Home Sweet Home

I said goodbye to everyone in Iowa on Tuesday morning. It was a little emotional saying goodbye to Aunt Lois and Uncle Bud... I dropped by Tina's place in Mason City to pick up my jacket, and headed to the little Iowa town of Belmond, where my paternal grandfather was born. My cousin Marty asked me to do a little genealogical research for him in Belmond. I dug through the city hall records and visited the cemetery. We got one little piece figured out, but a few others remain. Once done in Belmond, I hit the road and ended up at a Super 8 motel on the Missouri River in South Dakota for the night. Wednesday was a big 12 hour drive from South Dakota, through part of Wyoming and I stayed the night in Butte, Montana.

I left Butte at 10:00 AM MDT, and arrived in North Bend to pick up Midas at 5:00 PM PDT. I got home at 6:30 PM.

Some quick facts about the trip:
Miles traveled: 10,011.4
Ave gas mileage: 26.9
Est ave gas price: $3.55
States visited:28 (OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX,LA, MS,AL,GA,SC,NC, VA,DL,MD,NJ,NY,CT,MA,NH,PA,OH,IN,IL,IA,SD,WY,ID,MT)
Places stayed the night: 21

What a trip! It was the greatest adventure of my life. Thank you sooo much to all my friends and family who I visited and stayed with. You made the trip amazing! But, it is also wonderful to be home. After this huge trip, I realize the Pacific Northwest is a especially beautiful part of our great country. It was great to have Midas back, he seemed pretty happy to be back home, too.

More pictures coming in a day or two.

Greg

Iowa and the Journey Home

On Friday, I washed up, packed up and took Dolly to town, had breakfast and then dropped her off at home. We said goodbye, then I headed to Aurora, IL to visit my cousin Becky. Becky and her niece Tina (Tina is my oldest cousin Harry's oldest child) and I went out for lunch. We had a short but great conversation. It's always good to see Becky and Tina! I hit the road again and ended up at my cousin Gene's little acreage in Plymouth, IA for the night around 8:00 PM. My Aunt Lois (Gene's mom) dropped in to say hello. On Saturday, I went to Lois' (who lives very near Gene) with Gene for breakfast. I visited my cousin Lois Jean with Gene in Mason City. Later, I visted my cousin Harry and his girlfriend in a nearby town with Uncle Bud. That evening Lois and Uncle Bud, Gene's girlfriend Jane, my cousin Vicki and her husband Clarence came over to Gene's, and Gene hosted a big and tasty steak dinner. On Sunday, again went to Lois' for breakfast with Vicki and Clarence, then Tina and her daughter Tina came over, and we all headed to the Plymouth 1st Methodist for Sunday service. Afterwards, Vicki and Clarence left for home (about an hour away) and Aunt Lois took me to the Mason City Cemetery where I have a lot of relatives and ancestors buried. Tina (the same one mentioned above) hosted a wonderful Mother's Day dinner at her and her husband Dave's place in Mason City. Aunt Lois, Uncle Bud, Tina, Dave, Harry, Sue, Tina's kids Josh and Sara were all there. I played football in the back yard with the kids afterwards to burn off some cals : ) On Monday, had breakfast with Lois, lunch in Mason City with Gene and my cousin Richy. I headed to my cousin Lexie's where I looked at her computers (they're on the fritz, I wasn't able to get them going for her :( and met her wonderful children Ben, Joey and Jesslyn. Ben and Joey work on a nearby dairy farm, and I got a personalized tour! I hooked up Lois to the internet (per my Dad's request :) For dinner, we ate at Lois' with Lexie, her kids, Lois, Bud and me. Tuesday, I got up, cleaned up, packed and headed to Lois's for breakfast. I'm blogging now, and will head to Mason City to pick up my jacket (left at Tina's on Sunday). I am very blessed with a large and loving family. I didn't know my family in Iowa very well, but this trip has made me a lot closer with a lot of them, and they all are wonderful people. The final leg of the journey begins today! I should be home Thursday or Friday. I'll post more pics and a wrap-up post when I get home. Stay tuned (at least for a little while longer) Greg

Sampson Attacks!

I've been enjoying my stay with my Aunt Dolly here in rural IL. We've been having some fun and interesting conversations. On Monday, I went to town in the morning and got breakfast at a decent local restaurant. I jogged in the evening.

