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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Travel 2009

Places I have spent the night

Warminster, PA
San Jose, CA
Sacramento, CA
Ashland, OR
Forest Grove, OR
Crescent City, CA
Salinas, CA
Solana Beach, CA

States

PA
CA
OR

Airports

PHL
LAS
SJC

Labels: flickrpost, list, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 1:17 PM

Friday, March 27, 2009

Wedding Notes: March 27

Up early to pack the car, check out of the room and hit the road. That was hard after the beer we drank the night before.
We were off for the Oregon coast. We drove down to Lincoln City, Oregon. Out plan was to drive out to the coast and drive 101 All the say south. Our goal was to get far enough to spend the night in California.
We stopped at the Outlet Mall at Lincoln City. No Oregon sales tax makes it even better.
The drive was beautiful, but it added a few hours to when we would get home. I liked the drive, but it was a little too curvy for Kate. She was happy when we got to Crescent City and found a hotel for the night. Part of me wanted to stop more often, but I was also tired and wanted to just get home.

Labels: honeymoon, notes, tag overload, travel, travel notes, US 101

- Rich, 6:42 PM

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Wedding Notes: March 26

Went out to breakfast at the Prime Time Sports Bar. If you get breakfast at a sports bar, get the Steak and Eggs. I think it was the first round of the NCAA basketball Tournament, but I could be mistaken. I missed it this year because of the wedding.
Thursday was Spa Day. Kate had the White Rabbit Rub. I think they rubbed her down with sugar. We both had the Couples Massage. The massage was awesome. I need to get massages more often.
After the massage it was time for another dip in the soaking pool. I love the soaking pool so much.
That night went by is a haze of pitchers of beer, chicken wings, sparkling wine, and Benjamin Buttons.

Labels: honeymoon, McMenamins, notes, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 4:06 PM

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wedding Notes: March 25

We were told that we had to visit the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Kate loves animals and I love photography. That makes a zoo great for booth of us. We got to see the new baby elephant, Hippos, Polar Bears, Mandrills, Zebras, and Bats to name a few.
We had dinner with our favorite Portlanders, the Dornblasers. We got to meet the newest member of the family. We were sorry that they could name make it for the wedding. We spent our time talking about all kinds of stuff like, weddings, marriage, kids, work, and The Birds.
We had dinner at the Lauralwood Public House. I had the Burger which was very good, but I should have had the Mac and Cheese Kate had. It was great Mac and Cheese. I am not sure there are restaurants in San Jose that rate with the Laurelwood. If there is let me know

Labels: Don D., honeymoon, notes, Oregon Zoo, tag overload, travel, travel notes, wedding, zoo

- Rich, 11:58 PM

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Wedding Notes: March 22

Most of my family were staying in the hotel
I woke up before Kate to have breakfast with, Alice, the Greens, and the Hoffmanns. Kate joined me later to have breakfast with my mom, Kathy, Jed and Janice, and the Prattles,
We went back to the apartment, finished packing and opened a few more gifts.
We were on the road. It was I-880, I-680, Over the Martinez bridge, I-80, I-505, I-5. We had lunch at Mary's Pizza Shack in Vacaville and had pasta.
We were happy to get through the mountain passes without issue. We saw snow, but we did not need chains. I am happy the passes were open.
We spent the night in Ashland, Oregon. Ashland was dead because it was Springbreak and there were no plays that week
We pulled into the Bard's Inn and asked if they had HBO. We needed HBO to see the finally of Big Love. They called four other hotels looking for one that had HBO. I guess Ashland is a very literate town. More hotels had sharing libraries than HBO. We needed to see the Big Love Finish. The hotel clerk thought it was romantic I was doing this for my wife.
Got Takeout hamburgers at munchies
We ended up staying at the Ashland Springs Hotel.
Kate want to come back to Ashland for the Shakespeare Festival. I think that would be pretty cool.

Labels: honeymoon, notes, tag overload, travel, travel notes, wedding

- Rich, 11:28 PM

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Travel 2008

Places I have spent the night:

Warminster, PA
San Jose, CA
Salinas, CA
Corning, CA
Portland, OR (3 places)
Valley Forge, PA


Airports:

PHL
SAN
SJC
LAS

States:

PA
CA
OR

Labels: tag overload, travel

- Rich, 3:03 PM

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Road

The drive was easier than I expected. I am not sure why I was expecting more traffic. It might have been easier because I was coming down with Kate. The trip went very quickly. I just hope the drive back will be that easy.

Labels: road trip, travel, vacation

- Rich, 11:11 PM

Friday, July 18, 2008

Before the trip

It is the night before Kate and I end off to San Diego. We went to Target to buy snacks for the trip. I have taken this trip a lot in the past, but I cannot describe what it will be like. I do not not take this trip often enough that is in the front of my mind. I think that it will be great to drive down with Kate. it is just a time for the two of us to be alone.

Labels: road trip, travel, vacation

- Rich, 2:39 PM

Friday, May 23, 2008

Travel and Entitlement

I have been thinking about America Airlines new baggage fee structure that was announced recently. It has been all over the news. Most of the people I have heard talk about this is upset. How dare American Airlines try something like this? How can they charge customers for something that used to be free.

That is one of the catches. Checking baggage was not free before. The charge was included in the price of the ticket. People were paying for it if they used it or not. We are just not used to paying for it separately. It is like raising the cost for just the customer using the service.

In many ways this change in fee structure is a response to the internet. Right now it is really easy for everyone to see the price for every airline. Every airline has to compete on price. There is no space anymore to charge more than another airline. they only way to have another price is to change the bottom line price without changing the top line price. This is just want American Airlines is doing.

Many people who rail against this say it is a poor way to treat your customers. I know that this is called Gotcha Capitalism. People say if you leave the customers with a poor experence they will not come back. I have heard lots of people say that customer service is the new marketing and that you need customers on your side. In the internet age, the top line price is what gets people to buy your product.

My experence is that no one wants to pay for customer service. There are plenty of categories where people want to pay the cheapest price no matter what. They will complain if they do not get good customer service, but they are not willing to pay for it. The problem is that good customer service costs more money. It is not just a matter of people working harder. It is really hard to see customer support ratings on air fare search engines. If I am searching for just the lowest price it is hard to see what I am paying for.

The other interesting part of the news coverage I have seen about this is attitude of customers. The coverage has had a lot of "Traveler on the Street" reaction shots. People are acting like they are entitled to low air fares. They talk like any change in air fares something evil. They talk like the Airlines do not have the right to charge whatever they want. It is a strange idea to me. I think that airflight is a luxury and will be more so in the future.

I am surprised how low the price of airfares are. I would have expected them to explode. Fuel has gone through the roof. I am still finding flights from San Jose to Philadelphia in October that are less than $300. That is amazing to me.

Labels: air travel, American Airlines, travel

- Rich, 6:20 PM

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Travelogue - Portland Wrapup

To say the least, my trip to Portland was great. Kate really loved Portland also. We only went to a fraction of the places that I usually like to go and she still loved it. We talked about the chances that we would move to Portland some day. I told her that there were only a handful of places that I really wanted to live. Portland was near the top of that list.

It was a great trip for a lot of reasons. Kate and I travel well together. I am someone who like to keep plans open when I travel. I see that this did not bother Kate. We spent a lot of time visiting with Don and Jenna. Kate did not mind that we spent a lot of time with someone she had never met before. He instantly clicked with Don and Jenna and we all had a good time. That is also important to me.

Things I meant to show Kate but did not have the time:
Powells City of Books
The Rose Garden
Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Pioneer Courthouse Square
SW Park blocks
Bagdad theater

I have the feeling that Kate and I will make our way back to Portland. It would be cool if I could live there again. Even if we just go visit there it will be cool. I have visited Portland on every even year since I left. I do not see that trend ending because of Kate.

Labels: kate, list, Portland, tag overload, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 10:39 AM

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Travelogue - Drive home

We drove home yesterday. It was 12 hours south on I-5. It was not a bad drive, but i was kind of tired. After a exciting vacation it is always hard to drive home. Kate slept a lot on the way home. I did my best to not fall asleep on the way home also. I was mindful not to speed too much, which made the trip drag on. To be honest I would have to loved to stay in Portland. I guess all vacations have to come to an end.

Labels: home, I-5, Portland, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 3:19 PM

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Travelogue - Engaged

I asked Kate to marry me in Portland and she said yes. Yes, I asked her on March 17th St. Patrick's Day, but I am getting a head of my self here.

Kate and I started Monday by sleeping in. After breakfast and internet at the Kennedy school we looked for places to get Kate's nails done. We drove around Portland for a little bit before meeting Sean for lunch.

The whole time all of these things happened I was trying to figure out when I was going to ask Kate. Kate knew the proposal was coming soon. She knew that I ordered a ring but I did not have it with me in Portland. Knowing that, Kate has accused me of being kind of "squirrelly". She knew something was up.

I figured my only chance was to make her think I was going to do something at Dinner and ask her earlier. After a couple of text messages with a friend I decided I was going to ask her on the Hawthorne bridge in the late afternoon. I wanted to get my hair cut first. I was just hoping that the weather would hold out.



I had an appointment for get my hair cut and Kate had a nail appointment. My best friend for high school and college, His sister Shannon is a hair stylist in Portland. I had seen her over Christmas. She said she would be happy to cut my hair. We tried to hook it up two years ago, but the timing was all wrong.

It was cool to have my hair cut away from home by a person who knew me. It was a good haircut. I do not have a hair stylist in San Jose I like this much. If I lived in Portland I would go to Shannon at Dirty Little Secret all the time.



I told Kate after the Haircut that I wanted to take some photos of her on the Hawthorne bridge. Earlier in the trip I told her how the Hawrhorne bridge in Portland. Not only did it go between two of my favorite parts of town, it is also a beautiful bridge. Since I take a lot of photos it was not hard to convince Kate that I wanted to take her photo on the bridge.

I knew that I wanted to ask Kate with a photographic months back. I got the idea while we were in Philadelphia after Christmas. I wanted so way to ask Kate that I could later post on Flickr. In February I had Peter Conrad make the sign for me and take the photo of me. The photo of me at the top of the post was taken at the place where Kate and I had our first date, Mission City Coffee.

On Saturday I had Don run out and make a print for me. I knew that I was not going to be able to slip away from Kate for long enough to get it done. This lead to the whole thing with me acting "Squirrelly".

I walked Kate on the bridge and started taking some pictures. After a few pictures I said I had a prop for her. I handed her a bag with the photo in it. The print was 8x10. She looked at the photo and was surprised. She did not expect me to ask her there in this way. I am happy I could surprise her. I told her there were two more signs in the bag, 'Yes' and 'No'. I told her she needed to pick one of them out and hold it up. She held up the 'yes' sign.



We were both floating six feet off the ground when we got off the bridge. We went back to the Kennedy school. It was packed when we got back there. St. Patrick's day attracts a lot of people to the Kennedy School. We used their soaking pool for a little while. It seemed perfect. The water was warm and air was cool. We were as close to weightless as we could be. We floated around each other was we talked about the future.

We headed back to the room to take advantage of the Romance package, which was a bottle of champagne on ice and two chocolate truffles. After a little time in the room we decided to get some dinner in the hotel restaurant. The wait for the restaurant was 90 minutes, but when you are staying at a hotel with its own brewery and six bars, waiting 90 minutes for a table is not too hard.

We had a lot of beer, chicken wings, tater tots while we waited. We mooned at each other over steak and beer for dinner. Steak has become a celebration meal for us. It seemed perfect that night. Lets just say we were pretty free with the drinks that night. Everything that night seemed to make us happy.

We stumbled back to our room after a few hours. When got there I wanted to make sure we finished I wanted to make sure we finished off the bottle of champagne. I paid good money for it and I did not want it to go to waste. It was a little warm and flat for sitting out, but that was fine by me. The only glass clean in the room was a pint glass. We ended up sharing that glass, trading it back and forth. I ended up Twittering "we finished a bottle of flat sparkling wine out of a pint glass. what a perfect day."

After that I had this Idea that we should go out side and look at the stars. We we got outside we found out it was raining. The sky was gray and we could not see any stars. So we ended up dancing outside in the rain. It was still pretty cool. It was the end of a perfect day.

Labels: kate, Portland, proposal, tag overload, travel, travelogue, wedding

- Rich, 4:07 PM

Monday, March 17, 2008

Travelogue - Kennedy School

We are staying the night at three different places in Portland. Most times this might get in the way of a trip, but this trip it is working very well. It is giving me a chance to show Kate different parts of Portland. It is making the vacation feel like we are doing more without spending a lot more money. It is working out nicely.

