HOME SWEET HOME

We were getting so excited about the prospect of going home that Dave decided to call Delta to see if we could get on an earlier flight (our original plans had us landing at 11:30 pm).  We were told there were spots on early morning flights, we just needed to show up at the airport early.  Some of you may know that Dave likes to be early anyway, so that meant we hardly slept Friday night.  We got up early to get out of the hotel and turn in the rental car.  We bid our Dodge Nitro, that we named Midnight, goodbye while it was still dark out and took the shuttle to the airport.  You may be curious to find out what ever happened to the wine that we couldn't ship from L.A.?  Well, we packaged it up ourselves into 2 boxes, and we decided to check the boxes as baggage on the plane.  By the time we got to the head of the line at the airport (sorry, Jenn, but that airport was crazy!) and spoke to the Delta employee about changing flights, we had been closed out of the 6:30 am flight.  But we made it onto the 7:45 am flight and checked our boxes of wine for only $25 each!

The flights were easy, though from San Diego to Atlanta was a little long.  We were so happy to touch down in south Florida and feel the heat and humidity as we deplaned.  And when we walked into our apartment after the day traveling, we were thrilled to see our 2 small black kittens who rubbed and snuggled and checked out our luggage, and then fell into a nap together on the armchair!

SAN DIEGO

We awoke Thursday morning, hit the hotel gym for a quick work-out, and were ready to set out for San Diego and the last leg of our trip, but our luck changed quickly.  The first unhappy incident occurred when our rental car got pulled up to the front of the hotel in L.A. (valet only at the hotel we stayed at), and a bottle of our newly purchased Sonoma wine fell out of the rear passenger seat, cracking on the driveway in front of the hotel.  This happened because the valet driver 'peeled wheel' when pulling the car up thereby knocking the box of wine on its side, allowing the bottle to slide out of the box when the door was opened.  Very sad.  We then decided it was time to send the wine home, and avoid any other problems with it.  BUT, we quickly learned that one cannot ship wine without a license.  Somehow all the wineries in Sonoma neglected to mention this important detail to us.  Undeterred, we ate something (at possibly the most poorly managed Panera Bread in existence; luck was really not on our side), and got on the road to San Diego.

That's when the truly unthinkable occurred: we ran into the FIRST traffic of the whole entire trip!  Instead of taking just over 2 hours as anticipated, our drive to San Diego took 5 hours.  Needless to say, we were not pleased.  All our grand plans for the afternoon in San Diego were thwarted.  We fortunately recovered with a great dinner with Amy's friend, Jenn, at En Fuego in Del Mar, with great margaritas and Mexican food, including fish tacos for Amy (a major goal

 for San Diego)!

We got up early Friday morning in order to head to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego to

 attend a boot camp graduation and relive a bit of Dave's history.  We made it onto the base easily and walked around taking in the base and the marines doing drills.  But we were

 confused to see that the parade deck was not set up as usual for graduation and there were very few visitors.  We inquired at the base museum and were told this was the first Friday morning in some time with no graduation.  (Just our luck!)  However, we did get to enjoy the museum, which was showing a detailed movie of the boot camp experience, and walked through the store where Amy got a t-shirt and sticker for her car.

Our next stop on Friday was Torrey Pines golf course.  After the hole in one at Pebble Beach, how could Dave get this far and not try to golf at Torrey Pines?

When we arrived,

we were told there was at least a 2 hour wait for a single to walk onto the course.  So we had a nice lunch at the Lodge, and then Dave hit the driving range.  Just as we were about to throw in the towel and leave for another adventure (possibly the zoo), Dave's name was called.  Amy decided to finally grace Dave with her presence on the golf course for the first time during the trip, so we headed down together to

 the first hole.  The views from the course were spectacular, as the edge of the course was cliffs down to a beach, and Amy took some great wildlife photos while on the course.

Our last night of the trip, we had another great dinner with Jenn.  This time we went to Wine

 Steals, a wine store with a restaurant, where one can try a huge variety of wines very

 reasonably and enjoy cheese, fruit, pizzas, and more.

Sadly we had to finish dinner to head back to the hotel and pack up.

A DAY AT THE BEACH

We departed our hotel in Marina Del Rey on foot this morning to find somewhere on Venice Beach to grab a bite to eat for breakfast. After a hearty meal, we made a command decision to walk Venice Beach in its entirety en route to Santa Monica.

Venice Beach was an interesting place that reminded us a lot of South Beach in Miami. There were quite a few interesting characters and sites to be seen along the way. When we got to Santa Monica, we wandered up and down a huge historic pier with a ferris wheel, roller coaster, and "trapeze training school" that reminded Amy of her and Valerie's participation on trapezes when on vacation in middle school.

After watching them for a while, we decided it was time for Amy to overcome her new-found fear of horses; if you have any questions please reference our blog post from two days ago and then watch the video clip below. Bottom line, as you'll see...Amy made it through the event with flying colors and I think we found the exact type of horse she'll be riding from here on out.