On Tuesday, I went to town and bought a new mailbox, which I put up for her. I went jogging in the afternoon and almost got eaten by a big dog with a bear-like head. Well, not really, but it was a bit of a scary encounter with a big, black 100 lb Rottweiler looking pooch with his fur up. The owner was nearby but didn't seem too concerned and just said, "Here, Sampson, here". He started after me again a couple more times as I tried to jog on, I finally asked the owner to hold onto cuddly Sampson until I was gone. She obliged. I took a long walk in the evening, avoiding Sampson's house : )

On Wednesday I had breakfast in town again and went shopping for dinner. Dolly had a couple of friends over that evening, and we had a nice chicken dinner together. I took a long walk in the evening.

I've enjoyed the slower pace of the last few days, I've been watching TV, exercising, doing a few little tasks around the house, reading and chatting with Dolly and a couple of her friends that visit.

I'm heading out tomorrow to visit a Cousin in Aurora, IL, then I'll head to the Mason City, Iowa area where both of my parents were born. I'll visit Aunt Lois, Uncle Bud and a few cousins there, then I'll be drivin' home. I've debated visiting Glacier, several of you have told me about how beautiful it is, but I'm feeling the call of home and will leave that for another trip. I expect to be home around Wednesday, 5/14. Less than a week to go!

Until the next post,
Greg

Boston and Chicago

On Thursday, I drove to the Alewife subway station and took the subway into Boston.  I got out at Boston Commons, what a place to first really see Boston!  I walked around the Commons, grabbed a hot dog and pop, took pictures of the Statehouse (across the street) then proceeded down the "Freedom Trail".   I really enjoyed it- the 2 mile walk goes by Paul Revere's house, Fureil Hall, the Quincy Market, the Old North Church, "Cheers" (a little less historical), the Old City Hall, a few very old cemeteries and ended up at the USS Constitution in Charleston.  The Constitution was amazing, to see such an historic old ship (built 1796).  I got back to Mark and Judy's, had dinner and hit the sack.

Friday, I got up and packed and lounged around.  Mark and I had lunch at a Mexican place in downtown Milford (Judy wasn't feeling well, and she didn't join us), came back to the house and said my goodbyes, and I hit the road once again.  It was an interesting drive, New York is a pretty big state actually.  Lots of forests.  Drove through Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo, saw the Erie Canal.  I stayed the night in a motel in Westfield, New York.  

On Saturday, I left the motel around 8:30, drove through the last bit of New York, through Erie, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and ended up in Compton, IL at my Aunt's house at 5:00 PM CDT.  We chatted, ate a little dinner, and I hit the sack early.  This morning, I woke up at 7:00, jogged around the block (in rural Illinois, that's 2.6 miles), cleaned up, chatted with Dolly, and headed to Chicago, where I met a friend from my church earning a Masters at Loyola for lunch.  She was nice enough to let me use her computer to catch up on email and blogging, and here I am!

Well, my big trip is on the homestretch.  I'll stay with Dolly for a few days, I'll stop by in Iowa to see more relatives (Have you figured out I have a big family?) for a day or two, then the big drive from Iowa to Seattle.  I was thinking of stopping in Colorado, but I'm finally starting to get a bit homesick, and am thinking of getting home by mid-May.  

Hope all of you are well.  I'll see all my Seattle family and friends fairly soon!

Until the next post,

Greg

NYC, CT, MA & NH

We had a great lamb dinner on Sunday Night with 4 of Sheila's friends. I got up early on Monday, packed, and went out for breakfast with Sheila, dropped Sheila off at the train station we said good bye, and I was off to Mark and Judy's in New Hampshire. Along the way, I stopped by in New Haven, Connecticut to look at the Yale campus (it was raining like crazy, and I got soaked!) and grab lunch. I hit the road again and arrived at Mark and Judy's place near Milford, NH around 3:00 PM. The house is very nice and big, and very old. Mark told me the house was probably built in 1750, but definitely before 1780. For a history buff like me, it is amazing to be staying in a colonial-era home! Judy made a wonderful roast beef dinner and the 3 of us relaxed and talked for the evening.

