Oregon Coastal Safari

Happy to arrive at our beach house with our lives Monday evening, after nearly being mauled by a wild bobcat (nice picture Claire!) and scoured by swooping bald eagles, Bonnie, Phil, Claire and I set into some nice Oregon beer, listened to some live music, and ate seafood (most of us) in Yachats (ya-HOTS), Oregon.

Waking early with the sun to catch low-tide, we ventured south down the coast and played ‘touch-the-incredibly-poisonous-giant-green-anemones-in-the-tide-pools,’ a game popular with the locals, on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. I didn’t tell Claire they were poisonous, and convinced her to touch one, albeit with great hesitation. She’s still okay, so they’re evidently harmless. At low tide, the tide pools in Oregon are full of life, and are extremely fun to check out (pictured – sea urchins).

Still exhilarated from spying the rarely seen bobcat the day before, we were thrilled again when Bonnie’s eagle-eyes spotted a grey whale spouting near the shore.

We visited several rocky beaches (pictured), a couple of picturesque lighthouses, a cave with hundreds of sea lions and California Seals, and quite a few good local restaurants (pictured with Bonnie and Phil) before heading back to Portland Wednesday night to meet Andy and Jennifer for dinner at one final brew-pub, Rogue.

Portland & Hood River

On our first day in Portland, Bonnie and Phil took us out to Silverton to hike around the 10 falls trails. It was quite a contrast to the desert, being surrounded by all that water and greenery. We managed to see 8 out of the 10 waterfalls, saving the biggest till last (pictured). We got to walk right underneath the overhang, behind the waterfall, and only got slightly sprayed. On the way out, we saw what looked like 2 California Condors (see previous blog post), but they may have been turkey vultures…..they didn’t stick around long enough to confirm!

That evening we met up with Tim’s friend Andy at Jimmy Maks, a jazz club in the Pearl District of downtown Portland. The band (pictured) were excellent, and featured a pretty old B3 organ which sounded great. We stayed for both sets and were one of the last to leave!

Andy and his girlfriend Jennifer were kind enough to host us at their place for the weekend. After a wonderful eggy breakfast (courtesy of Andy and their 3 chickens!) they took us to the farmers market on Saturday morning, where we managed to try the free samples from most of the stalls…delicious! We then drove out to the edge of wine country and had a tasting at the Ponzi vineyard, before heading back into town for a wander around a few of the different neighbourhoods. Tim couldn’t decide which beer to try at our brewpub refreshment stop, so opted for the sampler platter! (pictured). We ended a great day with a meal at a Spanish Tapas restaurant, where we rubbed shoulders with the Mayor of Portland, Sam Adams - a very nice chap.

On Sunday we drove out to Hood River to meet up with Pierce and Kyla, friends from our MBA class. On the way we stopped at Multnomah Falls and watched the Oregon ‘search and rescue’ team do some demonstration abseiling down the side of the waterfall – very impressive. Pierce and Kyla took us to a great bar for lunch, overlooking Mount Hood. We then took a hike up a lovely trail with great views over the river and surrounding countryside (pictured - Pierce, Kyla, Claire, Tim, Andy, Jennifer). It was great to see Pierce and Kyla and to experience a little bit of the Hood River lifestyle.

Vegas baby, vegas

Carrying on in the verbosity of my dad’s voicemail messages… Just kidding, Dad, I love your voicemails.

We stayed our first night in vegas at a little hotel (only 2,100 rooms) well south of the action of the strip, and left the casino BIG winners! Nine dollars and fifteen cents up from the $25 credit for slot machines given to us with the hotel room.

The next day we drove out in the heat (over 90 F) to Nevada's "Valley of Fire" state park (pictured), where red sandstone rises out of the desert in interesting shapes and native Americans left pictures (Petroglyphs) scratched into stone walls thousands of years ago.

Our second night, we checked into the Signature at the MGM Grand to a sweet suite. We met up with a friend from Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, Toby, and his partner Chris, who gave us a bit of a tour starting from the lions at the MGM Grand (pictured) and then over to the Bellagio to watch the water fountain show (pictured).

