instead changing to the superb Moscow subway where they joined up. The Moscow Subway stations with their tile and art are exquisite..  In NYC the train had been faster transport than taxi because of traffic jams.  Here in Moscow the traffic wasn’t much better.  I love rapid transport trains and subways.
People dressed alike in Russia and America. There were stunning women and handsome men in both places.  I don’t tend to look at the poor and ugly. They’re there too. I have this thing about ‘cookie cutters’ and see recurrent ’types’ wherever I travel.   I liked the high fashion in NYC and Moscow.  There seemed more wealth in the subways of NYC and wider ethnic variation.  I didn’t understand a word in Russian and couldn’t read the signs in the Russian alphabet.  Barett speaks and reads Russian. I enjoy having a translator.
I remembered renting a car in Greece and realizing I couldn’t read any of the road signs.  It had been exciting ‘winging it’.   Everywhere people helped me then. The same was true in NYC and here in Russia.  Barrett asked directions from strangers. Everyone was so helpful. Travelling around the world I find the vast majority of people are really decent. It’s so easy to overlook this especially when fear gets the upper hand.
Eventually we found our way to the apartment she’d  rented on line. Homey, not fancy but more than adequate. Secure building, clean, pleasant rooms.  The owner was there with her ‘little girl’. The little girl practiced her English on me. I had no Russian to practice on her.  It seems that despite reading up on the language all that’s remained is ’spaceba’, thank you.  The little girl, 3 or 4 ,knew all the parts of the body in English and all the furniture in the room.
The apartment is  a block from Red Square.  People rent their apartments to tourists just as people rented their lawns to motorcyclists at Sturges Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota where I rode my Harley last summer.  
After we got the apartment keys Barrett had us hiking all over Moscow.  I love the exercise I get being a tourist.  We  bought our Russian Sim Cards for our cell phones.I like my new iPhone even more now that it’s actually a phone.
I’ve been using the iPhone to take pictures of the place I’m at and the surroundings so when I get lost I can show people pictures of where I want to go. This worked really well in Azerbaijan last November.  One picture is worth a thousands words especially when you don’t speak the language.
Barrett’s other mission was to get us train tickets to St. Petersberg and Lenins home.  She accomplished these though I wasn’t allowed in the building. The dress code didn’t allow men in sandals.  A big business complex.  I and Jesus waited outside while suited hooved men and women in very pretty sandals came and went.
After Barrett got the tickets,  we went grocery shopping in a deli. I love seeing the variety of groceries the world over.   Barret's mostly  a vegan and likes eating in suite.  I’d personally been eyeing the KFC’s and MacDonalds and thinking of ordering pizza.  Instead  I bought Russian bread, cheese and Riga sardines. Nothing like hanging with healthy eaters to help steer one clear of fast food.  Gilbert, my dog, is a good influence with exercise but I think he may be the best person to follow when it comes to a health human diet. He does have some particularly peculiar tastes.
A ‘gypsy taxi’ brought back to apartment but first took us by the Kremlin.  For a couple hundred roubles Russians are happy to ‘taxi’ folk along their way.  The Lonely Planet says don’t get in if there is more than just a driver. and not late at night outside bars. Apparently this is  especially true if you are an attractive drunk foreign woman alone.   We had excellent results with just getting from a to b.  Being older has it’s benefits.    I don’t worry at all about sexual assault travelling at my age, not that I’d complain.  Now people want to 'strip me' for wholly different purposes.
Back at the apartment I literally crashed.   Barrett woke me on her way out for an evening with friends at a night club.  I was invited but, really, a glorious nap versus clubbing, with the techno music urban young people like, I chose the nap.
Now I’m awake. I’m planning on going a walk to nearby  Red Square.  Lonely Planet says it’s lovely lit up at night.  Apparently the ‘red’ was a ‘mistranslation’ as it was originally called ‘Beautiful Square’.
Other than that more people look slavic, the distinction about Moscow, other than the alphabet and foreign language, the onion and cross church architecture and the huge ‘Soviet’ and even pre soviet era complexes is in the atmosphere. The atmosphere of a place is what makes it so distinct.  There’s a unique ‘buzz’ here. There’s industry and  a robustness.  More smokers. People appear very busy just like in NYC.  I like that big city buzz. And lots of young people. So full of possibility.
Right now I feel great with a nap and a cup of instant coffee.  A shower and change of clothing will make things even better. Then a walk in Red Square taking night photographs.  I’d especially love to see St. Basils.  I love celebration of the highest ideals of man the world over.   My life is blessed.  My nephew Graeme is probably doing something similar right now in Poland. My brother is always photographing too.  We are a photographic family. Historians. Travellers  Dad  loved cameras especially early movie cameras and Mom always loved to travel.   It’s in the process more than the content.