Sunday we checked into the Kennedy school. I love the Kennedy School. It has been once of my favorite places in Portland since I moved there. I will admit that I am a bit of a mark for McMenamins. The idea that they are selling appeals to me greatly.

I am very happy that Kate also liked the Kennedy School. She likes the art that is on the walls. She like the design of the place. She loves that the building is an old elementary school. I think that is shows a lot in common with us. I think it something we see the same way.

Labels: McMenamins, Portland, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 3:48 PM

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Travelogue - Portland Saturday

Saturday we did two very Portland things. In the afternoon we went to the Portland Saturday Market. I love the Saturday market. When I lived in Portland I spent plenty of weekend mornings shopping there. There is something I really like about crafts. I even bought Kate a new purse there.

In the evening we meet Sean for the Portland Trailblazers game. It was a pretty good basketball game. I had never been to a Trailblazers game before. The Rose Quarter is a good arena for basketball. We were all the way at the back of the lower bowl in the corner, but we could see all of the action fine. The Blazers beat the Timberwolves 107-96. I am happy to see NBA scores back in the 100s.

It was just fun to hang out with my brother. We were late for the game, but that did not matter because I was hanging out with Sean. That was the whole point, for us to hang out with my brother. We ended up having to park no where near the arena. Note for next time, if there is a next time, take the MAXX to the Trail Blazers game.

Labels: basketball, Portland, Portland Saturday Market, Trailblazers, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 3:24 PM

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Travelogue - Staying the Night

On this trip we are going to be staying a couple of different places. I think this is an interesting way to see a city. Thursday night we needed to stay someplace cheap. From the moment we got into town I had a place in mind.

When I first heard the Decemberist song On the Bus Mall the line In our rat trap hotel by the freeway made me think of an place by my old apartment. Last night we decided to stay there.

I am not sure this was the place the Colin Maloy was really singing about, but after staying there, it just might be. It was not the worst motel I have ever stayed at. There was no evidence of rats, mice or cockroaches around the room. The carpet was not sticky under my feet. It did not smell funny.

Labels: logging, Portland, The Decemberist, travel, vacation

- Rich, 2:00 PM

Friday, March 14, 2008

Travelogue - Travel Conversation

This roadtrip is the first for Kate and I to take together. During the drive I felt like I was in less of a hurry that past trips. I guess that has to do with Kate being with me. The long roadtrip gave us a lot of time to talk. To be honest, I was not bored at all talking with her. I think this is a good sign.

Travel, driving, San Jose, marriage, wedding, kids, houses, tattoos, college, the Decemberists, religion, Philadelphia, mix tapes, snacks, Delaware, "I've Been Everywhere," engagement rings, beer, animal crackers, depression, Michael Stipe, wedding rings, Death Cab for Cutie, Portland, family, sour patch kids, photography, AIDS, Mt. Shasta, mobile homes, rain, place, Iraq war, food, Volcanoes, music, R.E.M., Ashland OR, parents, family vacations, Mt St. Helen, the election, Twitter, Wilco, Circus Peanuts, RVs, Shakespeare festival, homelessness, Comic Con, politics, Son Volt,

Labels: conversation, list, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 1:22 PM

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Travelogue - Waking up in Corning

We decided to Leave Wednesday night and drive past Sacramento. I did not want to start my first full day of vacation looking at traffic. I usually like leaving after work to get my start on vacation. It makes the vacation last longer.

Kate and I made it up to Corning. That was a nice jump on the trip. I can drive from San Jose to Portland in a day, but it is not a great drive. Starting early gets me in Portland early enough to do things when I get there.

I am glad I stopped in Corning. We got to see lots of beautiful country side as we drove north. We would have missed this in the dark. My favorite part of I-5 to drive is around Mt. Shasta. You can see much more in the daylight than you can in the dark.

Labels: Corning, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 11:51 AM

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Travelogue - Road to Portland

The first Stop is a Denny's on I-80 on the say to Sacramento. We had a Kathy like experence with a homeless guy when we got out of the car. He walked up to me and asked for money. I was pinned in with another car right there. Scaring people is not a great way to get me to willingly give money.

We are one hour into the road trip and it is going well. Once we hit the road everything was great. There was a little getting on each other's nerves as we were packing the car, but that all went away. More about the trip later.

Labels: I-80, kate, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 8:19 PM

Monday, January 07, 2008

2008 Travel Goals

I want to focus on traveling on inside of California. There are lots of places in the state that I have not gone yet. I need to start knocking some of these places off this list. I made a list of 20 places that I have not gone before. I hope to go to 10 of these this year. I know lots of these are baseball themed, but I am a baseball fan.

Getty Museum
Santa Clara University Baseball Game
Joe DiMaggio's Grave
Joe DiMaggio's Boat
Lake Tahoe
Disneyland
Sacramento AAA Baseball Game
Modesto Nuts Game
San Francisco Zoo
Yosemite
Golden Gate Fields
Chabot Space & Science Center
Humboldt State University Natural History Museum
USS Hornet Museum
U.S. Naval Museum of Armament & Technology Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake
Dodger Stadium
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
san francisco academy of sciences
lenny dykstra's car wash
Castle Rock State Park

Labels: 2008, flickrpost, goal, list, Resolution, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 6:37 AM

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Face Dances

According to an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the TSA is profiling people by asking them questions and watching their expressions. The idea is that this is better than racial profiling. They can look at the way people answer questions and ask them more questions from there.

This is something that scares me. There are lots of reason people lie when they are being asked questions. There are lots of reasons to not tell the truth. I know more than enough people that will lie just because they are being asked.

Maccario emphasized that the program takes into account the typical stress many of us experience when traveling, especially during the holidays.

Ordinary people who are feeling anxious are "much more open with their body movements and their facial expressions as compared to an operational terrorist (thinking) 'I've got to defeat security,' " Maccario said. "We're looking for behavior indicators that show a certain level of stress, fear or anxiety above and beyond that shown by an anxious member of the traveling public."

Once I was driving from Vancouver BC, to Seattle WA. I crossed the boarder on I-5. I was nervous going though customs. I was not nervous because I was doing anything illegal. I was nervous because I did not know all the rules. I might have been doing something illegal without knowing it. The customs agent searched my car and was hoping to find something. He was very disappointed to find nothing.

I know they have to look for people who are trying to do harm, but I still feel like they are shooting in the dark and claiming victory when they catch something my accident. I do not think this makes for good policy.

Look at the claim:

Since January 2006, behavior-detection officers have referred about 70,000 people for secondary screening, Maccario said. Of those, about 600 to 700 were arrested on a variety of charges, including possession of drugs, weapons violations and outstanding warrants.

What worries me is that this does not have a footnote. If I was a newspaper I would not print this claim without verification. There has been too much lying by the government to think other wise. I also want to know how much this program costs. We need to know what kind of bang for our buck we are getting and what programs are not getting funded.

Labels: profiling, security, travel, TSA

- Rich, 4:35 PM

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Travel 2007

Here is my travel list for 2007.

Places I have spent the night

San Jose, CA
Andalusia, AL
Montgomery, AL
Seattle, WA
Kennewick, WA
Louisville, CO
Albuquerque, NM
Cambria, CA
Navato, CA
San Diego, CA
Coalinga, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Selina, CA
Warminster, PA

Airports
San Jose, CA - SJC
Houston, TX - IAH
Montgomery, AL - MGM
Sea-Tec, WA - SEA
Pacso - PCS
Portland, OR - PDX
Denver, CO - DIA
Albuquerque, NM - ABQ
Phoenix, AZ - PHX
Las Vegas, NV - LAS
Philadelphia, PA - PHL


States
CA
AL
TX
WA
OR
CO
NM
AZ
PA
NV

Labels: 2007, stats, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 4:34 PM

Monday, December 10, 2007

Where to go in 2008

Above the city
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

The New York Times travel section did a story about the 53 places to visit in 2008. I would like to be able to visit all of them. Right now San Francisco and San Diego are the only two places on the list that I will likely travel to next year. In San Diego I doubt I will get a chance to stay in the new Hard Rock Hotel. If you want to hire me for some kind of job that will send me to all these places, I will be happy to go.

There is a good chance I will go to Portland sometime next year. My guess is that I will do a lot less travel next year. I doubt I will get to as many places as I did this year.

Labels: flickrpost, list, New York Times, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, travel

- Rich, 8:48 PM

Friday, November 30, 2007

Portland: Burnside

Portland Vacation: Burnside
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I do not know when I will get to Portland next, but it has been calling me. Next year I think I will be there. I have visited Portland every even year since I left there. I am looking forward to going again. I know I was not there long, but it still has some of my heart.

Labels: flickrpost, Portland, self, travel

- Rich, 9:09 PM

Monday, November 19, 2007

Going back to Philadelphia

Meeting my parents in Mesa: High School Best Friend
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I am going back to Philadelphia for Christmas. I am taking my girlfriend back to meet my parents. It should be one hell of a trip. I am looking forward to Kate meeting everyone and everyone meeting Kate. I am a little stressed because there is a lot of planning and I am not close to the planning. I am just hoping it will be a good trip.

It will be good to see my parents. I think they will like Kate.

Labels: Christmas, family, kate, parents, travel

- Rich, 1:38 PM

Saturday, October 20, 2007

out car windows

out car windows
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

Hey, you, get away from your computer and go find the part of the world that is close to you, but you do not see that often. It will be rewarding. I promise.

Labels: flickrpost, outside, travel

- Rich, 9:39 PM

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Meeting my parents in Mesa: The three of us

Meeting my parents in Mesa: The three of us
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I went to Arizona to meet my parents. My parents no longer make it all the way out to California. Since they will not come to me, I went to them. I do not get to see them all that often. It was great to just hang out with them. I miss seeing them. I have been out here long that I am ready to move back. I am not sure what their health will be like when I am ready to move back. For now I have to take any change I get to see them.

Labels: flickrpost, parents, self, travel

- Rich, 8:54 AM

Friday, September 14, 2007

lonely tree

lonely tree
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

My advice to my friends is go out and see California. I know lots of people around here that never get out to see the rest of the state. You have to take the time to see what is going on around you. California is so big, it is hard to see all of it. Every once in a while you need to take the effort to see part of the state you have not seen before.

Labels: California, flickrpost, travel

- Rich, 10:40 PM

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Vacations

Kathy's Vacation:
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

My blog is really falling behind right now. I spent a week on vacation with my sister Kathy. We spent a week kicking around anywhere from Point Reyes to Lone Cypress. It included lots of baseball and lot of driving. It was a fun week, but I did not get much blogging done that week.

I have spent much of this week recovering from my vacation. Attending to all those things you cannot attend to while you have a house guest. On top of that I have to catch up at the office. Neither of those things put me in the mood to blog.

Of course in my wisdom I have plans for vacation next week also. That will give me another week where I have much better things to do that blog. I might be able to get an entry or two done, but it is not the kind of vacation that will give me much time to rest.

I guess I am just giving my readers a the reasons my blog is a little under published this month. I hope not to many people will care.

Labels: family, self, travel, vacation

- Rich, 7:11 PM

Thursday, March 29, 2007

California Travel: Hearst Castle

Neptune Pool
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

Today I toured Hearst Castle on the central coast. On my current vacation I have been trying to do things that I have been putting off. The top of the list are Hearst Castle and the Getty museum. I picked Hearst Castle because it is closer, would cost me less to visit it, and there is a much better chance I will go to Los Angeles in the future. I have a hard time seeing myself just happening through San Simeon.

I am happy I have came to see it. It is a pretty cool place. It is in the middle of nowhere on the central coast. It is not the kind of place people come by accident. I can see why it was a good get away in William Randolph Hearst's time. I can see why it was popular with famous people.

I have to file Hearst Castle under crazy California homes of Rich People. Currently the other place in that file is the Winchester Mystery House. They both have a lot in comment. Never ending construction, never finished, owners who kept on changing the plans, and ended up being historic sites.

I know that William Randolph Hearst just called it the Ranch, but a castle is a good name for it. You can see how visiting the castles and residents of Europe influences. It reminded me of the Würzburg Residence. Both building were build to impress the guests who came to visit. I wonder if it was a way for Hearst to remind people who came to visit who he is. No matter what kind of Hollywood star you are, you are not as big as William Randolph Hearst.

Walking though the building I just thought to myself, "of course this place is in California. California is a place of people putting really big dreams into action. You would have to dream really big to build a place like this. It is on the top of a hill that is 1000 feet up. The place has amazing views of the country side and of the ocean. It is just an amazing place.

The building is amazing, but it is also a mis-mash. Both on the inside and on the outside it is a strange combination of styles. The building complex exterior is a combination of Spanish, Italian and Ancient Roman. In my head I can hear an architectural snob declare how the different style clash. You get the feeling that Hearst could not make up his mind. He wanted everything.