The next day we did nothing but sit by the pool and drink Pina Coladas. In the evening we ventured out to see the very impressive show by Cirque du Soleil, Mystere (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/mystere). The acrobatics were amazing, and the strong men were… unusual.

Incredibly, we left Vegas the next day without gambling, and that was just fine with us. But before we went we did a bit of shopping at Caesar’s Palace, and checked out the Chihully Glass at the Bellagio (pictured).

Route 66

A bit weary from scaling the grand canyon, we went ‘easy rider’ and cruised the route 66 back to Vegas. We nearly ran off the road avoiding tumble weed (really, there was tumble weed), and debated over picking up a hitch hiker to make it authentic, but a sign said not to – something about a penitentiary nearby, so we carried on along a seemingly endless stretch of empty road.

So it was, in search of a 50s diner and a milkshake, that we wound up in Hackberry. I’m sure you’ve heard of it so I won’t go into details.

If you argue over English:

I said 'fairy' but Claire heard ‘ferry’

You might miss your turn

And end up in Hackberry

(Burma Shave)

Okay, so that was my attempt at the classic Route 66 Burma Shave advertising rhymes. Each line spaced on a red sign a few hundred yards apart. Entertainment on the drive and they’re still posted for the enjoyment of tourists (pictured).

We didn’t find a milkshake, but we did find the next best tourist sight – some authentic Harley Davidson bikers stopped at Hackberry’s only business, the general store (pictured). After checking out all the old cars and relics from the heyday of Route 66, Claire chatted up the bikers (of course), and I tried to impress them with our PT Cruiser.

Feeling disheartened – the bikers weren’t impressed – we drove on back to Kingman, and found that classic diner – Mr. D’z – and an excellent milkshake (pictured). The only disappointment there was I really wanted to check out this old steam engine, the ‘Santa Fe,’ but Claire wouldn’t let me – something about having seen enough for a couple of lifetimes.

The day wasn’t quite complete, however, until we provided evidence for some psychology study somewhere I’m sure, as for some reason, succumbing to the common reflex of thinking of large bodies of flowing water, such as Niagra Falls, or the Mississippi River, we both had to stop and use the restrooms on the Hoover Dam (pictured – the dam, not the restrooms).

Hiking the Grand Canyon

Another early start on Saturday, as we had to get to a lodge in the park at 6.30am to see if we'd managed to get the accommodation at Phantom Ranch. Unfortunately there was only one male space left, and no female places (its a dormitory style set up). In hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise, as we found it tough enough doing one day's hiking!

So we jumped on the hiker's express shuttle bus to take us to the start of the South Kaibab trail. This was recommended as the most picturesque of the one day hikes (view from ooh-aah point near the top pictured - can you find me?), but also the steepest! The early morning sunshine was beautiful as we gradually descended into the canyon. We were very excited by the views and kept stopping to take lots of photos, as all the other hikers overtook us.

After a couple of hours, and about 3 miles, we got to Skeleton Point (pictured), which is where we could first glimpse the Colorado River (lower right in photo) and they recommend turning back for a one day hike. However, it was only 9.30am and we really didn't feel very tired at all at that point. So we decided to continue a further 1.5 miles to the next rest area. This was the steepest and most exposed part of the track (final picture), and both of us started to ache on the way down (not a good sign when you know you have to climb back up the same way!) It was beautiful though, and we passed some mules on the way. After a brief rest, we started our climb back up. We were quicker than we thought we'd be (they suggest it takes twice as long to climb up as to climb down). However, the last mile and half was pretty tough, and we had to take multiple breaks to admire the view!

We eventually made it back up to the top about 7 hours after we started, thoroughly exhausted. We headed back to the lodge where we'd parked the car, for a welcome beer and snack. Then we hobbled off to listen to a ranger talk a little about the California Condor, who have been specially bred and released into the wild at the canyon. (One featured on a previous post of our trip to the San Diego Wild Animal park). Unfortunately we didn't manage to see any at the canyon, although several other people at the talk had. But we did learn how to spot the difference between a condor and a turkey vulture in flight!

We then dragged our sore limbs back to the car and drove an hour down the road to a town called Williams, where we found a lovely motel room on the original Route 66, and crashed out for the night.

On the road...