Alexis Hotel and Seatle

Gilbert and I decided to take a break from the sailboat in Vancouver winter. Seattle is always a great getaway. This time we chose the Alexis Hotel on 1st Avenue near the waterfront. Mostly it was advertised as dog friendly and walking distance to Pike Market and the surroundings. The staff were certainly dog friendly. Gilbert was welcomed by all with everyone petting him and calling him by name. There were lots of other guests with dogs and Gilbert cavorted with several as we passed through the lobby. Gilbert and I enjoyed the walking and shopping on Washington Avenue especially. Window shopping on a dog walk is a great variation to just walking the dog. I loved the raw silk shops, the vintage diva, the umbrella shop, the kilt shop, visiting nearby Nordstroms and Macy's, and while I Gilbert and I took the taxi to Trinity Episcapal Church on 8th at James we walked back in the rain sporting our new story umbrella from the Pike's Market speciality store. The night was lovely in the rain. The days walking along the harbour front were delightful too. Room service and the recent movies in the hotel was splendid. I did love Loopers, a great Bruce Willis action flick combining sci fi, mobsters and time travel. I had planned at first to come back for Christmas Eve but loved it so much I stayed a couple of days. Driving back and forth the 2 hours each way in the Mazda Miata was a dream as well. Border crossing time was 10 and 20 minutes. I wouldn't think the boxing days sales at Bellis Fair would make for such short crossing times. I really must renew my Nexus one of these days.

Sorrento Hotel, Seattle

The trip down the I5 to Seattle with Gilbert in the Mazda Miata was a spur of the moment decision. I had no reservations for Seattle. When I arrived in the city a terrible downpour struck. I didn't like driving lost in a dark deluge and city traffick and pedestrians.

I'd stayed at the Silver Cloud on Capitol Hill and liked it very much so headed there on chance. Unfortunatelly,they are not 'pet friendly' but they did recommend the Sorrento Hotel a block a way.

It was spectacular. An old hotel that's been there over a hundred years ,it was thoroughly delightful. The front desk was extremely solicitous and very caring for Gilbert. This is definitely a pet friendly hotel. Given the fuss made over Gilbert by everyone, I was just lucky he decided to bring his human along. I was able to get a special rate and upgrade to a suite too which was very nice. In for a penny, in for a pound, I took the valet parking as well. 24 hours and very professional service.

In the evening I had coffee and cake in the downstairs jazz lounge where a French artist was singing to a full and appreciative house. I took Gilbert for a walk in the area and we met other dogs and owners doing the same. The rain had thankfully stopped.

Later Neighbours was still a hopping avant garde night club. Having left Gilbert in the car. I only poked my head in. I'm sure I would have been the oldest person there if I'd stayed. How did I not notice this when we were there a decade or so ago. Gilbert much preferred pizza and a movie and frankly I've lost the Saturday Night Fever. It's hard to believe I once had breakfast before going to bed.

The Sorrento really was a lovely change from all the roughing it in sail boats and RV's, sailing, hiking, camping and hunting. A touch of luxury is seriously good for the soul. I remember reading of a holiday tour offering 'riding the rails' and 'living with bums' and "eating beans out of a can over a campfire." I expect if I stayed at the Sorrento long enough I'd look at something like that for a 'contrasting change of pace." As it is I much prefer the elegance and old worldliness of the Sorrento Hotel as a home away from home. The staff did so much to make it that way. Gilbert loved his stay.












- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Seattle

Laura, Gilbert, I and the Mazda MX5 Miata enjoyed our visit to Seattle today.  We'd spent the night in the Chehalis Best Western, a great hotel for welcoming Gilbert. After Portland Seattle with it's skyscrapers and ocean port seemed more sophisticated. Lots of tourists especially around the Pike Market. I've  been coming down to Seattle for years.  Another great visit if only for lunch and a walk about the district where Cafe Bengodi is. The I5 was definitely less exhilerating in the Miata than on my Harley Electraglide. Laura preferred the Miata as she'd complained about being buffeted by the wind on the back of the motorcycycle  on the I5 just outside Seattle. Gilbert just prefers being with us..

Cafe Bengodi, Seattle

I had the best seafood pasta I've had in a long while. Laura loved her pizza too. The garlic bread was scrumptuous.  The waiter was informative, extremely professional and a true delight.  The street was highly entertaining.  I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves Italian cooking.  Gilbert was happy to sit outside with us, enjoying dog watching as much as we enjoyed the people watching.