On the inside there are a ton of different art styles. I cannot even count how many different countries the art came from. It is almost dizzying. I bet that is what Hearst was going for. I bet it looked better when it was a house and not a museum. Now it is too much to take in. All the different styles were too much.

There is something about the Hearst Castle that made me a feel a little sad. I get the same feeling when I go to the Winchester Mystery House. All of these effort went into making this house, but now it is not a house. If feels like it is a little dead. It would be better is someone was living there. Since it is just a display piece now, it has lost a little of what made it special. Worst of all it was only in use for 29 years. It has been a state park for almost 50 now.

Labels: California, Hearst Castle, tag overload, travel, Wikipedia, William Randolph Hearst

- Rich, 6:02 PM

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

On the Road

101 South
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

It is always nice to get on the road and travel a little. Even if it just a little.

Labels: flickr, road, travel

- Rich, 5:45 PM

Beer Guy

Staying at the Hostel in Cambria I meet Tuan Cháu Tięn. He brews Cháu Tięn. His website is PaleAle.com. I will have to look for his beer when I get back to San Jose.

Labels: beer, travel, vacation

- Rich, 9:02 AM

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Windy

Windy
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I have nothing to say about this picture. It was really windy while I was on top of the Space Needle. It kept me from getting some good night photos. I guess I will have to go up there in a less windy season.

Enjoy!

Labels: flickrpost, Seattle, Space Needle, travel

- Rich, 4:45 PM

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Dash 7 Dash 8

I am flying on a Dehavilland Dash 8. I wonder if the Wilco song Dash 7 is about the earlier version of this plane.

Labels: air travel, moblogging, music, travel, Wilco

- Rich, 9:58 AM

Portland.

I was temped to just jump ship in Portland and not come home. I knew that would not be a good idea so I got on the plane. There are too many things that tie me to my current life.

Labels: moblogging, Portland, travel

- Rich, 9:56 AM

Small Airport

I am in an airport so small that security closes between early flights. Everyone is waiting in the cafe for security to reopen. At least I know that the plane only hold 25 people.

Labels: air travel, PSC, security, travel

- Rich, 7:20 AM

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Kennewick

I am in Kennewick, Washington for business today. It is a small place in Eastern Washington. It is part of the tri-cities. Most of the people I talk to never heard of it before. Saying it is south of Spokane gives people some idea of where it is.

I was driving down a street seeing houses that were built in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I tried to think what this area must have been like in all of those eras. Most of the people I have worked with here came here from someplace else. I wonder how much of the population have been here all their lives. The woman who checked me into my hotel told me that she has only once been on an airplane. When you are in a place where most of the people grew up there, it changes the weight of history.

I am not going to be hear long enough to ask myself if I could really live here or not. My guess it not. I had to fly a turbo prop to get here. That would cut way down how often I get away. It looks like a pretty nice area. I was told the best times to visit are summer and vine harvest.

Labels: Kennewick, travel

- Rich, 6:04 PM

Monday, February 19, 2007

Seattle Notes

-The Seattle Central Library is really cool and worth visiting.
-Damn the Space Needle can get windy
-The mini donuts at the Market are very good
-There is not as much graffiti as I expected
-I was disappointed that the Seattle Art Museum was closed.
-The new Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Garden is amazing.
-I am still not paying $20 for the Music Experience Project.
-Cutter Bayhouse is really good.
-Like very one expected I took a lot of pictures.
-I am the worst kind of picture taking tourist, one that uses flickr.

Labels: Seattle, tag overload, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 7:49 PM

Leaving Seattle

I have been to Seattle a half Dozen times or so now. My experience of Seattle is one of being alone. I have never come here with someone else. I have never explored the city with anyone else. I have been on my own every time I have come here.

I am not sure what that say about Seattle or about me. I like Seattle. I feel there is something that draws me here. Every time I go there I try to figure out how I can move there.

It is hard to travel on your own. It is hard to go sight seeing and not share it with anyone. It is hard to motivate myself to keep on going when I get tired. I usually see less when I am alone. I face these things all the time. It is rare for me to travel with someone else.

I left Seattle early today because the weather was rough and I was out of ideas of things to do. Now it is onto the business part of this trip.

Labels: alone, Seattle, self, travel

- Rich, 7:36 PM

Airplane Songs

Is there a song that you listen to every time you are on an airplane? For me it is Dash 7 by Wilco. What is it for you?

Labels: air travel, moblogging, music, song, travel

- Rich, 4:29 PM

Seattle and Architecture

Between the Seattle Central Library and the Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park there is a lot of new interesting Architecture in Seattle. Not only does it have lots of cool tall buildings, the new condos going up in Belltown are also interesting. There is something really alive and vital about the new architecture in this city.

I will go as far as saying that this is the American City with the most interesting new
architecture. It does not seem to have anything holding it back. Even the new stadiums are interesting to look at from the outside. I think that Seattle is putting the rest of the West Coast Cities to shame. (I'm looking at you San Francisco.) This is something that makes me love this city.

Labels: Architecture, Seattle, Seattle Art Museum Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle Central Library, travel

- Rich, 12:08 PM

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Rich Photo Hunting

The glass wall
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

While I was in Seattle I tried to stand in the background of as many photos as I could. The challenge now is to see if any of those photos show up in flickr. I am wondering if anyone can find me is someone else's photos.

Terms that might help this search

Seattle
Space Needle
Seattle Center
Pike Place Market
SAM Olympic Sculpture Park
Waterfront Park

Good hunting

Labels: flickr, flickrpost, photos, Seattle, travel

- Rich, 11:30 PM

Saturday, February 17, 2007

The Quality of Light

Every time I come to Seattle I notice how the quality of the light is different here. It has to do with the latitude. The light is noticeably different than San Jose or Philadelphia. It is something that I forget after I leave. I have to come back here again to remember it.

I do not think I have captured this light difference in my photographic. I think I would have to be a much better photographer to capture it. It is hard to describe how it is different, it just looks different.

This difference is on of the things I like about Seattle. I am not sure if I would see the difference if I lived here. I might stop noticing if I was here everyday.

Labels: conflict of place, Light, place, Seattle, travel

- Rich, 11:08 PM

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Travel

From the Air: about to land
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

There is something about traveling that wears me out. Especially traveling for work. Yesterday I came home from a week in Andalusia, Alabama. My flight left Alabama 6:30 in the morning CST. When I got back to my place I could not get myself into the swing. I was really useless when I got home yesterday.

Being away from home was really tiring. I did not sleep well. I usually do not have that problem in hotels. I think the time shift had something to do with it. I was getting up much earlier then I was used to. At night I had a hard time falling asleep. I am not sure what this was a sign of. I had to deal with being tired a lot. That is not something I enjoy.

I would like to travel more. I am not sure how much I would like to travel for work. I got to see very little of Alabama on this trip. I was more focused on work than seeing the sights.

Labels: Alabama, flickrpost, travel, work

- Rich, 6:32 PM

Places I spent the night in 2006

I did not do a recap for 2006. I do not think I will do a full recap. It was too complex of a year to fit into a blog post. I am breaking my post into several smaller posts. Here is one of them.

I like to keep track of the places I have visited. For some reason I am now fixated on the places I have spent the night. I think it is a good thing to keep track of. Of course my blog is the best place to keep track of these kinds of things.

Places I spent the night in 2006

San Jose, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Diego, CA
Carmel, CA
Carmel Valley, CA
Yerka, CA
Portland, OR (2 Locations)
Warminster, PA

Other places I visited

Mt. St. Helen, WA
Vancouver, WA
Point Reyes, CA

Labels: 2006, travel

- Rich, 10:21 AM

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The flying part of travel

The flying part of travel is not fun. My plane is late getting to Houston & there is nothing I can do but wait. I just want to get home.

Labels: flight, travel

- Rich, 7:18 AM

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Town Square

Town Square
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I am traveling for work. I am visiting this small town Andalusia, Alabama. The town is really small. I was told that restaurants are not often open on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday night. Those nights are so slow, it is not worth enough money for the restaurants to be open.

The town is the county seat. After a couple of conversations with people I am working with, they told me about the town square. I was driving around today looking for the town square. It was only 7 PM and everything was closed down. Almost every store on the square had a tenant. They just close early.

I ask the people I am working with what they do for fun. The answer falls into three categories. 1) Go 90 miles away and so something fun, 2) Stay home, and 3) Nothing. I am told you are either the type of person who likes this kind of area or you are not. The people who are not end up leaving.

Whenever I go anywhere I ask myself if I could live there. I can say that I could not live in Andalusia, Alabama. The houses are nice, but I need to be able to do things. I am a bit of a home body, but you have to be an extreme homebody to live here.

I will be happy to get back to San Jose.

Labels: Alabama, flickrpost, travel, work

- Rich, 8:30 PM

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Travel advice

My friend Andrew Thomas grew up in Alabama. I asked him for advice for traveling to Alabama. Here was his advice.

Be friendly and polite. Don't talk religion or politics. Take your pace down a few notches.

Also Be apologetic about your Northern roots.

Tell people your grandmother is from Alabama. (which is true)

His advice has seemed to work.

Labels: advice, Alabama, travel, work

- Rich, 8:33 PM

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Stars Say I Should Go To Las Vegas

I did not know there was such as thing as an astrology travel guide. It is telling me I should go to Vegas or New York City for a fall vacation. i am not even sure I am going to take a fall vacation this year. A trip to New York would be nice. I am just not sure if this is really the place for me to go or not. What does the birth order travel guide say for this year?

Labels: Astrology, Las Vegas, New York City, travel

- Rich, 12:38 AM

Monday, July 17, 2006

Vacation Day 3: The Drive

Empty I-5
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I have driven from San Jose to San Diego several times now. I have done it enough to say that I know the drive. This year Andrew is coming to comic con with me. This is the first time I have done the drive with another person.

Taking a long drive with another person is different that taking it alone. Andrew and I talked the whole time. We never ran out of things to talk about. The trip was a constant conversation. The miles just flew by. I think I did not speed as much because of the conversation.

In the past I have liked the solitude on this ride. I did not miss the solitude this time. It has been years since I have taken a long drive with anyone. I have missed taking these types of trips with my friends.

I love conversations on the road. You really have nothing to do but sit and talk. I am known as the kind of person who loves to talk. There are few things better than really good conversation. Andrew is a good match for this idea. He can talk just as well as I can.

It took us about 8 hours to make it from San Jose to San Diego. We made good time and we only spent about an extra hour in Los Angeles traffic. It felt great to get here. I even found Steve's place without directions, I left the directions at my computer.

We did not do much once we got to San Diego. The drive took a lot out of us. It is funny that driving takes a lot out of you. You are just sitting down, but it it not as easy as it seems.

Labels: Andrew J Thomas, conversation, driving, flickrpost, San Diego, San Jose, travel, vacation

- Rich, 11:33 PM

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Comic Con Prep Part 3

March 26: Ready to go
Originally uploaded by earthdog.

I hate packing for trips. Packing is only cool when you get to buy new stuff for the trip. I am not getting to do this for this trip. That means I just need to pack all my old crap. That is never fun.

There are lots of reasons I do not like packing. One of the reasons is that I always pack too much stuff. Even when I try to pack light I pack too much stuff. Since I am away from my stuff, I want to bring everything with me. I need to not bring stuff just in case I need to use it.

I know I need to break myself of this habit. I should find a way to travel light. Taking my car does not help. Driving makes it really easy to take too much stuff. I take less stuff when I fly, but it is still too much.

Labels: comic con, driving, flickrpost, travel, vacation

- Rich, 8:11 PM

Monday, November 21, 2005

Travel-blogue Day 5

Overheard Suburbs

“What? You're looking for a barging at 7-11. Are you stupid? Stop joking and pay up."

Coast v. Coast

When I was talking to aunt about living in San Jose she asked me how I liked it. I told her that I love my job, the weather is never too cold or too hot, and that I have a good circle of friends. Then she asked me if I liked it more then here, the Philadelphia area. Of course she asked me this question while other people were around. I answered her by telling her that both areas have good and bad points.

My answer was a bit of a dodge, but it is true. There are things big and small that like about California. It is everything from Dreamgirl and my job to how many good coffee shops there are and my real life Flickr community. It has taken me awhile, but I have really built a life in San Jose. Even if I do not like it as much as Philadelphia, it is not something I can just walk away.

There are a lot of things that I miss about the Philadelphia area. It would be nice to love close enough to my family that I do not have to take vacation to get home for Thanksgiving. I am jealous of my sisters being able to see each other so often. I might not want to shovel snow, but I miss that the snow.

The suburbs have chanced a lot in just the last seven years since I left. There is still something here that I remember. It means something to be here and live here. It is hard to describe, but I see it whenever I come back. It has something to do with the way people interact. It is not the same in San Jose. I miss that undesirable thing.

