Traveling the Oregon Coast
I got up at 7am and looked outside the hotel curtains. We were in Coos Bay and the fog covered the bay and all around our hotel. I decided to take a little walk. It was freezing and beautiful as I walked around the bay. The town I discovered is where Tug Boats are manufactured. I passed by lots of tug boats and factories as the sun started to burn off the fog. It was a great morning and I managed to get some nice photos of the beautiful bay.
When Tu and Rinnie woke up later in the morning, we hopped in rental car and hit the road for a long day of driving and beautiful scenery. We saw Coos Bay, Bandon Beach, Redwood National Park and lots of things in between. We ended up in Eureka California (a small Gold mining town) that appears to have been built up in the 1800’s during the California gold rush. We’re staying at the beautiful Red Lion Inn again – that’s two nights in a row.
So we’ve made it through two states and are back in California. We’ve seen some amazing things along the way. If all goes well, tomorrow we will be in San Francisco to show Rinnie the city by the Bay.
The morning tradition, coffee and planning our day. Rinnie drank a coffee that made her stomach hurt later in the day.
I found some really cool tug boats and other boats around Coos Bay. The fog was lifting by the time I took this shot.
Coos Bay is quite large and there are many docks that line the bay. Turn after turn we ran into beautiful scenes along this wonderful Oregon Coastline.
Tu, relaxing on a beautiful beach that we found right off the freeway. There was no one on this gorgeous secluded beach.
Coos Bay is a place that harvest millions of oysters it appears. There were tons and tons of empty oyster shells near factories. We wandered in these mountains of shells. It was quite crazy how many there were.
We ended up in Bandon Beach and found the cutest Fish Place right off the Jetty. We ordered clam chowder and crab sandwiches. What a wonderful little place it was and the food was incredible.
Bandon Beach Oregon has one of the most iconic lighthouses in the world. We found the lighthouse and it was just gorgeous. It must get very windy here.
Rinnie is bundled up. She was freezing but she loves the cold weather. She loves to be cold.
The 101. It’s been our home for the last couple of days.
Rinnie and Tu having fun on the Oregon Coastline.
So free. Jumping to the sun.
Rinnie, sitting in front of a massive rock on the beach.
Hello Redwood Forest.
These trees are hundreds of years old. We could not believe how big they were.
Goodbye Earth, Hello Portland
Portland is a great, if not extremely quirky city. When you spend a couple of days in Portland (Downtown) you realize a few things: a) everyone seems to ride bikes, b) everyone is asking you for change and c) there is a Starbucks literally on every corner. This is a coffee culture in Portland and we could not count the number of Starbucks that we saw while walking around the city.
The morning started off quite cold (probably less than 5o degrees as a heavy cloud bank seemed to hang over the city. By the afternoon however, the clouds had lifted and it was sunny and over 75 degrees. We left the hotel in jackets and by the afternoon we were in T-Shirts. We spent the morning and afternoon cruising around downtown trying out the awesome food in many of the food trucks that are stationed in sites around the city. Portland is unusual since they gather all their food trucks and put them in parking lots throughout the city. I think that Portland must have the most food trucks per-capita of any major city in the US.
We spent the early afternoon in one of the most beautiful Japanese Gardens I have ever seen and that includes in my travels to Japan. The Portland Japanese Garden is a must see and it is the most authentic Japanese style garden in the US (maybe the world – outside of Japan.)
We spent the late afternoon and early evening making the long, long, long drive from Portland down to the beautiful coast of Oregon – Coos Bay. The trip was pretty incredible and we passed through very remote towns including 1 ghost town that was quite scary. We even saw Elk that were wandering around a reserve. It was quite a remarkable and beautiful drive. Tomorrow we will make our way down the Oregon coastline and end up somewhere in California. Where we go remains to be seen but we will be somewhere by this time tomorrow.
Wake up and you’re in Portland. Rinnie stops off at Starbucks to get a Chocolate Smoothie – that is what she calls it but it is officially called a Frapacino.
Tu holds up a picture taken the day before in Seattle. Trying to plan out the day and reviewing what we did the day prior over morning coffee at Starbucks.
First stop is the Japanese Garden. How do you get there? Well just ask your Iphone 5 and Siri gives you driving directions. She usually tells you that you are pretty close too.
It’s 10 am and Tu and Rinnie are hungry so they went to get Hot Thai Yum Sum soup and Hot Fried Rice. The food trucks in Portland are amazing and you can get everything. It’s a really great city for food.
Eat up ladies. It’s going to be a long day.
Rinnie relaxing on a bench in Portland while traffic whizzes by. Portland is a pretty relaxed city where most people take public transport or ride bikes.
We stayed in the beautiful Benson Hotel in Downtown Portland. As you can see it is old and historic. We got the place on Priceline for $100. Priceline is great and this hotel was really cool.
Rinnie sits like Royalty on the beautiful coaches in the lobby of the Benson Hotel. Later pictures in the blog will reveal a less than regal “jumping on the beds” and wrecking the hotel room.