On Friday, we got up really early to fly to Las Vegas. We arrived in the desert city at around 8.30am and went to collect our hire car. Luckily they didn't have any 'economy' cars available when we got there, so we were upgraded to a Chrysler PT Cruiser! I was very pleased to be driving such an iconic American car on our road trip to the Grand Canyon! So after driving around for a while due to lack of road signs, we eventually made it onto the highway heading east.

Our first pit stop was in Kingman on the famous Route 66, where we discovered Tim's grandpa had been stationed towards the end of the war. We discovered this by accident. Having spent the previous 30 mins trying to list all 50 US states as a way to amuse ourselves, we'd only managed to get 49. So, we phoned Tim's parents to discover we'd forgotten all about New Jersey! And as a bonus, discovered the link between Kingman and Tim's Grandpa. So we took a photo by a Kingman sign! (pictured)

After various other pit stops along the way (its a 5 hour drive) we arrived at the Grand Canyon, just in time to pick up some hiking leaflets from the info centre, and put our names down on the waiting list for accommodation at the bottom of the Canyon. People sign up for 'The Phantom Ranch' at the bottom of the Canyon, over 12 months in advance of their visit. So hoping for cancellations was the only Tim and I had of getting a space down there. We then headed for the canyon rim to catch a glimpse of the amazing spectacle in the early evening sunlight. It was a fantastic sight.

We then headed back to our hotel room just outside of the Canyon National Park for an early night as we were both exhausted.

Up, Up and Away!

On Thursday, we had a chilled day in Ocean Beach planned.....or so I thought! In actual fact, Dan had arranged for his pilot friend to take us up in his Cessna plane on a sightseeing flight over San Diego! Wow! What a treat! Tim was in on the secret, and I was totally oblivious to their planning (what a surprise!). So after a quiet morning doing laundry and going for a short jog, we took off on what I thought was a nice afternoon drive. To my utter excitement, we arrived at a small airport, with Dan's friend Doug waiting to take us up.

Well, it was an amazing experience, and a fabulous way to end a great week in San Diego. We were in the air for 43 minutes, and did a large loop over the city and its surroundings. We flew over Miramar, the airforce base where they filmed Top Gun, and then headed for the coast. We flew down the coastline past Torrey Pines golf course, and over the top of some paragliders. Then we reached La Jolla, where Tim and I had visited earlier in the week, and flew directly over the children's beach, where all the seals hang out (pictured). Then we headed further south, and flew over the San Diego commercial airport and San Diego bay, with fantastic views of Point Loma, Coronado, and the baseball stadium, Petco Park. It was great seeing all the places we'd visited this week from the air! After that, we came inland, and Doug pointed out the Mexican border, before we headed back north to the airport, and a had very smooth landing.

It really was a great experience, and we loved every minute of it. Massive thanks to Doug for flying us, and to Dan for organising it. We won't forget it.

Of course, this shouldn't overshadow the delicious dinner Alisha made us on our return! And we rounded off a great day with a few games of pool in the evening.

Point Loma, Coronado, and the Bay Cruise

On Wednesday, we drove down to Point Loma lighthouse and had a nice 2 mile hike along the coast overlooking the San Diego Bay and the city (picture of me in front of the view). The park around Point Loma is dedicated to Cabrillo, the Spanish or possibly Portuguese explorer credited with first landing on what is today San Diego.

In the afternoon, we went to Coronado and walked around the beach and visited one of the oldest surviving resort hotels in the western united states, built in 1888, the Hotel Del Coronado (http://www.hoteldel.com/History.aspx). All of the old Hollywood A-listers have stayed there and more than a few movies shot, most notably Marilyn Monroe's 'Some Like it Hot' in 1958. President's Nixon and Reagan also hosted events there. We didn't have any great photos from the ground, so I thought I'd drop the one we took from Dan's friend - Doug's - airplane the next day. From the ground, we had no idea 'Coronado' was spelled on the beach! The hotel is on the lower left.


In the evening we were back out on the San Diego bay with Dan, Alisha, and two of their friends (Israel and Heather) for a *very nice* dinner and three hour boat cruise, open bar, with dancing. It was spectacular. Here's a picture I took of the san diego skyline at night which we enjoyed all evening.