Whenever I go to any city I wonder if I could live there. It is just the way I look at the world when I travel. I feel that I could live here again. There are a lot of things here that still appeal to me. I feel that I could put a good life together for myself. I am just not in a rush to leave San Jose.

Do I like San Jose more than I like Philadelphia? When it comes purely to the conflict of place, I think that Philadelphia has an edge. There are lots of things here I miss. The difference is that I like the life I have in San Jose. That will keep in San Jose for a good while yet.

Labels: Phillies, tag overload, travel, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 8:17 PM

Saturday, July 12, 2003

Travel Notes 7/12/03

Gate 13

In JFK airport, terminal 6 there is not gate 13. There is a gate 12, 12A, and 14.

Food

I always eat a lot while I am home. This trip I ate two cheese steaks, one chicken cheese steak, one hoagie, Peanut Kandycakes, and a little water ice. I washed that down with a little yuengling lager. Going home is always about food. There are so many foods that I cannot get in San Jose. That is what I really miss about home.

Back

I am somewhere over America, in an airplane, flying back to the city that is now my home. I am tried, uncomfortable, sore, barn sour, and bored. I am flipping through the channels on the DirecTV feed they have on JetBlue. I feel good because I gave my Mom a great surprise. I feel bad because there will be a lot of work on my desk when I get back. I feel revealed because I know how I am going to handle things when I get back.

What I really know is that I am going to land in Oakland at 1:30 AM tomorrow, get out of the airport around 2:00 AM, get to my apartment around 3:00 AM. All of those things add up to me wanting to do nothing but sleep tomorrow. I will figure out the rest of my life from there.

Labels: air travel, food, JFK airport, tag overload, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 11:37 PM

Friday, July 11, 2003

Travel Notes 7/11/03

Home and Home

Last week I was talking with Cool Eric about home. He just got back from visiting his family in central Pennsylvania. His most of his extended family is all in one area. They all live within a day drive or Redding. He feels like he is expected to move back there. He feels like the east coast is calling him. He wants to be close to his family, but he feels some conflict because of this.

Many of my friends from the East Coast have told me that their parents expect them to move back there. They are all about my age and have come out here to find their way in the world. There family understands that, but they are still wondering when they are going to come back.

To me, it does not really matter to me what my sisters think. They can think that I should move back, but they have no say in the matter. I understand that they miss me, but they are not responsible for me. They cannot help me make my life. I am jealous that they get to hang out with each other so much, but that is just the cost of living out west.

The only people that I really care what they think is my parents. I feel that I have a strong connection with them. My mother thinks I have to make the world for myself. They do not need me to live close to them to be close to them. This makes me feel good. I think that my relationship with my father is as good as it ever was.

I am not sure where I will end up. I might stay in San Jose or end up in another city. One idea I have is to live in a row home in Philadelphia. I might find my way back here. I might go on to a whole other city.

Family

Last night was my mother's birthday dinner. It was a great dinner. We had two of my favorite foods, corn on the cob and baked potatoes. I really love having big dinners with my family. There is always so much good food to eat. My family knows how to love food.

Dinners are also great because the people. We do not get together often enough. There are so many little conversations going on at the same time. I wanted to just sit and wait to hear people talk. There was just so much going on.

We took lots of pictures. We took so many pictures that we used all the up all of the patience the kids had. They did not want to stand still for the pictures. It is funny to think about all those pictures.

I do not know when I will get another night with my family like this.

Labels: Eric Laine, family, Pennsylvania, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 11:42 PM

Thursday, July 10, 2003

Travel Notes 7/10/03

Green

When I had grown up in Pennsylvania I would hear people from other states talk about how Pennsylvania was so green. I never got what they were talking about. Now that I have lived in San Jose for almost four years, I can understand it. The hills to the east of Silicon Valley are so yellow. I do not go places with lots of leafy trees and green grass. It is all over the place around here.

Traveling Home

I still have a lot of friends who live in this area. On this trip home I will not see any of them. I am spending all the time seeing my family. Tonight I am playing cards with my parents. I feel that there is so much time I can just spend with my family. I see them so little, I would feel bad about cutting out on them.

I feel like I need to start going home for a longer period of time. If I want to see my family and my friends I have to take longer trips. I am thinking that I would need to spend 10 or more days here if I want to see everyone. This is not even counting the people I know in Harrisburg. Maybe I should take a whole month back here. I would be able to do anything I wanted. I would not have to worry about how I spend my time.

Labels: family, Pennsylvania, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 11:54 PM

Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Travel Notes 7/9/03

Jet Blue

I flew Jet Blue back to the East Coast. They do not fly into Philadelphia, so I needed my sisters to pick me up at JFK. The fare was really cheap for being so last minute. It made it worth all the extra time.

This is the first time I have taken Jet Blue. One of their big marketing points is that it had DIRECTV on all its flights. The planes are Airbus A320’s. They have LCD screens in the back of the seats. There are about 20-some channels to choose from. I flew out here on the red-eye so there was not too much to watch. The choice of channels were pretty interesting, ESPN, Food Network, WNBC from New York, Headline News, and Discovery. I was surprised there was no TNN, HBO, TNT, USA, or FX. I wonder how they picked the channels.

One of the channels you can watch your plan on a map of the US. You can see how far across the country you are. This is one of the best things ever. You have some idea how much longer you will be in the air. I like the fact that I can say that I was thinking about Jeremy as I was over Chicago.

JFK

I landed at JFK airport in New York. This is one of the airports that you could not build now. It was built in the middle of wetlands. You could see all the water around it as we landed. There is something funny about the smell about JFK. I guess that is what you get when you mix swampland, body odor and jet fuel. This is what many people are greated by when they come to America.

I keep on thinking about its old name, Idyllwild. There is something special about names that are no longer used. It is like you are invoking something by using that name. The name was changed in the Sixties. I was told for a long time no one used the new name. People started to call it JFK when the FAA changed the Airport code to JFK. I wonder if the airport would be any different if they kept the old name.

When I got on the street outside of JFK, I knew I was no longer no longer on the East Coast. The air was thick and humid. It felt like I was swimming in the air. It was only 5:45 in the morning and it already felt like this. That is the East Coast that I remember.

Surprise

The whole idea was to surprise as many people as I could. Most of my sibling did not know I was coming. They were surprised to see me, but a little annoyed that they were not let in on it. They said they would have changed their plans if they knew. I know it might have been good to tell people, but I liked the idea of the surprise.

My mother was very surprised. My sister said she wanted to stand behind my mom so she did not fall over. I thought my sister was being over dramatic. That was until my mom walked in the door. My sister had to catch her. Mom loved the surprised. She was so happy to see me. It really made her day. She admitted that she was a little sad that I was not going to be there for her birthday.

Firsts

Today was the first time I have gotten to meet my niece Emily and my niece Rosemary. Emily is four years old and this is the first time I have gotten to meet her. It makes me think of how little I get to see my family. I have not seen my brother’s children in five years. That is what happens when you are halfway around the world from each other.

Labels: Directv, family, Idyllwild, Jet Blue, JFK airport, tag overload, television, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 10:44 PM

Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Travel Notes 7/8/03

Covert Trip

I am traveling back to Philadelphia. My goal is to surprise my Mother for her birthday. I talked to her on the phone last Wednesday. She sounded sad that I was not going to be there for her birthday. Everyone else is going to be there, even my brother who lives in Germany. I know that my mom really wanted to see all of her children and grandchildren together.

Now I am going to catch a flight that will arrive in New York at 5:30 in the morning. I will hang with the family for a few days. I will spend all the time with them. I will be back to San Jose before the weekend. Thank goodness for low dollar fares and red-eye flights. I just hope that nothing will screw this up.

Airport

Airport is a very American word. Airport has that ring of a word that was on a list and the marketing department chose the best one. It just seems like the kind of word an American would come up with. It is the kind of word that people in other languages just adopt.

I wonder what other worlds competed with Airport when that world started. It is the same idea as jeans and dungarees. What other terms did people come up with? The British called it an aerodrome until after World War II. I wonder if there is any way to figure this out. I wonder if there are any words better then airport out there.

High Speed

It cost $7 to access the wireless broadband at the Oakland Airport. It is really not worth it. I am only going to be here for the next 45 minutes. It looks like I will have to wait a while before I publish this.

Flight Mix

Wilco - Dash 7
Netural Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Pavement - Hit the Plane Down
Microphone - I'll Be In The Air
Dead Milkmen - Air Crash Museum
R.E.M - You're In The Air
Richard Thompson - Jet Plane In A Rocking Chair
Talvin Singh - Flight IC408
Jets To Brazil - Air Traffic Control
Ben Folds Five - Air
This Flight Tonight - Joni Mitchell
Meryn Cadell - Flight Attendant

Labels: airport, family, mix, music, tag overload, travel, travel notes, vacation

- Rich, 9:46 PM

Sunday, July 06, 2003

Talking baseball

I have already taken my baseball roadtrip for this year. Back in May I saw games in San Diego and Phoenix. I got to see the Phillies in both cities. At least the Phillies won one of those games. It was one of the highlights of my trip.

Many people know that baseball is my favorite sport. I love taking these little trips every year. There is almost a pilgrimage factor to baseball. I cannot think of any other sport were people talk about how many stadiums they have been to. They do not talk about the stadiums they want to see. I think there is something about baseball parks.

I have to think about what parks I want to see next year. By then the new park in Philadelphia will be done. That would be a trip worth taking. I wonder if I will get a chance to get back home next season.

Baseball Stadiums

Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)
Comiskey Park II (Chicago)
Skydome (Toronto)
Tiger Stadium (Detroit)
Fenway Park (Boston)
Camden Yards (Baltimore)
Kingdome (Seattle)
Oakland Coliseum
Pacific Bell Park (San Francisco)
Edison International (Anaheim)
Quacom Stadium (Old Jack Murphy San Diego)
Bank One Ballpark (Arizona)



Baseball Teams Seen

Phillies
Pirates
Cubs
Braves
Mets
Cardinals
Expos
Giants
Dodgers
Padres
Reds
Astros
Brewers
Rockies
Diamond Backs
White Sox
Tigers
Blue Jays
Yankees
Red Sox
A's
Mariners
Rangers
Indians
Angels
Twins

Labels: baseball, Phillies, road trip, stadium, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 4:26 PM

Thursday, May 01, 2003

Travel Notes 5/1/03

Let work at about 7:30

I wanted to leave work earlier, but I had a meeting. It was an important meeting to be at. I had to make sure I was heard. I really wanted to leave at noon. My drive would have been a lot better if I was able to do that.

Driving

Drove to about 11:30
Made it to:
Best Western – Liberty inn
5521 Dennis McCarthy Drive
Lebec, CA 93243

It was hard to know what kind of time I was making. After I get past Pacheco Pass http://www.climber.org/DrivingDirections/PachecoPass.html the landscape stays the same most of the way until LA. It is not an exciting drive. I kept on having to press myself to keep driving. I think I got pretty far. I do not know

100 Most Rich Thomas Albums, Songs, and Artists

I found out today, the day that I am leaving my trip, that my sister Alice is flying into LAX on Saturday the 10th. I had to call her to make sure that she knew that San Jose is not near LA. I know lots of people have a poor sense of California geography. She told me she wanted to fly into LAX because she wants to drive up the coast. I think this is a great plan. It also gives me a defined time to return home.

Labels: driving, notes, travel, travel notes, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 3:58 PM

Monday, April 21, 2003

Travel-blogue Albuquerque - Social

I wonder if I do not socialize enough while I am visiting here. Almost everyone from my department comes to Albuquerque. All of them have these stories about going out on the town and drinking. I usually just go out to dinner after work. When dinner is over I go back to the hotel. I guess I feel that I am just here to work. After doing a couple of training classes I am usually drained. I guess I have to come here with other people from the office.

Labels: travel, travelogue, work

- Rich, 7:05 PM

Sunday, January 05, 2003

Travel Notes 1/5/03

The extra day

I am so happy I am taking a day to get back into the swing of things here in San Jose. Most of the time I push my days off to the max. I have slept a lot today. It would have been bad if I had to go to work. I might have just called in sick. I need to remember this the next time I take time off.

Labels: San Jose, time, travel, vacation, work

- Rich, 6:24 PM

Saturday, January 04, 2003

Travel Notes 1/4/03

Going back

It feels good to be going back to San Jose. I am not sure if it is good to be going there or if it is good to be going home. Those are two different ideas. I want to go back to my place. I want to go back to the life I have made for myself. I want to go back to having more control. Being happy to go back means that I have taken the time to make San Jose more of a home for myself. That is a good thing.

I really spend this whole day going back to San Jose.