Rinnie and Tu practice their synchronized bed ballet. They nailed it.
We did not jump in this picture, we were levitating above the beds. It was incredible.
The Japanese Tea Gardens were tranquil and just the place we needed to capture some natural beauty after all the driving. This place was so peaceful.
A leaf on the eye and searching for truth deep within the soul. Did she find it?
Hello Kung Fu Panda Express
Awesome day in Seattle, now on to Portlandia
Another long day of travel and fun. We started at 7pm and finally ended up in our hotel in Portland by 9 pm. The drive from Seattle to Portland is about 3 hours and we hit the road after spending a full day taking in the best of Seattle. The only downer of the day was that I dropped and broke my favorite 85mm lens. Well that’s what happens when you use your lenses and camera almost everyday – you’re bound to break some equipment.
This is Seattle from the top of the Space Needle. This is the highest and one of the most beautiful points in Seattle.
Tu is relaxing at a place called Kerry Park. There are beautiful homes in this area that have an awesome view of downtown Seattle.
Tu and Rinnie relax on the grass in front of the Space Needle.
Tu and Rinnie in the Space Needle with the Seattle skyline in the back.
Tu and Rinnie at the Glass Museum Park
Tu inside the glass museum with the Space Needle in the background.
Rinnie and Tu is front of some fine art work.
Tu is flying like a space ship in front of the Space Needle.
Rinnie took this great shot of Tu and I. Thanks Rinnie.
We took a tour of Underground Seattle. This is one of the urban caves we were in.
Rinnie poses in front of more murals and wall art.
Rinnie exploring the urban caves. They were kind of spooky, but interesting.
Rinnie being artistic.
We’re in Seattle
Day 1 of the West Coast Road Trip kicked off. On Saturday, we decided to hop on a plane to Seattle, rent a car and then head down the entire west coast catching most of the major cities along the way. It will take about 1,500 miles of driving to accomplish in the next few days but we are determined to carry out the little adventure and show Rinnie a good time while she is here in the US. We got to Seattle about 3pm and checked out the mandatory places like Pikes Place market and explored the long harbor and waterways.
Seattle is a pretty nice city, almost the complete polar opposite of San Diego in some ways but in many ways similar – two smaller US cities with younger populations and a laid back lifestyle. I think Seattle is a great city and what a way to kick off your road trip. Tomorrow we finish exploring and then we are off to Portland Oregon.
Can you go to Seattle without seeing the first Starbucks Coffee ever? I think not, and that is why we came here right away.
This hideous but beautiful looking wall is all gum. It’s called the gum wall and it is located right beneath Pikes Market. The wall is covered with people’s left over chewing gum.
Rinnie poses in front of a wall of Graffiti. There is a lot of beautiful artwork on the walls of Seattle. It’s awesome.
Pretty dangerous here but Rinnie is just relaxing on some live railroad tracks. Just happy as can be sitting and waiting for the train.
Tu and Rinnie relaxing after a long day of walking around.
Tu performs acrobatics in Seattle against the beautiful sky.
It was pretty empty this afternoon on the sky deck. We had the place to ourselves. That was nice.
Tu and I posing in front of the beautiful Seattle Skyline.
Rinnie posing with her camera. She has been taking lots and lots of pictures.
Sunday at the Lake
When you live by the beach what is something that you rarely if ever do in July? If you answered – drive east to where it is hot then you are right but that is precisely what Tu and I did – headed east. We actually ended up in a pretty cool and breezy place called Cuyamaca lake which interestingly enough didn’t have many people there for a Sunday in July. It is place that you can rent a boat and fish for trout – a real nice place but I didn’t see anybody catching fish.
Tu posed on a pier where people take their boats out. She took off her shoes but thought it would be way too cold to dive in. Well anyway I think it was illegal to jump in the lake anyway.
Tu is an amazing Zen Buddhist and while chanting she found that she was able to float on water. You don’t believe me, just take a look at this picture. She was levitating on the lake
Guadalupe Island Mexico
This is an old photo but actually one of my favorite photos that I own. This is me and my brothers at the top of Guadalupe Island (the westernmost point of Mexico) which is about 250 miles west off the coast. To get the island was treacherous and we had to endure 15-20 gale warning swells where waves were crashing over the boat. Everyone was seasick except Danny and I and we had never navigated a boat yet we were forced into that night since everyone else was curled up in bed with very nasty seasickness. I mean it was bad that night plowing through stormy seas wondering if we were going to make it. The only thing we had was the navigation system and radar which would illuminate large ships in our paths. The whole night we were thinking we were going to capsize or hit a whale like Moby Dick.
