To: OnTheRoad
From: Richard Dean <richdean@clark.net>
Subject: headin' south...
hi all...
after an all-too-brief stay in Boise Idaho and a tour around Washington state I am off to San Fran to seek my fame and fortune. Or at least get a job.
After leaving Yellowstone, I thought I'd take a short detour thru Idaho along US 20 and see the Craters of the Moon, but when i got there the campgrounds were closed and the wind was a brisk 600 mph. No motels to speak of nearby, I drove on towards Boise, stopping at a real nice town whose name I forget (off 20 near Sun Valley, something like Fairfield...). It was -- no lie -- the only motel for a good long while. As I was checking in, I got to talking with the owner about Idaho. She was from Ely, Nevada where I has spent a summer doing archaeology after college, had lived in Columbus Mississippi where i had spent a miserable 4 months during 1991, and her daughter and son-in-law lived in Boston. Very small world.
Idaho is wonderful like Montana, so I won't repeat the description from last time. Driving 20 just reinforces the fact that the old 2 lanes are the best way to see the real U.S., not the interstates. Approaching Boise is kinda weird, since there is little warning that its coming. All of the sudden this oasis appears with espresso and radio and finely brewed beer. Its a little known fact that the western states never really lost the art of home brewing, and so things like Sam Adams are old hat here. I stayed with a friend who helped create public broadcasting online (or who started it really....) three or four years ago -- we brewed a pilsner in his basement. Brewing is a slow art form that requires patience and precision... and happily is something that goes well with good conversation and lots of catching up.
Have I mentioned that large parts of this trip have been spent with people under the age of three? Its actually been really fun to see kids in all their different stages of development. My nephew has just turned one and this is all good prep for seeing him! :-) Besides a renewed appreciation for Legos and trains, it has made me think once again about the absolute importance of a balance betweeen life and work... something I have missed that last few years.
After a vigorous time brewing and drinking fine scottish ale and triple bock, it was time to head to Oregon and Washington. I stayed in Bellingham and Tacoma.... Bellingham is up near the Canadian border and so a trip with an old high school friend to Vancouver was required. Having grown up not too far from Maryland's eastern shore, I always loved the water... but here you have these towering mountains AND the water... the sun peeks up over the eastern ranges, and sets over the bay or ocean and there is nothing else like it. The clouds rest on top of the montain peaks until you get right up into the passes (where its snowing already)... up close, they're flying by though the trees. Coming down into Seattle on I-90 (the same road that ends four blocks from our house in Boston) is scary if only because you want to stop so often and take pictures, but the people all around you only want to get to I-5 so they can get home -- where they drive thru the latte-to-go factories that are as common as 7-11's in New Jersey.
Managed to hook up with an internet friend here in Tacoma who was an early NPR on AOL chat room buddy... she had lent me a CD-ROM of The 7th Guest and as I was in town, I had to return it in person. You often hear so many weird stories about meeting people on line, but this crew of people kept me sane more than one late night at work... in many ways this trip and this summer have been about trying to rediscover those friendships.... BTW, don;t let anyone ever dis Tacoma... its a real nice town with -- the mark of all good towns -- finely brewed beer.The Engine House #9 brewpub is not to be missed. On the other hand, traffic sucks worse here than anywhere else i have ever been... at least they are polite ;)
Although it does in fact rain quite a bit here, there's been sun for most of the trip and I hope for nice weather on the next day or so down I-5 into SF. I was gonna go the 101, but after 2 weeks on the road, it's time to settle down ;-)
Depressing note: the trip to the Vancouver Aquarium was marred by the death of the killer whale they had there. Of course, all sorts of fish and mammels were kept in these really small tanks that they couldn't possibly like. It was kinda sad... like the pandas in DC where everyone watches them have sex. There is so much room out here it makes you wonder why the zoos are so small.
might see crater lake... might not.... suggestions welcome...
all the best
rich