Got up early to go to the airport. It looked like it was going to go all wrong for a moment, but it worked out find in the end.

Had lunch with Alice, Dot, and Kathy.

Had to take off my shoes at airport security, but I got through it quickly.

Took a prop Jet to Dullas (DC)

Was in the air for more then 7 hours today.

Labels: San Jose, tag overload, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 11:19 PM

Friday, January 03, 2003

Travel Notes 1/3/03

I had nothing planned for today, but I did a lot.

Hung out with Charlie and Ruth before Lunch. Spent an hour over there.

Had lunch with Dad.

took a nap in the afternoon

Had dinner with Mom, Dad, and Kathy.

Ruth, Joe and Charlie came over for a little while after dinner.

Mom, Dad, Kathy, and I played pinnucle.

Packed my bags.

Made my sisters a CD of all the pictures I took while I was here. I included most of the Pictures on my laptop. I tried to take a picture of everyone I saw on this trip. I think I did a pretty good job. I think I have already used my new camera more in two months then my old camera in two years. If not, I have already got down to $1 per picture.

Watched the Second half of the Feastival Bowl. Ohio State won in Overtime.

Labels: tag overload, travel, travel notes, vacation

- Rich, 10:16 PM

Thursday, January 02, 2003

Travel Notes 1/2/03

Saw Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers yesterday

I had a dream about falling in love.

Lunch with Aaron. Aaron does not know where is life is going. He is going to have to figure it out soon or the mistakes will become worse. It was an odd lunch, I should call him when I get back to San Jose.

Dreamt about being on a cruise and seeing Lori Mackin.

Sean Called me to pick up a Memory Stick for him. He needed a specific type and he was not confident that anyone else would pick it up for him. I purchased it for him and I mailed it today. He can not get them in Germany.

Hung out with Charlie and Ruth

Went to Play pool with Dave, Gerry, and John Coyle. After three really bad games of pool we went to Thunderbird lanes and had a couple of pitchers there. We went to Big Heads Pub once the bowling alley closed. If I hung out with John all the time, I would get caught for drunk driving.

Labels: tag overload, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 10:43 PM

Friday, July 19, 2002

Friday Five

Friday Five

1. Where were you born? Abington, PA, but I never lived there. I grew up in Warminster, PA. Both townships are suburbs of Philadelphia.

2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not? I on longer live near Warminster. I would think about moving back to Philadelphia, but I do not think I am ready yet. I would love to be closer to my family. There are things about Philadelphia that I still love. I am not sure I am ready to move back yet.


3. Where in the world do you feel the safest? I think I provide most of my own treats to my safety. I think I feel safe most places I go.

4. Do you feel you are well-traveled? I feel well traveled inside the US and poorly traveled outside. I have done all my traveling here. I keep on telling myself that I have to go overseas.

5. Where is the most interesting place you've been? Mt. St. Helens, Washington. It is unlike any other place in the world. It is a place of such beauty. You know that it was created by such force. I like that feeling.

Labels: answer, Friday Five, location, meme, question, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 12:38 AM

Monday, July 15, 2002

Vacation

The plans are set. I am going to San Diego. This will be the third vacation I have taken this year. After this I will take at least one more. After going to San Diego I will still have three weeks saved up. I have to use them anyway.

If you could go on vacation at this very moment, where would you go?

Labels: San Diego, self, travel, vacation, work

- Rich, 9:51 PM

Friday, July 12, 2002

Atomic Roadside Cafe

Atomic Roadside Cafe

Back in high school Bill O'Neill and I have a fascination, maybe obsessed, with nuclear power and nuclear war. We saw the obvious absurdism of having weapons that could destroy the world many times over. We loved the old educational films about what to do in case of an atomic attack. If we had a travel guide like Atomic Tourist I know we would have tired to visit a lot of these places.

Labels: Atomic Tourist, billoneill, nuclear war, travel

- Rich, 4:57 PM

Wednesday, June 26, 2002

All of the Airports I have used

SJC - San Jose (21)
PHL - Philadelphia (19)
LAS - Las Vegas (5)
SFO - San Francisco (5)
STL - St. Louis (4)
PDX - Portland (4)
ORD Chicago-O'hare (4)
SAN - San Diego (4)
ABQ - Albuquerque (4)
PHX - Phoenix (3)
ATL - Atlanta (2)
SEA - Seattle(2)
BUR - Burbank (2)
OAK - Oakland (2)
IND - Indianapolis (2)
MSP - Minneapolis/St Paul, MN (1)
DAY - Datyon (1)
PIT - Pittsburgh (1)
TUS - Tucson (1)
CVG - Cincinnati (1)
DEN - Denver (1)
SLC - Salt Lake City (1)
LAX - Los Angeles(1)
IAH - Houston (1)

Labels: airport, Astro City, list, tag overload, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 11:17 PM

Sunday, June 09, 2002

The day after the trip

I have wasted most of today. I did get out of bed before 8 AM, but I did not do much with my time. I spent most of the day watching TV. That is the problems with having so many TiVos in my living room. I had too many good things to watch. Television has always been a big time suck with me. I just never seem to get away from it.

I talked with Jeremy on the Phone for a little while. There were a lot of things that I felt on my trip. They are the kinds of things that I usually talk to Jeremy about. I tried to talk about them, but I just could not find the words this time.

There are about a dozen things that I could have done today. I only did unimportant things. I keep on telling myself that I am going make better use of my time. I am just not sure how to do that.

Labels: Jerery P Bushnell, laziness, self, travel

- Rich, 10:20 PM

Saturday, June 08, 2002

Summing it all up

In the air somewhere over America.

After every trip home, I have to ask myself the same questions. I have always enjoyed my trips home. I would not say that any of them have been a waste. This time I came back 29 and I am leaving 30. Warminster was a good place to celebrate my birthday. I knew there were people around for me to celebrate with. I knew my family would be there for me.

I feel when I go home that I do not have enough time there and I spend too much time there all at the same time. I feel I would like to spend more time with everyone. I would like to see everyone a couple of times before I have to leave. I also feel that I would rather my trips be quicker. The quicker the trip, the less work I have to do and the more people are willing to fit into my time frame.

I still love that area. I still have a draw in my heart to move back there. I would love to see my family more often. I would love to be part of my nephew Charlie's young life. I still have friends there. I feel that I could have current friendships with those friends that would not just be based on the past.

My question is, where am I going to work if I go back there? Will I be able to find a company I like as much as TiVo? Will I be able to find opportunities to succeed like I have in San Jose. How will I feel if I have to settle for a job I cannot stand? Why am I so unsure about getting a job I like?

What does it mean that I am willing trade off work for family? Why must it be a one or the other choice? What am I getting and what am I giving up? These are the questions that I will be thinking about a lot in the next few months.

I feel like I cannot go back yet. I feel there are still things I need to do in San Jose. I feel that I need to figure things out about what my life means and where it is going. I need to know these things before I move back to the Philadelphia area. I do not know these things I have the feeling I will be swallowed up but the people I know.

Labels: family, self, travel, warminster, warminster PA, work

- Rich, 4:58 PM

Thursday, June 06, 2002

CD Shopping

I am always bitching about how there are no good record stores in San Jose. I thought I should buy some CDs while I was in Philadelphia. I bought more CDs on this trip, then I did in the past six months (excluding my trip to Portland). I only seem to buy CDs when I am out of town.

Pete Townshend - White City A Novel
Belle and Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Counting Crows - Children In Bloom (Bootleg)
Kevn Kinney - Broken Hearts and Auto Parts
Jay Farrar - Sebastopol
White Strips - Red Blood Cells
Microphones - It Was Hot We Stayed In The Water
Toad The Wet Sprocket - Fear

Labels: cd, list, music, philadelphia, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 11:22 PM

Wednesday, June 05, 2002

What it means to say Warminster, Pennsylvania

Drove around with Dad doing chores.

Lunch with Dad.

Nothing better then a Philly Cheesesteak.

Relaxed in the afternoon.

Hung out with the family before dinner.

Played blocks with Charlie.

caught up with Michele.

Turkey and Corn on the cob for dinner.

I think Corn on the Cob is my Favorite food.

The night ended with cake.

I told my mother I came home because no one has baked me a cake since I moved out west. She said she was happy to bake a cake for me. It was great to have dinner with my family. The big dinner is always my favorite parts of the trip home. I love being able to interact with everyone. I love seeing everyone just be together.

Labels: tag overload, travel, travel notes, warminster, warminster PA

- Rich, 9:09 PM

Tuesday, June 04, 2002

Tuesday

Today I had lunch with my sister Kathy today. I like the closeness I have with Kathy. I have a different relationship with each of my sisters. Kathy is the one I connect with most of the time. We spent a good time talking about her work and the law. The law fascinates me, in the way complex real world idea fascinate me. I like knowing things about the law, but I would never want to be involved with it.

After lunch I found a record store in Ambler. There used to be a really good one there, but it must have closed a while ago. The store I wet too had almost all used CDs. They were a lot of CDs that I used to own when I was in college. I could have bought a hundred of them, but I tried to limit myself to a few. I should take my chance to use the good CD stores in the area while I am home.

In the afternoon I went over to Ruth and Joe's house. I wanted a chance to see Charlie, Ruth, and Joe without other people around. I am never going to bond with Charlie if everyone else is always around. When I got there Charlie, Ruth and I played on their front porch. I will admit that I know nothing about toddlers. Charlie seems well behaved most of the time. We had to watch what we did in front of him and make sure we did not laugh when he did anything bad. I think that might be the hardest thing about discipline kids. Sometimes they do really bad things, but you just want to laugh a lot.

Later Dot stopped by. Dot and I took Charlie to the park so Ruth could get dinner started. I could tell that Charlie was starting to trust me. He was letting me take him in and out of the stroller. By the end of the trip to the park, Charlie was even asking me to take his hand. I could understand why I might scare him. It was nice that it did not take that long for him to warm up to me, but it did take a lot of work. After the park Ruth, Joe, Charlie and I had dinner. I stayed a while after dinner. Long enough that there was some time for Ruth and I to talk. If I did not go over to her house, we would have never had the chance to talk.

One of the reasons I would like to be closer to home is that I would like to be part of Charlie's Life. I am not going to be close to him if I am living on the west coast. I think he would not be afraid of me if I lived closer now. It is one of the pulls back to the east coast. I know there are a lot more things that I have to work on before I can move back there.

Labels: ambler PA, charile, dot, family, Joe, kathy, Ruth, travel, travel notes, vacation, warminster, warminster PA

- Rich, 11:55 PM

Saturday, June 01, 2002

The Flight

Positives
Direct flight from SFO to PHL
Seat next to me was open
No one around me was really rude

Negatives
Kevin Cosner movie infight
Had to use the Air Sick bag
Would not give me the whole can of apple juice

The flight from San Francisco was not too bad. It took me no time at all to get though security in San Francisco. I was sitting in SFO for longer then two hours before we boarded. There seems to be no energy in airports anymore. Everyone is walking on egg shells. I used to love to just watch people in airports. Those same people do not seem exciting anymore. They are not as open with their actions.

The flight itself was not too bad. I have never been on a six hour flight before. It was nice to fly directly from the San Francisco to Phildelphia. It cuts off all that time landing and switching planes. The odd thing is that my body started to rebel after about 5 hours in the air. I just felt horrible for that last hour. The last 30 minutes or so I had the sick back at the ready.

Getting picked up at the airport is also a strange experience now. They have moved the parking so far away, few people park for arrivals. Most of them just circle the arrivals terminal. It is strange to watch people do this. It is like no one has any practice doing it. Cops had to be out there directing traffic.

My flight was early, so I had to wait for my sister. The flight being a half hour early did not do me any good. I stood waiting for my sister for almost that long. I miss the days of people waiting at the gate to greet me.

After dinner, my sister and I went out for water ice. I have been jonesing for water ice for a week now. There is the chain the the Philadelphia are called Rita's. They make the best water ice. Most of my friends in San Jose do not know what water ice is. The best way I can explain is it like a Slurpee that you need a spoon for. It is one of those little things that I have been missing.

Labels: air travel, flight, philadelphia, San Francisco, travel

- Rich, 11:06 PM

Monday, April 29, 2002

Time away

I felt like I was writing really poorly. Everything I was doing just seemed like crap. I decided that I did not want to write crap anymore. I had to pull away for a little while.

The problem is I have a hard time getting back to it. I feel no drive to write. I have things to say, but I blank when ever I sit at my computer. I end up playing a game or surfing the web. It is a really bad idea.

Here are the things you need to know.

I am back from my trip to New Mexico

I am no longer planning on driving cross country

I am going back to Philadelphia for my birthday

I have been hitting up everyone I know to set me up on a date

I am no longer backdating anything.