On Tuesday, I got up and had a leisurely morning, then I drove to Quincy, MA to see the President Adams homes (his birthplace and his nicer home he bought later) and library. I read the David McCullough biography John Adams, so it was extra interesting for me to see the homes. I got back around 4:00 PM, we went to a very good local diner for dinner.

I was up a little earlier this morning, Judy had the day off and Mark took the day off, and they took me on a little tour. We drove through and did a little sight-seeing in Concord and Lexington (Where the first battle of the American Revolution was fought in April, 1775). We then went to Salem, strolled the town and visited the "Witch Museum" and a very old cemetery. We saw a tombstone of a person that died around 1680, and it said "Mayflower Pilgrim". I didn't cut my toe and got a picture. Now, we're lounging around and watching TV, Judy will have another wonderful home-made dinner ready soon.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing the "Freedom Trail" in Boston. Life is good!

Until the next post,
Greg

The New Orleans Incident

Someone asked about the toe injury, and I said I'd post about it...

I had parked in NO, was was walking toward the French Quarter when I heard the blow of a Riverboat whistle. In my youthful enthusiasm that has somehow hung on to middle age, I started running toward the Mississippi to see the boat. Think "Yay, a big river boat, I'm gonna get a nice picture!" I'm running through a parking lot, then toward the gate near the river, then all of a sudden I hit something and I stumble and fall. I evaluate the damage: raspberries on my hands and knees, I look at my feet in my sandals and I see some bleeding. I think, "Wow, that's odd. What caused that?" I look toward the gate. Tire shredding spikes! I found a nearby bathroom and cleaned it and bandaged it. Luckily, the spike hit my callous, and the damage wasn't too bad. I'm still alive and it's almost totally healed now. I didn't get the picture : )

I Love New York- Mariah Carey, not so much.

After lunch on Thursday, I just roamed around Manhattan, through a section called "East Village". The weather was spectacular, sunny and mid 70s. I met Sheila in Madison Park at 5:30 PM, we took the train back to her place in Queens. We drove to Little Bay Park for a short jog, then we dropped by a Greek restaurant (Sheila knows the owners) for dinner to go.

On Friday, I slept in, got ready to go, had a leisurely breakfast near the train station. Got on the train, headed to Manhattan again. Manhattan blows my mind, its so huge, tall and crowded. Fascinating to me. I walked around Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Catholic Church, then met up with Sheila at the Empire State Building. We went up, and we really enjoyed the view. But, we got kinda stuck on the observation deck. Why? Maria Carey was up on the observation deck doing an interview or something, and they decided to shut down all the elevators. There were a lot of upset folks up there! At least I got a picture of her (since we were stuck there anyhow). Afterwards, we headed down to the Battery Park area. We walked around a little, walked by "ground zero", and took the passenger ferry over to Hoboken New Jersey. I will now refer to Hoboken as "Hobroken" since the old (1920s?) ferry terminal there was literally falling down : ) We had a nice dinner at a Malayan restaurant, then roamed the waterfront, then we took the "PATH" train back to Penn Station, where we caught the RIRR train back to Queens. When folks got on at Shea Stadium got on the train, there was grumbling about the Mets losing.

Slept in again on Saturday (seeing a pattern?), Sheila went off to run errands, so I went for breakfast/coffee on my own. Met back at the house at Noon, we headed out in Sheila's car to pick up Julie, a friend of Sheila's. We then we drove out to the vineyards of Long Island on the South Fork on the eastern end of the island. We stopped at a beautiful looking diner that had decidedly so-so food. Can't win 'em all I guess! We visited two wineries for tasting: Duck Walk and The Channing Daughters. East coast wines taste very mellow to me, I liked the taste, but I'm not a connoisseur. We got back to town around 8:00 PM, and were tired so just ordered a pizza for dinner.

This morning Sheila and I went to her church (1st Presbyterian of Whitestone in Queens)  at 10:30, it was a cute little building, about 100 years old. The congregation is very small, but full of love and spirit. After the service they had a little celebration for the birthday of the Pastor and a congregant. After that, they had a healing service. We left about 12:30, went food shopping and had coffee. We got back to the house at 2:00 PM, and here I am blogging!