Well we made it and this was the picture we took from this extremely remote island the very next day. The island is uninhabited except for a few unlucky soldiers from Mexico that guard the island on 6 months shifts to make sure no other country tries to take it over. What makes this place amazing is the wildlife. The seals are completely tame, there are white sharks everywhere and the Albatross land on this Island since it is the only land within hundreds of miles. We are one of the few humans to see this place and it felt great. It was absolutely beautiful here and peaceful but still scary since we were in the middle of nowhere literally with no one else around. The island was sunny and windy but it was nowhere near as bad as the gale force winds and storms that surrounded it. The sheer size of the mountains on the island creates a Jetty effect where the clouds basically part around the island allowing the suns to shine even when everything else around it is stormy.
It was a great trip because we knew it would be one of the few trips we would ever get to take together. We bonded over the difficulty of getting there and over the beautiful things we saw when we finally arrived. This was a great trip I will always remember.
Weekend at the Island
It’s 26 miles across the sea – Catalina Island is waiting for me. Tu and I headed over on Friday afternoon to visit one of my favorite places in the world. My brother offered to let us stay on his boat while they were out of town and we decided to make the trip. Not only does he have a beautiful boat but is moored on the best can in the Island – right next to the Casino where the waters are still and calm.
We got their Friday afternoon and enjoyed two sun-soaked days exploring the Island and getting some amazing seafood and the best clam chowder that we have ever had anywhere – and we get it pretty much every restaurant that we go to. Bill, Michelle and Isabela have been living on the boat for the last couple of months and are planning on staying through the entire summer there. It is such a beautiful places and the summers there are fantastic.
http://www.frankiefoto.com/Travel/The-Island/24193615_7HW346
I got up early this morning to get a picture off the coast towards the Casino – the iconic building the you first see when you come to the Island. It really reminds you of something you would see in a European beach. It’s not a Casino anymore but a Movie Theater. SpiderMan was playing there is weekend.
Tu and I cruised the harbor in the boat taking in all the beautiful views. Since the Island is on the side opposite of the currents there is almost no waves there making the water a crystal clear blue
The Island is very small. The hotels and Bed and Breakfast locations are very quaint on the Island and you get a real sense that things just move slower on the Island. Everyone is happy on the Island.
Our favorite place to eat was right on the Pier. This came from a tip from a local. You see the guy that owns this place is also the primary importer of Fish to the Island so he gets all the best and freshest seafood. He has also discovered the two secrets of awesome fish – 1) make sure it is really fresh, and 2) just keep it simple and grill it. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to make good fish, you only have to remember those two things.
I could eat fish every day if it tasted this good. We ate fish every meal while we were there and I am positive that is all that I would eat if I lived there – it is that good. Check out the Tabasco. Is any meal really complete without a dash of it? I think not.
Tu was asking for Cotton Candy the whole trip. Well of course this Island is just like the boardwalk in New Jersey. You can find T-Shirt Shops, Soft Serve Ice Cream and Cotton Candy all over the place. One thing we did not find is Buffalo Jerky. The Island is home to hundreds of Buffalo left over from a Hollywood movie.
Tu has never steered a boat before this weekend. But there is always a first time, and she did great.
Someone is living the good life
Sun-basking on the forward deck of the boat. Life on the Island is pretty nice
She is about to take the plunge in the water. Unfortunately the Pacific Ocean, while beautiful is much colder than the Atlantic. The water is blue and looks tropical but it is still about 68 degrees and feels very frigid. I jumped in myself and was out in a jiffy.
This is her last hurrah before she hurries back to the boat to dry off
Driving a boat around Catalina you start to realize how awesome it would be to stay here for awhile. Everything is stress free and that makes you feel nice
Someone is hiding. But not doing it too well.
We headed out to the Jetty. It was misty and I caught this picture of Tu under the light post. It was getting cold and the fog was starting to roll in.
Catalina is still the place where SwordFish boats park out and wait for huge Swordfish that circle the Island. Ever read Zane Gray fishing stories? This is where he lived and where he fished. There are some absolutely phenomenal fishing stories from this area. Bill and I have often fished the Marlin Classic which draws some of the most experienced Marlin Fisherman in the world
The SeaHunt on the “Island Girl” mooring. The place we called home for a couple of days the summer of 2012.
Nara – Sacred Wild Deer
Nara Park is located in the city of Nara Japan and it is one of the most unusual parks that I have ever visited. The park was established in 1880 and is home to 1,200 wild Sika Deer. What makes it unusual is that the deer roam freely around the park and they are completely tame. The deer are considered sacred and special to the Gods. If you tried to kill one of these deer you could be put to death – well at least that was the case up until 1637 when the last execution took place for killing one of the deer. That would explain why these deer are so incredibly tame.
There are three temples in the area and the deer roam around these temples freely being fed crackers by all of the tourist. You can purchase crackers for the deer for about $2 for every package of 10 crackers. Kids are all over this park running and feeding the deers. It is a great place to go.
You can get to the Nara National Park by taking the train from Kyoto Station. It is about $10 and takes about 1 hour to get there. Between the deer and the beautiful temples it is the #1 day trip to do from Kyoto Japan.
http://www.frankiefoto.com/Travel/Nara-Japan/24001277_xvCWVP