Any Questions????

Labels: list, plans, self, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 12:08 AM

Tuesday, April 09, 2002

Business Trip to Albuquerque

This is a trip that has been on the drawing board for a long time. I want to go down to our call center because we need to build better lines of communication. Since the last round of layoffs, we have pushed more work to that office. For me to do my job well, I have to have a good idea how the customer is experiencing the product. To do that, I need a good read from the call center reps.

There is only one airport in the bay area that Southwest flies direct to Albuquerque from, Oakland. San Jose International is right near my apartment, but I had to drive all the way to Oakland. if I did not fly direct, the trip would take another two hours. I had to get up at 6 AM to get out on time. My morning was not going well. I could not pack last night because my laundry was still wet. My morning did not go well.

I am traveling with Eric. It is his first trip to Albuquerque. He is really excited to be here. He wants to see how the call center works. He has never been at a call center like this before. He was surprised when it was quitter then Alviso. He expected to me a lot louder. I knew what it was going to be like. I worked at a place like this before.

Eric is a good guy to travel with. The flight was not crowded. We had an open seat between us. It was easy for us to talk the whole time. We talked mostly about music. Eric is a musician. He is close to my age. A lot of the time we talked about bands that were big while I was in college. Our tastes are not that different from each other.

We got to Albuquerque and started holding meetings. it is weird to work and travel on the same day. I am big on planning whole days where I do nothing but travel. I hate flying anymore and that makes me not want to so anything after I land. We still had to go to the office and work.

Tonight, after work we went to Paul's Monterey Inn. It is an old style steak house. I have been itching for a steak for a while now. I knew this city would have to have a good steak house. The place was filled with people in their 60s. It was old vinyl booths and table cloths. It was what eating out used to be. The steaks were really good and it was great. By my count it will take one customer 1.4 years to pay off that meal.

Labels: Albuquerque, Alviso, business travel, tag overload, travel, work

- Rich, 11:17 PM

Sunday, April 07, 2002

Road Trip Dreams

Here are the dreams I had while I was on the road.

Portland Dream Suite

I wonder what they say about the trip and about me.

Labels: dream, link, livejournal, Portland, travel

- Rich, 10:29 PM

Saturday, April 06, 2002

What I learned about Portland

My first few days in Portland, I had a great time. Everything was just right. It almost seemed like too good of a time. I was remembering the best of Portland. I was not remembering the problems I had with the city. I could remember that I was happy to leave for Portland. I was afraid that I was not going to remember why I was happy to leave.

After a couple of days on my own, I started to get some ideas about Portland. I think Portland is a great city when you are in a relationship. It is a great city when you have a lot of friends around. It is a great city when you are clicking in your social aspects. It is a really rough city when you are alone.

Everyone seems to know everyone else and you know none of them. It is like they have all been friends for years. They great each other and you have the feeling they have great connections. The people are nice, but they look you like you are intruding if you try to talk to them. I am bad in those situations to begin with. I have a hard time breaking though that wall.

I would say San Jose is an easier place to be alone that Portland. I do not see people all around me that seem to be having such a great connection. Most of the people I run into in San Jose do not seem like they have the world under control. It makes it easier to deal with the doubts of my life. I do not want to fell like everyone else has all the answers but me.

Maybe I should make the list of all the cities I would live in. It would be a good list because I would have to think about why I like all these cities. I think it would be good to put these ideas down on paper.

Labels: happiness, Portland, San Jose, travel

- Rich, 11:18 PM

Friday, April 05, 2002

Big List of the CDs, DVDs, and Books I bought in Portland

Uncle Tupelo - 89/93: An Anthology
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Queen Elvis
Halo Benders - Don't Tell Me Now
Microphones - Don't Wake Me Up
Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot Out Lights
Richard Ashcroft - Alone with Everybody
Robyn Hitchcock - Moss Elixir

Douglas Coupland - Miss Wyoming
Anne Lamott - Bird By Bird
Michael Chabon - A Model World
Karen Armstrong - Islam: A Short History
The Qur'an - Translated by Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

The Usual Suspects: Special Edition
Rollerball

I hit about six record stores while I was in portland. Besides Djangos, I also went to Jackpot Records, Music Millennium, Everyday Music, Ground Kontrol, and Reverb.

Now I have to find time to read all these things.

Labels: bookstore, list, music, Portland, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 11:22 PM

Vacation tidbits

It did not rain at all while I was in Portland

I had 106 AA batteries with me in Portland

I used 10 AA batteries

I looked up 8 people I used to know in Portland

I could only find two of them

I went to a book store everyday I was in Portland

I drank more beer in Portland then the whole rest of 2002

I spent too much money in Portland

I feel that it will be a while before I go back to Portland again

Labels: list, Portland, tag overload, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 12:24 PM

Thursday, April 04, 2002

The Business of Portland

Sundance Theater is closed

Arby’s on Hawthorne is closed

Merlin Computers is closed

Blockbuster on Hawthorne is closed

As I drove around Portland I looked for things that were closed. I looked for businesses that I used to go to that are now closed. Most of the businesses I supported are still open. It looks like the current economic downturn is not treating retail Portland that poorly. In San Jose lots of retail businesses have gone down.

On the other side, I was told while I was there that Portland currently has over eight percent unemployment. A lot of people are having a hard time finding jobs. There have been a lot of cuts in the tech sector. It seems like all the new jobs that were created in the late 80s have gone away.

The Tech sector taking a dump is something that would keep me away from Portland. I have the feeling that my skills are best used in the tech sector. If I have to look in another sector, I might be looking at a lessor job. In the 80's the economy in Portland really took a beating. I wonder if it is a city that does not do well during recessions.

These things are important to be because sometimes I think about taking a second crack at Portland. It is still high on the list of places that I would live next. If I think I will not be able to get a job there, it makes it hard for me to want to move there. For some reason I always see myself 'moving cold' to my next city. That means not having a job before I move there. Maybe I have to wait for the tech sector to rebound before I try moving back.

Labels: business, Portland, retail, San Jose, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 1:22 AM

Wednesday, April 03, 2002

Travel Notes 4/03/02

Today was the big drive home. That was my only goal today. I went to bed early last night and got up very early this morning. I was out of bed by 3:30 AM and on the road by 4:00. I like starting early. I wanted to clear any major cities before traffic. I was clear of Eugene by 6 AM.

I also like to start driving early because those first almost free. We all have a maximum number of hours that we can spend in a car. I feel that the hours before 7 AM do not count toward that total. It is 7 AM before I realize what I have set out to do.

I was in California at 8:59 AM. It felt cool that I was in California at about the time I would be in work on any other day. I am surprised there are not any huge shopping outlets on the southern Oregon boarder because of the tax-free shopping. I guess there is not that many people close enough to the boarder.

I got back to my apartment in San Jose at 2:30 PM. If you do the math, that is 10.5 hours to get from Portland to San Jose. It is proof if you speed, you can save two or three hours in a full day drive. I drove like I was shot out of a cannon. I know that my car is not fast, but it might be too fast for me. I am not sure what kind of trouble I would get myself into if I hard a really fast car. I got up to 90 at one point and it still did not feel like I was going fast. I stayed between 10 and 15 mph over the speed limit at any time. The roads where empty the whole way back.

I was really sick of driving by the time I got to San Jose. For right now, I do not need to spend hours in my car any time soon. It was good for me to take a road trip. It is something that I have not done for a long time. I do not need it do it any time soon.

Whenever I get back to San Jose I am happy to be home. I wonder if that is a happiness to be back at my home base or if that is a happiness to be back in San Jose. The sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day in San Jose. I give San Jose a hard time a lot. I keep on staying that it lacks something. To be honest, it is not that bad of a place. There are a lot of worst places out there. I should try to figure out how I feel about the city.

Tomorrow I am on my way back to work. Now I am wishing that I took Thursday and Friday off also. It would be nice to have some time to rest before trying to head back to work. I have to try to get back into the swing of things tomorrow. It should be fun. I am looking forward to seeing what everyon says about my hair.

Now I have to figure out a lot of things. I have to figure out if I am going to drive cross country or not. I have to think about what I am going to do for my 30th birthday. I have to figure out what I really think of my life. Some of these things will be harder then others.

Labels: driving, Portland, San Jose, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 5:37 PM

Tuesday, April 02, 2002

Travel Notes 4/2/02

Lunch with Amber

The only important thing I did today was have lunch with Amber. She is the last person I keep in touch with from 800.COM. Amber is just a great person. I talked to her like no time at all had past. There was a slight moment when it was uncomfortable, but that went away almost instantly. It is like we never stopped seeing each other.

We have been keeping in touch via e-mail. We both knew about the big events in each others lives. I know that she is married and trying to buy a house. She knows that I am still working for TiVo and living in San Jose.

I like Amber for a lot of reasons. We are about the same age, we had the same goals at one time, and we have run into the same walls in life. I think there is a lot of connection there. They are the things that made us friends in the first place. She is the last person I speak to from 800.COM. I am the last one she speaks to also.

We talked a lot about turning 30 this year. It is a big event and a small event at the same time. She told me that scheduled a doctor’s appointment for her birthday. I told her I do not have any plans yet. I would like someone to throw me a party, but I do not want to ask anyone to do it for me.

We talked for an hour. It felt like it was longer then that, but still not enough time. I hope I get to see her again sometime soon. I hope it is not another three years before I see her face to face. I think she is someone I could stay friends with for a long time. I hope that I get that chance.

I thought Amber was going to blow me off. I thought she was just pushing me off and she did not want to see me. I did not feel this way after I saw her. I was thinking about leaving Portland early. I am happy that I waited around for the chance to see her.

Old hangouts

I went to Tennessee Red’s for dinner tonight. I know it has been two and a half years since I have been there last, but I was disappointed. It used to have the feeling of a place run by guys who were right out of the hills of Rocky Top. Not it feels like a hipster hangout. The food was not as good as it used to be. I guess things do not stay the same.

Random Roads

Bought a copy of the Qur'an

Got a buzz haircut.

Hung out at Pioneer Courthouse Square one last time.

Watched Vanilla Sky in my hotel room last night

Going to bed early so I can get up early to hit the road tomorrow.

This vacation should help me figure out what I want to do with my next vacation.

Labels: 800.COM, Amber Black, Portland, tag overload, Tennessee Red, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 10:10 PM

Trip Music

I made two Mix CDs for this trip. Here the CDs. I listened to them both on the drive to Portland. I plan to listen to them both on the way back.

I think they say something about my trip. I am not sure what that is. Tell me if you think you know what it is.

Road north

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot
Foo Fighters - This Year
Indigo Girls - Cortez The Killer
Matthew Good Band - Future is X-Rated
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
Paul McCartney - Band On The Run
U2 - New York
Pavement - Camera
Smiths - Panic
Pet Shot Boys - Can You Forgive Her?
Hole - Olympia
Clash - London Calling
Dinosaur Jr. - Just Like Heaven
Elvis Costello - Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes
Feelies - Only Life
Freedy Johnson - Wichita Lineman
Husker Du - Eight Miles High
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Replacements - Left of the Dial

REM Conflict of Place

You're In The Air
Driver 8
Perfect Circle
Falls to Climb
How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us
Drive
King of Birds
All The Way To Reno
Can't Get There From Here
Fall On Me
Disappear
Sitting Still
Departure
Find The River
Near Wild Heaven
Half A World Away
Little America
So. Central Rain
Don't Go Back To Rockville
Maps and Legends

Labels: mix, mixcd, tag overload, travel, travel mix

- Rich, 6:01 PM

Monday, April 01, 2002

Travel notes 4/01/02

Politics of the Ballot
Every time I come to Portland people try to get me to sign ballot measure petitions. Ballot initiatives are really a west coast thing. It makes people think they are close to democracy. There are lots of issues with petition drives. One of the big issues is that people are paid to gather signatures. They are usually paid per signature.

I told the one guy that I do not like ballot measures. I think it gives the lawmakers an excuse to be lazy. Instead of lawmakers taking on tough issues and making good laws. They let the tough ideas go to the ballot. We get poorly written, ambiguous, easy to overturn laws. I think that the ballot measures should be more restrictive. It sounds so un-democratic when I say this, but it is a better from of government.

Jugglers in the streets

I told a Juggler that I think all people who learn how to juggle do it because they are starved to attention. He agreed with a little bit and then proceeded to tell me that it was not true. He tried to compare Juggling to playing a musical instrument. He told me that Boffo the Clown is the greatest juggle in the world but he only juggled in private. He was a street performer, so I gave him a dollar for giving him a hard time.