I plan on leaving NYC tomorrow for Boston. New York has been great, and Sheila has been a wonderful host. We're having a lamb dinner tonight in honor of Orthodox Easter, with several of Sheila's friends. NYC is such a huge, interesting megalopolis you could spend years here to explore it all.

Until the next post,
Greg

PS No comments on the pics??

Pictures!

Greg holding Alex and Emy's kids Dylan and Alyssa in Cuppertino

Tim and Greg at the Padres game in San Diego

Uncle Ted and Greg at an undisclosed lunch location in Phoenix

Cousin Staffan and Greg at the Iron Cactus in Dallas

Dealy Plaza in Dallas

Cousin Tor and Greg at the Astros game in Houston

(from left) Carol, Don, Dan, Greg and Michelle eating dinner in Athens, GA

(from left) Matt, Melody, Mark (retiree), Marty and Greg at Mark's retirement ceremony in Norfolk, VA.

Jefferson's Monticello near Charlottesville, VA. Look at the back of a nickel!

Sheila's cat (put in at her request). Sheila loves her cats.

VA, DC, MD, DL, NJ & NY

Got up Monday, met Ted and Eve for breakfast. We picked up Ted's friend Ray, and we all went to the Jamestown Settlement. For the one or two of you that may not know, Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World. We checked out the "living museum" and the actual settlement site, where archaelogical work is ongoing. Ray had us over for a home cooked meal courtesy of his grandson. It was excellent!

Tuesday, Ted, Eve and I met for breakfast as usual. We then headed to the Maritime Museum in Newport News, where we looked around for 3 hours of so. The highlight was viewing the remains of the Union Civil War era ironclad ship, The Monitor. Ray's girlfriend made lunch for us, then we all said our goodbye's, and I was off to Colonial Williamsburg and the College of William and Mary. I spent a couple hours there, then drove off to Charlottesville to stay the night.

Got up early on Wednesday, and headed for Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. I looked around for 3 hours of so, then headed off for New York. I passed through 5 states and DC on Wednesday! That was the first time I'd be though Delaware. I arrived at Sheila's place in Queens at 8:00, were we had dinner with a friend of Sheila's.

Slept in, cleaned up and headed to Manhattan on the Long Island railroad. I met sheila for lunch, we had a nice Sushi lunch, then Sheila showed me here office. We parted ways, now I'm in a local Kinkos writing this. I'm gonna wander around and meet Sheila at 5:30 for the train ride back to Queens.

I have some pictures ready to post, they should be up later today or tomorrow.

The adventure continues!

Until the next post,
Greg

Athens and Norfolk

It's great to hear that there are quite a few readers of this blog! There have been several requests for pictures, hopefully I can get some posted soon, but I am keeping very busy and I also need access to a computer with an SD card reader.

I met up with Michelle, Michelle's 5 (yes, 5!) children and Carol in Athens on Tuesday, we went out for ice cream and I got a whirlwind tour of Athens. Later, Michelle, Dan (Michelle's husband), Carol and Don (Carol's husband) and I went out for dinner to a fantastic southern food restaurant in downtown Athens. My sporadic jogging is just keeping me even with all the great food I'm downing! Afterwards, we had a drink at a bar owned by a friend of Michelle and Dan, also in downtown Athens.

Here's the amazing story behind this meeting: Michelle and I ran around with the same set of friends in HS, but lost contact after HS. About 4 years ago, I just happened to run into Michelle when she was visiting Seattle. We discovered we had our faith in common, and we've been in touch ever since. I met Don a couple of years ago through a Christian program called "Alpha" at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle. Don moved about a year ago for a new job. It turns out that Don moved to Athens, GA, and joined Redeemer Presbyterian church which happens to be Dan and Michelle's church, and they became friends . Carol moved to Athens a little after Don, and Michelle and Carol are great friends now.