Old Town and Balboa Park

On Tuesday, we woke up to a gray day and headed to Old Town San Diego. Unfortunately it's surrounded by highways and not so nice areas, but once in the Old Town National Park, the restored buildings and shops from the early 1800s do a great job of transporting you back to having a sense of what it might have been like on a nice day. In the cigar shop, a couple of old fashioned distinguished looking men were smoking cigars (even at 11 a.m.). We went on to the general store, and the sheriff served us Mexican Mochas - okay, so not that old fashioned. In Claire's words: 'gorgeous' - the mocha, not the sheriff (pictured)

After lunch in San Diego's 'gaslight' district, we went over to Balboa park and popped in a couple of museums and listened to a street musician who played a mean fiddle.

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Today Tim and I made an early start. We grabbed some breakfast by the beach watching the surfers, and then headed straight over to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

It was beautiful weather, and after buying a sun hat, we spent the day wandering around the park, looking at all the animals. They have made the animal enclosures as close to the wild as possible, and all the animals have a large space to move around in. In the afternoon we took an open safari-style bus around the largest part of the park, to see the larger animals roaming freely.....we saw giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs, and many more.

At the end of the trip we passed the lion camp - the lion you can see in the picture is the biggest. They had to reinforce the roof of the jeep because he was so heavy!

After that we went to see the new baby elephant that was born a couple of weeks ago - he was the cutest and my favourite. Tim's favourite was the Californian Condor you can see in the last picture....not nearly as cute as the elephant, but we were lucky to see one, as they were extinct in the wild in the 1980s, and thanks to the San Diego zoo, there are now over 300 roaming around.

After a tiring day wandering around in the sunshine, we went back to Dan & Alishas for a relaxing bbq and beer. Good end to a lovely day.

An Easter afternoon with the Padres

On Sunday, Dan and Alisha organized a group of 20 or so to go see the San Diego Padres play the San Francisco Giants. This was Claire's 2nd baseball game, the first was years ago at Wrigley Field watching the cubs (nice one!)

On the way we met everyone at the Tin Fish for a few 32 oz. draft beers. Don't worry, it was after 11 a.m., so not too early to start. Ha.


We spent the afternoon sitting in the sun watching the game with our short sleeves rolled up (not thinking about appearance). San Diego won and afterward we went to a roof top bar (http://www.altitudeskybar.com/enter) with fantastic views of the city and bay. Alisha knew the DJ, whose booth was above everyone and he invited us up to join him for a spin.

Fishes, flying, and fine dining

On Saturday, we found ourselves back up near La Jolla at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Claire's initial lack of enthusiasm vanished at sight of the first tank. We quickly joined the hordes of kids pointing and saying 'wow! look there!'


In the afternoon we drove a bit further up the coast to Torrey Pines and watched the paragliders (pictured) and hang gliders. Neither of us went, but you can go on a tandem ride for around $150. I may watch Claire do it later this week. The coast at Torrey Pines is striking. (pictured)


In the evening, Dan and Alisha took us on a ferry ride to Coronado for dinner overlooking the San Diego Skyline (pictured). Fantastic meal, great company, great view. Truly a perfect evening.

California, here we are

Dan and Alisha generously picked us up late Thursday night from the LA airport and drove us down to stay with them at their bungalow in Ocean Beach, California, about 10 minutes north of San Diego.

On our first day, we strolled around the surfer town of Ocean Beach, bought Claire some earrings (abalone shell - she's wearing them in the picture) from a local jewelry shop where they were made, and drove up to La Jolla - a wealthy town on the coast with great shopping and art galleries. The pelicans were swooping close to the coast giving the kids a bit of excitement (and Claire).


We then walked a bit further down the coast and visited the old children's beach - now taken over by seals - where I used to swim over 20 years ago.

In the early evening, we were back at Dan & Alisha's in Ocean Beach, and we walked down to watch the sun set and the surfers catch the last waves at twilight.

Goodbye for now London, we love you!

With the help and patience of Claire's parents, we made it to the airport with our few small suitcases, and set off on this fun and, well, a bit crazy adventure.