We talked for a while. He tried to teach me how to juggle. I warned him that I have hands of stone. I only played sports where I was not allowed to touch the ball. I quickly showed him that I did not have the skills it takes to juggle. We had a good laugh. It has been a while since I have just started a conversation with someone on the street like that. I should try it more often.

Watching the public

Later that day I was sitting in Pioneer Courthouse Square. I was wondering if I would see the juggler again. I know that he was just traveling though Portland. I did not see him. It was interesting to see the people sitting there. I always seem women here that I want to try to talk to, but I can never do it. I can never get up the nerve to do this. I wonder how I would feel if someone at random approached me. I would be a little scared and un-nerved.

Drinks with Doug

I had drinks with Doug today. Doug was one the the best guys I met when I was living in Portland. We met at a book signing at Powells. Doug and I used to talk for hours about all kinds of things. We like each other because we both have a view about the world. Doug talked about school, baseball, teaching and Portland. He wants to be a playwright. It is one of those career choices I do not understand. I am so far away from that world. My guess is that he really loves it.

If I lived in Portland I would see Doug all the time. I know I could get him away from the house to have drinks from time to time. I miss having someone like Doug in my life. I never worked with him. He was someone I could talk to things about. He was not involved with the things I wanted to get away from. I have met few people that have as sharp of a mind as Doug. I think that we will have these check in sessions ever couple of years.

Random Roads

They call Pioneer Courthouse Square ‘Portland’s Living Room’. What does that mean?

Had lunch at the Bagdad today

Bagdad is a pivotal place in my history of Portland

I am thinking about ending my vacation early

Powells on Hawthorne is one of the places I miss most about Portland.

Had drinks at the Ram's Head.

Labels: Ballot, Doug Taylor, Juggeling, list, Portland, travel, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 11:13 PM

Sunday, March 31, 2002

Travel Notes 3/31/02

Alone on the road
I have spent most of this trip alone. I knew that before I came up here. What am I trying to figure out with all this time alone? It is alone and away from my regular life. Today it was hard to be alone. I wanted to be closer to people. It is Easter, and everyone I saw where in groups. Not being close to people is really getting me down. I have to think about that.

Lost on the Street or Religion

When I left the restaurant I was having dinner at tonight I was panhandled by a girl. I am not sure if she was 16 or 24, but she looked in rough shape. She was eating a handful of gummy worms. She asked me if I had any change. I usually do not give money to panhandlers, but today is Easter. I gave her about seventy-five cents in change and left it at that.

I know what she meant her that she did not have any Easter candy or Easter dinner. I thought about the idea that Easter is really for religion. Easter is about faith. I wanted to tell her to look into religion. If she is living on the streets she is looking for something. I wanted to tell her to look for that something in religion. It does not work for everyone, but it might work for her. It might be better then living on the street.

I did not say anything to her. The whole time I walked away, I wanted to turn around and say something. I am not a super religious person. I just cannot think living on the streets is better then finding faith. I still wish I told her this.

I went back later to see if she was there, but she was not. I wonder if I would have said anything to her if she were there. I will never know now.

Alone thoughts
I am a little depressed today. I am depressed because I am alone. I know I took this vacation to be alone, but it is pointing something out to me.

Random Roads

I am spending too much money on this vacation.

Breakfast at Jo Rousserie & Bar

Lunch at Burgerville

Dinner at the Downtown Greek Deli & Cusina

The restaurant has an octopus on the facade.

I had a great sandwich there.

I had two bottles of beer today.

The city was really dead tonight

There was not much to do today

I spent a lot of time driving around the outskirts of the city

The beds at the Benson are really good

Labels: alone, easter, list, Portland, self, tag overload, travel, travel notes, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 11:04 PM

Saturday, March 30, 2002

Travel Notes 3/30/02

I went to sleep early last night. I was tired because I did not get much sleep for the three nights before that. I was almost falling asleep during the movie and during dinner. I did not have any plans. I knew that if I just kept drinking, I might get in a bad position. While this is a drinking vacation, I want to avoid being in a bad way about it.

Figuring out Portland

I have been having a great time in Portland. Everything seems great as I go around this town. I am asking myself why don't I live here right now. The problem is that I know I had problems with this town when I was here. I was happy to leave Portland. I am trying to remember why that was. If I do not remember why, I could get myself into trouble. If I do not see the down sides of Portland, I will pine for it. I will try to line up my return and that will be trouble.

I know that one of my problems is that I had problems finding a job I wanted. I temped two places. I know that I could have put in more time, but there are a lot better jobs in San Jose. There has to be something said for that.

I know it was something else also. I know that there are other things that where were wrong when I left. I have to figure those things out on this trip. Right now I cannot remember what those things were. I need to know what will give me problems if I come back here.

Random Roads

MP3 Player/laptop combination is great for vacation.

I drank 6 pints of beer today.

I am seeing a lot of building around town built in 1912. That must have been a big year in Portland.

I did not see a movie today.

I keep on thinking someone is going to mug me today.

Personal Pub Crawl, Draft at Shooter McQuades, Two Drafts at Kelly's Olympian, Two Drafts at Ringlers

I stole the 'history' card from Kelly's Olympian and turned into a letter for Jeremy

if I lived in Portland, I would try to drink in every bar in the city

Trying to remember the bad things about Portland

Shopped a lot today, Portland Saturday Market, Odd-Ball Shoes, Powells, Everyday Music, and Ground Kontrol.

Got Gifts for Mom, Kathy, and Alice at the Portland Saturday Market.

My ethics are untested

Portland seems larger then San Jose, but fewer people live in Portland

At Powells I talked chess and Deep Blue with a bunch of guys.

At Powells I bought coffee for a woman who did not have any money.

Rode the Max today. I love mass light rail.

Time Flies by when you are on vacation.

Labels: list, Portland, tag overload, travel, travel notes, vacation

- Rich, 11:17 PM

Friday, March 29, 2002

Travel Notes 3/29/02

Drinking on Vacation
I woke up hungover this morning. The pitcher of beer while watching Ocean’s Eleven last night did not help. I should not be surprised I was hungover. That will happen on vacations where one of your goals is to drink a lot of beer. All I am saying is that any hotel that has it own Brewery should have free aspirin in the rooms. It would be just like the free soap. One of the best things about the Kennedy school is that there is so much beer around. They brew it right in the hotel. It is like a license to drink

Why am I drinking on this vacation? I had another active night of drinking. Part of me says that drinking is a way for me to declare I am not responsible for anything on this vacation. I usually do not let myself get drunk because I have to do something like drive or go to work the following day. On this trip I do have to do anything. I just have to hang out. There is something very good and very bad about this idea.

There might be a different reason I am drinking so much. I had a clear idea why that might be when I take this note, but I am not really sure now. That is what happens when you drink so much. I might be drinking because it is an easy thing to do. I can make an even out of going to so many bars in Portland. It is something I can do instead of looking for other things to do on my vacation.

Random Roads

I saw Metropolis tonight.

Might go to see a movie every day

I have seen lots of signs for Apartments to rent

Would I want to live here again be the Question?

Still signs of life at the 800.COM building.

What do CEOs do with their license plates once the companies go out of business?

Bought Miss Wyoming By Douglas Coupland

Bought A Model World by Michael Chabon

Bought a Microphones-Don’t Wake Me Up CD

Bought the Uncle Tupelo Anthology CD

The Benson is a swanky place

Everything is expensive at an expensive hotel

I am on the 7th floor, but my view sucks.

Took the Valet Parking.

Had a beer at the Lotus. They sign still reads 1924 to 2000.

Dinner at Market Street Pub

There is something very Portland about McMenamins.

I cannot tell the street kids from the slackers.

I do not believe people when they say they have a self-selected family

Portland is full of cute young lesbians.

Made notes I cannot read

What are the chances I will see someone I know?

Hung out at Pioneer Courthouse Square

Lunch at Good Dog/Bad Dog

Hawthorne Blvd looks basically the same

I love women with sad faces.

I drank 6 pints of beer today

Labels: drinking, tag overload, travel, travel notes, travelogue, vacation

- Rich, 11:52 PM

Thursday, March 28, 2002

Travel Notes 3/28/02

Spending the Night
I did not stay at Seaside tonight. It is spring break for all the public school students in Oregon. I had forgotten this fact until I crossed the state line. When I got to Seaside, it was packed with high school students. I know I did not want to put up with any of that. I decided that I wanted to go straight to Portland.

When I got to Portland I had to find someplace to stay. My hotel reservation did not start until Friday night. I decided to get a room at the Kennedy School. When I lived in Portland, I always took my out of town guests to the Kennedy School. Everyone thought it was a funky place. It is too far from downtown for me to stay there my whole trip, but one night would be cool.

There is something about the Kennedy School that really fits in well with Portland. I am not sure something like this world work in another city. The place was just brimming with life when I got there. I wonder what draws all these people there. It fits the personality of this town.

Lewis and Clark
I took a picture of the Lewis and Clark Statue before I left Seaside. My company’s CTO is a big Lewis and Clark fan. He quotes them all the time and compares TiVo to the expedition. I am going to send him a copy of the picture. I know I am brown-nosing a little bit. When I moved to Portland I thought about Lewis and Clark a lot. I thought about how they were looking for the Northwest Passage, but there was no such thing.

Driving 101 North
US 101 North is really curvy most way from when you enter Humboldt County all the way to Seaside, Oregon. Most of that way it is one lane each direction. It is a pretty entertaining drive at first. After about 10 hours, you just want it to end. It is more challenging then just flying on the interstate. It is also more maddening in the end. I was on the verge of going batty by the time I got to Portland. The last 75 miles almost did me in.

I have decoded the meaning of the speed signs going into curves. Under the sign showing you the shape of the curve it will have a suggested speed. You have to pay attention to these signs, but they are not really accurate. “45 MPH” means you can stay at the same speed, but just pay attention. “40 MPH” means you have to take your foot off the accelerator when you go thought the curve. “35 MPH” means you have to tap the break before going into the curve. “30 MPH” means you better slow the hell down or you are going off the road.

I tried to speed, without going too fast. It is a fine art. You want to speed to save time, but go slow enough that cops will not want to break their speed traps to stop you. It is the old ten miles over the limit rule. There are some speed trap towns on 101. The speed will drop from 65 to 55, 45, 35, all the way to 25 within a mile or two. You have to careful in these towns. There have to be a couple of cops that pay their salary on speeding tickets in these towns.

Part of this trip was a test to see if I should drive cross-country. My car passed its part of the test. It still has enough power. The engine seemed fine and the temp gauge did not move much. It handled okay, but I am not objective about handling when I am driving. It got great gas mileage. With 84000 miles, it still rides pretty well.

I am not sure I did as well on my part of this test. I did not have a problem with my body cramping or getting sore. I did have a problem with the using restrooms. I stopped about every two hours to use the restroom. Losing 15 minutes every two hours really adds up. It does not take long before that ends up to slowing me down a couple of hours. How would this work with someone else in the car?

Odd Travel Facts
I have entered Oregon seven times on the ground. Twice from the south, five times from the north. I have also entered twice from the air.

Random Roads

I hit the road at 7:30 this morning

I am not sure if I will get to see Amber or not.

The chicken and Sausage Gumbo at the Kennedy School was great.

Portland is a place my mind lingers.

My sister Kathy would have like the drive from San Jose to Portland. I miss traveling with her.

I miss the dress wearing, hippy woman of Portland.

So far this trip has done its job.

I drank 3 pints and a small pitcher of beer tonight.

Labels: Kennedy School, McMenamins, Portland, tag overload, travel, travel notes

- Rich, 11:31 PM

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Travel Notes 3/27/02

First Song on the Mix CD
Teenage Riot was the first song I heard on my trip. I feel I am getting too old to love Teenage Riot. It should be at least less important to me. I was a teenager when it came out, but I will be 30 this year. Maybe I need Sonic Youth to do a new song. “It takes a Thirty-Something Riot to get me to drink in the evening.” I wonder what other people take on this song is.

North Country
There were times on this drive where there were no other cars around me for 20 minutes. I felt that I should take advantage of these moments. I turned off the CD player and just drove in silence. It felt really good to be alone. I know I am taking this trip to get this kind of time alone.

Getting to my target
Eureka sounds like a pretty interesting town. They have a jazz festival and a short film festival in the next couple of days. I should take a long weekend to this part of Northern California. There are a lot of things I could see up here, Trees of Wonder, Ave of the Giants, a tree I can drive though, lots of Redwood trees. I should plan to come up here a weekend this summer. Sometimes I feel like I should explore California more.

Random Roads

Left TiVo’s Parking Lot at 5PM at the dot.

I was useless for most of this afternoon at work.

Got all the way to Eureka tonight.

I drove until 11:30 PM

Stayed at a Best Western because there is something in me that does not trust Motel 6. Peace of Mind is worth extra money.