Michelle and Dan put me up for the night, I woke up Wednesday, packed up and said goodbye to Michelle and the kids on Wednesday morning. Dan and I went downtown to have breakfast together. Dan showed me their church (where he works), then I headed off to cruise around the University of Georgia for a few hours. It is a beautiful campus (but not quite as beautiful as my Alma Mater, the University of Washington :) I got a haircut downtown at "Lock Nest" hair studio, then I hit the road again around 1:00 PM. I drove through Georgia, South Carolina and stopped for the night at 9:00 PM night at a Motel 6 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

I got up and headed out to Norfolk, Virginia on Thursday. I arrived at the hotel where my family is staying at 11:00 AM. I met up with Uncle Ted and Eve (who starred in the Phoenix post), cousin Mark and his wife Judy, and we headed to Judy's sister's place for a get together. Ted and I later left for the Norfolk airport to pick up cousins Marty, Matt and Melody (Along with Mark, all Ted's children). We had a drink and a fun conversation at the airport, then headed back to the hotel. We ate at the hotel, then went up to Ted and Eve's apartment for a drink and some more good conversation. I heard a lot of fun stories about my cousin's youth in Durango, Colorado. Evidently, they got into their fair share of trouble... lol

Crashed in Mark's room, slept like a baby, got up and met everyone for breakfast in the hotel restaurant area. We're now getting ready for Mark's retirement ceremony at noon.

Another unbelievably enjoyable last few days with great friends and family. To kill the long hours of driving, I'm keeping in touch with several of you by cell phone, listening to music and talk radio. I gotta say this trip ranks very high on my list of life events! Everyday is an adventure, and the fun, generosity and love of those I've been with is overwhelming.

Until the next post,
Greg

Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta

The trip from Dallas to Houston took 4 hours. Met Tor and his lovely wife Anna at 3:30. They have a guest room where they let me stay. Their townhouse is very nice! We watched "There Will be Blood" on DVD, then the 3 of us met a friend of theirs in town from London at a very nice Italian restaurant where we ate outdoors. It was nice, about 70 degrees. We had good food, good wine and good conversation.

Tor, Anna and I got up, headed to Memorial Park, and we walked 3 miles in the mild morning sun. We went back to the house, cleaned up, then met Tor's mom for brunch at another great little restaurant (Named the "Hobbit Hole" I believe...). Some Astros tickets fell out of the sky into Tor's lap, so we headed to Minute Maid field where we watched the game vs. the Florida Marlins. Let's see: Twice on this trip free baseball tickets have come out of nowhere for me, and both games featured the Astros. Am I supposed to be an Astros fan?? After the game we got some very good Gelato near Rice University. Back to the house, we relaxed, watched another movie (a French film called, "Russian Dolls"), Anna's brother came over and we all had a bar-b-que dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers.

On Monday morning, I packed up and cleaned up, then followed Tor to a Starbucks near his office. We had coffee then said our goodbyes. I left Houston around 8:00 AM. I hadn't planned on it, but I ended up on the road to New Orleans. Since I had a little time, I went with the flow. I found the French Quarter, parked and walked around for 2 hours. I love old buildings and history, so I really enjoyed my walk, and was glad I decided to stop. At least I got a taste of New Orleans, an unplanned treat. Driving east on I-10 out of town, I saw some of the devastated areas of town... the scale of it all was amazing. But, I hear the city is progressing well. I drove on, stayed the night in Evergreen, Alabama. I visited 3 states I never had visited before on Monday: Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. My goal of visiting every state is getting closer!

Got up Tuesday, took advantage of the hotel's breakfast, and then hit the road. Right now, I'm in a downtown Atlanta Kinkos writing this. I'm heading off to Athens in a few minutes to visit another High School friend, Michelle and her family. I'm still having a great time, and am well (except I cut my left big toe in New Orleans... I'll tell that story later : )

Till the next post,
Greg

Dallas

Pt 7 Staffan finished work, came home, then Staffan, his girlfriend Sara and I headed out to eat a downtown Mexican restaurant. We had great food and conversation. Afterwards, we watched a movie on Staffan's big 'ol HD flatscreen.

Friday morning was lazy, then I drove to Addison to meet up with another friend, the Brother of my friend Alex (who I saw in Cuppertino), Ken. We had an Indian buffet lunch and a good conversation. Headed back to Staffan's, then roamed around downtown Dallas until I came upon Dealey Plaza. I went in to the museum and spent a couple of hours there. It was well done and very interesting. For dinner, Staffan, Sara and another couple Issac and Amy and I went to a gourmet Mexican restaurant downtown, "Iron Cactus" for dinner. I had the best Chicken fried steak I've ever had there. It's highly recommended! We all went back to Staffan's and played "Trivial Pursuit". Staffan took the prize for the night!