The sky was so clear I could see the Milky Way out of my car window.

US 101 North would be a beautiful drive in the daylight; I drove it in the dark.

Driving For more then a couple hours seems to be a force of well event.

Labels: California, Sonic Youth, tag overload, travel, travel mix, travel notes, travelogue

- Rich, 11:42 PM

I Just Want To Go!

I am sitting at work right now just waiting for the day to end. I cannot say I want to do any more work. I am just trying to get to the end of the day. I am trying to keep my head down until i leave for vacation. I want to keep people from looking for work for me to do. I want to not draw any attention to myself. It is a bad situation to be in at work. I have to figure out what time I can sneak out the door.

Labels: self, travel, vacation, work

- Rich, 3:37 PM

Saturday, March 23, 2002

Travel Suggestions

My friend Angela-la-la sent me this. I think she has some good travel advice here.

I have some thoughts regarding long road trips. I've never driven across country, but i do drive up to Canada every year, and have done the trip in varying lengths and number of days and detours. Here are my observations:

1. I think unless there is someplace you know you want to stay longer, you should try and drive every day, but vary the times. It gives you a sense of accomplishment. Even if you just do two hours one day and ten the next, it gives you a feeling of movement. Plan for maybe one or two longer stopovers where you can stay in the same place twice in a row so you don't go completely nomadically nuts.

2. Jack adds, "plan out your trip fifteen times in advance." Once you decide on a route, put it aside for a day or two and go back to it to see if it still looks good. Driving without confidence really makes a trip harder.

3. You might be able to get a new seat for your car for fifty bucks at a junkyard, if that's a concern, since it sounds like that might make or break Cathy going.

4. This probably doesn't need to be said, but remain open to the possibility of changing your mind about what you want to do once you get there. You might want to spend an extra day in, say, Vegas. You might spend an hour at the Grand Canyon and want to move on. Last time i went to Toronto i really thought i wanted to stay in Niagara Falls until i got there and decided it sucked, and i got to Toronto a day early.

5. Bring more cds than you think you'll need and less food. I am in the habit of packing a big cooler which takes up a lot of space and then remembering that there are supermarkets everywhere, not just in Philly ;).

I'm sure i will think of more things as time goes on. I am making my first solo trip to Montreal and i'm sure i will have all kinds of different thought once i travel without a backup.

P.S. Also, don't forget car games! They've saved my life (literally, they stop me from falling asleep).

Labels: Angela-la-la, tag overload, travel

- Rich, 12:27 PM

Friday, March 22, 2002

Songs For the trip

I am looking for songs for my up coming trip. I am driving to Portland and I would like to make a CD mix of the drive. Please give my your suggestions of what should be on this mix.

Labels: suggestions, travel, travel mix, vacation

- Rich, 1:14 PM

Thursday, March 21, 2002

Portland To Do List

This time next week I will be driving 101 North through the land of the redwood giants to the Oregon Coast. There are still things I need to do before I am ready for the trip. I hope I am not forgetting anything.

To Do List...
Get oil Change
Do Laundry
Make 1 Mix CD
Select CDs For Car
Install Dial-Up service on laptop
put coat into car
pack cloths
Clean Car (back seat)

Done...
Reserve Hotel Room
Contact Doug & Amber
Request time off

Labels: list, Portland, tag overload, todo, travel, vacation

- Rich, 12:19 PM

Sunday, February 24, 2002

Travel-Blogue - What's Next

It looks like I will not hit the road at all until my trip to Portland at the end of March. I have been thinking about taking a long day trip, but looks like it is not going to happen. Part of the problem is that I am on call every other weekend. That cuts in half the weekends I can leave town. I do not want to not answer the on call phone. That is a way to start having to work weekend again.

The other problem is that I keep on finding things to do on my none on call weekend. I was not on call this weekend, but I was invited to go out on Saturday night. In two weekends someone is having a big party I want to go to. There will be no road trip that weekend. I think my next good weekend is my trip to Portland.

It would be nice to get a day trip in before Portland, but it is not going to happen. Portland is an important trip. It will decide if I drive cross country this summer. I know that I am putting a lot of press on what I can learn on one trip.

Labels: Portland, travel, travelogue

- Rich, 12:56 AM

Sunday, February 10, 2002

Travel-Blogue - Day Tripping

I was thinking about taking a day trip this weekend, but it is not going to happen. I had a party to go to tonight and I am hanging out with a friend tomorrow. These are both events that I did not want to miss and I cannot move to another time. I am not sure now when I will get a chance to do a day trip. It might be a little while. Next weekend I am on call. I could do a roadtrip while on call, but I do not want to risk it. If I miss to many calls while on call, they might have us working weekends again. It might be two or four weeks before I get the change to hit the road for a day trip.

I am thinking I want to drive down to Hearst Castle. It is one of those things I want to see while I am living in California. I have been told it is four hour drive from San Jose. That is about the drive for a good day trip. My family used to day trip to Washington DC all the time. Four hours is enough time to really hit the road, but not so long you having to stay overnight.

I have not taken a day trip in a long time. The last real day trip I took was a trip too Mount St. Helen's with my sister Kathy. That was when I lived in Portland. We left at breakfast and got back for a late dinner. It makes me wish there was someone I could take with me to Hearst Castle.

Labels: day trip, Hearst Castle, kathy, Mt. St. Helen, road trip, San Jose, self, travel, travelogue

- Rich, 1:41 AM

Sunday, February 03, 2002

Travel-Blogue - Traveling Companion

I have been keeping something away from my web log. I have seriously considering driving cross country this summer. I currently have three weeks of vacation saved up. By the time the summer rolls around, I will have four weeks of vacation. I have been saving my vacation as a kind of extra severance. If I was going to get laid off, it would really help to have a couple extra weeks pay. I cannot sit on this time forever. I feel like I need a vacation. I also want to take a lot of vacation at once. I think it will straighten out my head.

I have been seriously thinking about taking a trip cross country this year. I want to take a month off and travel from San Jose to Philadelphia and back again. I drove across country once when I moved out west. I drove out here in eight days. It did not give me much time to see the country. I want to take a trip from one side of America to another. I want to chance to leave everything behind me and to hit the road. I want to drive for days on end. I want to see the land as I pass thought it. I want to take that cross country trip that everyone always talks about.

I have been thinking about this for three weeks or so and I have not written about it yet. My friend Cathy and I had talked about taking a vacation together this year. We have never been able to do this before. We had not made any plans for what we would be doing yet. I did not want here to just read on a web site that I decided to drive cross country. I felt that would be like blind siding her. I had to wait until I talked to her before I started writing about the trip.

I told her that I have been thinking about this trip. I told her my ideas and invited her to accompany on part of the trip. I knew that she would not be able to take a month off. She excepted my invitation. She had a couple of ideas about the trip. She knows that there are places I want to go and there are places I am flexible on. She wants to be on the first leg of the trip. Her plan is to fly out to San Jose and drive with me back to Philadelphia.

I think this is a really good situation. On a long trip like this, it will be nice to have someone with me part of the time. There will still be a chance for me to travel alone, but there will be a large part of the trip I will be able to share with someone. That is a very important thing. I was worried about this trip because I would not be able to share it with anyone. Now that I will be able to share much of it with Cathy, I am not worried about rushing through the trip. I know that I will be more likely to take my time. It will help me in the long run.

I have to say this trip is not 100% right now. There are a lot of details that have to be worked out. There are milestones that have to be met before we decide to take the trip. There are things that could put an end to these plans. I think it will April before we are 100% go on the trip. Right now we are 25% go. There are things that Cathy and I have to talk about and figure out. I am excited about the idea of the trip. It is something that I can really look forward to.

Labels: Cathy Heard, never happened, plans, road trip, single, travel

- Rich, 2:02 AM

Saturday, February 02, 2002

Travelogue - New Web Log

I have started this new web log just to log the movements of life and travel. I traveled very little last year. I plan to travel much more often in 2002. I want a single place to write about all my travel ideas. I am going to post some of these ideas on both Travel-Blogue and Sad Salvation. I think there are some Ideas that I am only going to post here.

I think that travel is important. It gives us the chance to see things outside of our lives. It is important to try to get away from your day to day life when you travel. I do not think people should take there work with them. Too often people cannot get away from the world that they are in. I think it gives people a small vision of the world. We have to step back from our lives and our visions of the world to really recharge.

Other people are also going to be posting on this web log. I want the people I travel with and some of the people I visit to be able to post here. I would love to see what they think about this trip. There are still a ton of things to do before I actually hit the road.

Labels: blog, sadsalvation, self, travel, travelogue

- Rich, 11:49 AM

Wednesday, January 30, 2002

Travelogue - Portland

My plan is to drive to Portland taking US 101 North all the way to Seaside. I would like to spend my night in Seaside. I will drive US 26 from Seaside to Portland. I have wanted to drive 101 north for a long time. It is a much more scenic drive then taking I-5 North. I will be able to see the ocean for much of this drive.

I have been longing to visit Portland for a while. It has been since June 2000 since I was in Portland last. It is a city that still holds some part of my heart. I miss a lot of little things about the city. I miss the parks, clear air, Powell's Books, coffee shops, and brew pubs. It was a city that I did not understand when I left. I think I could take better advantage of it now. I was only there for a short time, but that city still clouds my minds.

I still have a couple of friends in Portland. I am not sure if I am going to stay with them or stay in a hotel. Part of me wants to live the big time and stay in a nice downtown hotel. I have never blown a lot of money on a hotel before. I think there would be something cool in just dropping cash on the hotel. I could be Mr. Big Time for a couple of days.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends. I have been able to stay friends with them. It is hard to keep in contact with people when you do not see them very often. If I moved back to Portland the people will not be the draw. I would be moving back just like I moved there the first time. With no real support in the city.

I still think about moving back to Portland. I tell people if I could have my current job and live in Portland, it would be a great combination. I think I could be a lot happier. I do not know if I will ever move back there. It is something I have to think about for the future.

Labels: Portland, road trip, travel, travelogue, US 101

- Rich, 3:05 PM

Tuesday, January 29, 2002

Travelogue - Tires

I went out and bought new front tires this weekend. My front tires were starting to look worn. Four of the last Five times I bought new tires, it was because one of my tires went flat. The last two times I had to change a tire on a highway. There are few things I hate more then changing a tire on the highway. My mind was full of all the stories of people getting hurt doing that.

The tires are a very important step. I need to make sure my car is in roadtrip shape. I would hate to be riding on a spare time when the next exit is 50 miles away. I am going to take a test trip this spring. I am going to take a road trip so I can see if my car can handle a long trip. I am going to drive up to Portland over Easter Weekend. I have a three day weekend. I can take a couple of days and just stretch that weekend. This will be the trip that will decide it my are is up to a further trip.

I know that waiting until April to decide if I want to take a trip in July might be a little late. This worries me a little bit. I wonder if it will be a problem for any of the people that I want to see. I feel that I have to take a trip to Portland. If I am driving, I really do not want to drive any sooner. I at least want to wait until March. I might as well wait for my three day weekend. I will have to see how this unfolds.

Labels: cars, Portland, road trip, tire, travel, travelogue

- Rich, 10:42 PM

Saturday, January 26, 2002

Travelogue -­ Preface

I want to start a Travelogue on Sad Salvation. It is the start of the year and I want to travel a couple of times this year. I have not settled on all of my plans yet. There are more then a few things bumping around my head. Steve is getting married this fall. That is time I am going to spend in San Diego. My cousin is getting married in June in Knoxville. Jen is getting married this summer. That would be a trip to Pittsburgh in July. I was talking with Cathy about taking a trip with her. There is part of me that wants to drive cross country this summer.

I am not sure where I want to go. Most likely I will have to do a good deal of this travel alone. Being the Uber-single man I do not expect to have a traveling companion by the time I hit the road. I am not sure how much I want to travel alone. I have a lot of vacation time saved up and I have to use it some time. When I lived with my parents I loved to travel alone. It was my chance to be on my own. Now I am on my own all the time. I do not need to be on my own more often. Most of my life is about the time I spend by myself.

The problem with traveling on my own is very often I do not do as many activities as I would do if I was with another person. I do not take the time to look at the world around me. I just rush through everything. It also seems less important because I am not sharing it with any one. It feels less important because I am doing it all on my own. It is hard to explain, but things do feel more valid when they are shared with another person.

No matter what I will travel somewhere this year. I will start up the car and head away from San Jose. I just do not know the extent yet. I am not sure if it will only be for a few small trips or if it will be a big cross-country ride. That is what I need to decide for myself. There will be a need for a travelogue this year. That travelogue will be part of Sad Salvation.

Labels: relationship, sadsalvation, self, single, travel, travelogue

- Rich, 11:32 PM

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