I hit the sack at 1:00 AM, was up at 9:00, and here I am. I wish I had more time here in Dallas, it was a great time, it was great to hang out with my Cousin Staffan. But the journey will continue soon, and I'll be off to Houston!

Till the next post,
Greg

Duststorms and Tornados

Prt. 6 Ted, Eve and I had a nice dinner at the local Outback on Monday night. Tuesday morning, Roxy and I did a final jog together in the cool morning. We got back, I cleaned up, packed up and said goodbyes to Ted and Eve (I'll see them again in Norfolk). Hit the road at 10:00 AM. The freeways were pretty much wide open. I enjoyed the desert scenery, and the temps were nice and cool, cooler than usual, about 65. I took I-10, which was closed near the New Mexico/Texas line due to big dust storms, but luckily the freeway wasn't closed long. I chugged along until 10:00 PM PDT (12:00 AM CDT), and I stopped and got a hotel room in Odessa, TX. Evidently a tornado hit fairly near by in San Angelo that night. I woke up at 5:00 AM CDT (3:00 AM PDT), and headed out to Dallas to meet my Maternal cousin Staffan for lunch. I saw the sunrise, which was nice. I hope my picture came out good!

Thank goodness for the Magellan GPS, cause I'm not sure I could have navigated all those complicated Ft. Worth/Dallas freeways to my cousin Staffan's office in North Dallas without it! Met Staffan and 3 of his co-workers at his office, then we headed out for lunch at a local Sushi restaurant at 11:30. Staffan and I grabbed coffee briefly afterwards to chat some more. Then, I headed over to his apartment in downtown Dallas to "chill". What a nice place it is! I'm a bit jealous- it's right downtown, nicely furnished with a lot of cool gadgets (the computer I'm on has a, gosh, 25" or so screen).

Most of my postings have been straight journaling, but wow, I am having the time of my life! Everything has been great from all my overly-generous friends and family to the beautiful countryside to happy coincidences.

Hope you are all well.

Until the next post,
Greg

On to Phoenix!

Pt. 4 Another lazy morning on Friday. I got another 2 mile or so jog in. It's been great jogging weather in the mornings, 60 and partly cloudy. I met up with my cousin Eric around 3:30 PM. We drove around and grabbed dinner at his favorite local buffet. We drove around some more, caught up with a couple of Eric's friends and we all went to Denny's for a snack, then later Eric and I saw the new Rolling Stones concert movie "Shine a Light" directed by Martin Scorsese (The movie wasn't that great- wait for the rental). It's always great meeting up with Eric, we always have an instant connection and great conversations.

Saturday was mellow all day long. I got some chores done, Uncle Butch and I went to dinner at a local cafe that has a nostalgic Americana theme. The food was excellent. We stayed in and had a good conversation.

Today (Sun 4/6), I got up, went for a jog, had coffee with Butch, cleaned up and packed. I said my goodbyes to Butch, and hit the road around 11:15 AM. It was pretty much a wide open Road from San Diego to the Phoenix area (Chandler). I arrived around 5:00 PM at Uncle Ted and Eve's place. Ted showed me around (it's my first visti) and we chatted. We had a very nice dinner, and here I am! I want to thank Uncle Butch once again for putting up for me for a WHOLE WEEK! He made me feel welcome the whole time, we had a lot of fun and laughs with our conversations.

Until the next post,
Greg

LA and San Diego

Part 2. I arrived in the LA area around 8:15 PM on Friday 3/28, I met up with my friend Larry I met in Seattle who now lives in Berkley, but was visiting his home town of LA. We had a good dinner and good conversation. After dinner, I headed to Inglewood, where another friend from way back in Jr. High, Scott, lives and had graciously invited me to stay. Saturday was pretty mellow, we got breakfast, cruised around town, then had a home bar-b-que dinner. On Sunday, I went with Scott to his Church in West LA, it was very similar to my Church in Seattle, so I felt right at home. Afterwards we grabbed breakfast and went to the J. Paul Getty museum near Bel Aire. It is a very impressive building, and the art was fascinating and beautiful. I recommend a visit if you ever get a chance (and it's only $8 for parking, admission is free)! Scott and I grabbed dinner, then I was off for San Diego.

I arrived at my Uncle Butch's place in San Diego at about 10:00 PM on Sun 3/30. On Monday we grabbed breakfast at a nearby Mexican restaurant which was very good. Later that day, I headed to Escondido to visit my Uncle Dick and his wife Suzie for about half a day. We went to watch Dick's Grandson's baseball game at Escondido High. Afterwards, we had dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant nearby. Dick gave me two tickets for the Padres game on Wed night. Coincidentally a very good friend from Seattle, Tim, is in San Diego for business so I called him up, and he agreed to go with me to the game. After dinner, I headed back to Butch's place in San Diego.

Tuesday 4/1 was a pretty mellow day. I surfed the internet, roamed Butch's neighborhood in the warm San Diego sun (nice!), stopped for coffee at a local coffee shop. Butch and I went out for Chinese food at lunch. Later, I met up with Tim and some people he met from his company down here in the downtown/Gaslight area for drinks and fun. And we had drinks and fun : )

Woke up late-ish (due to the drinks and fun of the previous night), Tim called and suggested we meet for breakfast. So, I headed down to pick him up at his hotel. Right now, he's getting a little work task done via computer as I write this post at a nearby Kinkos.

Wow, I'm finally caught up on the blogging! Upcoming plans include the previoulsy mentioned Padres game tonight with Tim, visiting a few more relatives here in the San Diego area, then heading out for Phoenix on the 5th or 6th.

I hope everyone is well!

Till the next post,
Greg

I'm Baaack

If you haven't heard I was locked out of the blog. Google's software thought this blog was a "spam blog". Anyhow, they have finally reviewed it and determined this blog isn't a spam blog and unlocked it. Good news.

Back to the trip!

Part 1. I got a late start on Tuesday 3/25. Headed to North Bend with my loyal Golden Retriever Midas, dropped him off at my brother's place then headed down Hwy 18 to to I-5. Drove all the way Grant's Pass in Oregon, then took the cut off over to Hwy 101 along the CA coast. It was late and I was running behind schedule, so I just pulled over near the ocean and snoozed in the car. It was clear when I pulled over- the ocean was crashing and the sky was the blackest I've ever seen. The stars were blazing. Soon after I settled in my sleeping bag, it started to rain. "This is great" I thought (though the sleep wasn't so great).

I arrived at the home of my good friend Alex in Cuppertino around 11:00 AM on Wednesday (The Magellan GPS unit proved it's worth getting me there!). We had lunch, and a great conversation. Dinner with Alex and family that evening. Thursday morning, Alex and family left for vacation, and I was off for lunch with another old friend from Jr. High and High School, Ed. I hadn't seen Ed in at least 12 years, we did a lot of catching up. I then headed up to Berkley and roamed around campus. Then caught up with another old friend from HS, Jim at his house in Oakland. Jim and I got back in touch after, ahem, 25 years via Facebook. Jim, his wife Pam and I went out to gourmet Mexican restaurant in Oakland for dinner. They put me up for the night in their cute guest house in the back. On Friday morning Jim made breakfast and coffee which we enjoyed leisurely. Hit the road for San Francisco at 9:00 or so. I drove around SF a little, then stopped near the Golden Gate, and walked along the shore for a couple hours. Then, met Jim downtown for lunch. At 1:30 PM, I was on the road again.

Around the US Road Trip!

In November 2007, my sister jumped in her car and drove to Illinois to visit a relative at Thanksgiving (contrary to her husband's advice). I thought that was gutsy, and it sounded fun. So, I was inspired. Since then, I've planned to jump in my car and do a similar trip, visiting friends and family along the way. I don't have a lot of obligations, so I have the time. I'm fairly frugal so I have the resources. So, I'm gonna do it!

Today is my last day at work, a place I've enjoyed and will miss. Yesterday, I had an amazing going away party, complete with a bunch of great road-travel related gifts, including a GPS! Note to co-workers: Thanks to all of you, it was a humbling experience, I will miss you, but I will be in touch : )

I have no new job lined up, and I'm "Jumping off the high dive" to a bit of a hazy (but hopefully a bit adventerous) future.

I plan on heading out on Tuesday 3/25/08 or possibly Wednesday 3/26. I think I'll be on the road 5 to 7 weeks. I'll be documenting the trip here as time allows. Stay tuned!

-Greg