Following our horse ride on the pier, we walked back east to meet Amy's friend Radikha, her husband Fred, and their son Ethan who live in L.A.; in fact, they just returned earlier this week from a long trip to Italy that they went on directly from our wedding. We met them at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica (similar to Lincoln Road in South Beach) and spent a couple of hours conversing over crepes and exchanging stories of our recent adventures. We could have chatted for many more hours but had to get on our way back to Marina Del Rey as there was another engagement with one of David's former coworkers Scott, his wife Sara, and their lovely daughters Abby and Maddie (who also live in L.A.).

After a great meal with the Scott/Sara clan at the Second City Bistro (http://www.secondcitybistro.com/) with a lot of good laughs, we headed back to our hotel in Marina Del Rey for our last night in the greater L.A. area before heading two hours south to San Diego. Its our shortest drive of the trip and our last stop along the Pacific Coast before heading home on Saturday. Unfortunately, we ended the night abruptly because of concerns with parking allowances along the street in El Segundo, where the restaraunt was located, which made us forget to take a picture with the family for inclusion in the blog. We're counting on Scott to send us one of his family so we can add it later.

The final two days should be a solid whirlwind through San Diego, but we've got some great events planned and a few more blog postings to go.

Good night!

HOLE IN ONE ON NUMBER 7 AT PEBBLE BEACH

First of all, Amy's bruises are definitely emerging from her horse riding incident. Sore but relatively unscathed, she had a sea salt scrub at the Pebble Beach Spa today after an hour of cardio at the Spanish Bay gym. Quite the motivator. Unfortunately, we haven't heard about the horse but are concerned they aren't properly icing the sensitive areas suffered during yesterday's equestrian stop, drop, and roll incident; in the future Amy will better attempt to keep her right leg from under the horse so as not to wound it when it decides to flop on its side. To close the saga, for now its been determined that Amy is not a horse personn and likely will NEVER again get back on a horse.


Before we get into the other event from today, our dinner at Roy's was everything we hoped for; and, so Karen and David know, we did order the molten chocolate desert when we sat down and truly enjoyed it after our meal.


On to another matter; the title of this entry spells it out. David reported for a 0730 tee time at the Pebble Beach course today; it will host the US Open for the 5th time in 2010. On the 7th hole his caddy Mike handed him his 56-degree wedge and said, "this one's all about feel." David listened, made a solid easy swing; one bounce, two bounce three bounce, a two-foot roll with a slight slide to the left and the ball disappeared. David made his first ever hole in one on the 7th hole at Pebble Beach; the picture on the right was taken by Mike's cell phone and the picture below (easier to read if you click on it and pull it up full screen) is the course diagram.


With eight witnesses, four documented by Pebble Beach's Head PGA Professional (one of whom was David's playing partner--Steve--a PGA club professional in Punta Gorda), it was undeniable why David was glowing for the rest of the day. He even smiled while driving six hours, ending up in L.A. traffic to our new lodging at Marina del Rey.


We've got the ball he hit on the 7th hole safely segregated from the others in his bag, and he's now armed with a Pebble Beach flag (signed, dated, and annotated by the head club pro), a certificate from Pebble Beach, and pictures promised by Steve's wife, Gayle, and others who were snapping away as he returned to the club house after the round to a bit of a scene with people we didn't even know congratulating him and walking up and asking to take pictures, etc. At the end of the day, it wasn't his best round of golf but he doesn't care...The one hole, at Pebble Beach, on his honeymoon, for a round Amy scheduled makes it the perfect moment and one he is still smiling about.


Now, we are situated in Marina del Rey for a couple of nights before heading to San Diego to finish our trip. Its unfortunate we're nearing the end, but it's been a great run from Seattle to here, and there will undoubtedly be more through Saturday evening's return to Coral Gables.

GET BACK ON THE HORSE

The accomodations here at Pebble Beach have exceeded all expectations. Topping it all off so far was the cookie skillet topped with an ice cream sundae we had at the restaraunt "Sticks" (http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?pageName=Restaurants_Sticks).

This morning we started out the day going different directions. One of us got up and headed out for an early morning round at The Links on Spanish Bay and the other slept in for a couple extra hours and rolled out for a massage at The Lodge. We thought we would let you all decide who did what.

As the other rounds have been, the golf was amazing with most of the holes playing along the Spanish Bay or within view of it. The massage was described with one word, "Great."

Following our time apart, we rallied back at the room relaxed and ready for the rest of the day. After a quick lunch at the Gallery Cafe (http://www.pebblebeach.com/page.asp?pageName=Restaurants_Gallery_Cafe), where we were able to see a few groups tee off on the first hole at Pebble Beach, we headed over to the Equestrian Stables.

Yep, it was time for us to go on a private trail ride together on our two horses; Amy's was named Seven and David's was named Stetson while our guide's horse was named Cheyenne. The views from the trails were amazing as we wandered our way through the forests and hills parelliling Cypress Point Golf Course. In fact, we actually had to wait several times for tee shots and approach shots as we wandered on horseback through Spyglass Golf Course.

And then it happened. As we were climbing a trail that would provide us a beautiful view of the 17-mile drive's "Seal Rock" and "Bird Rock" Amy's horse decided it was time to stop, drop, and roll. Unfortunately, with Amy on its back! After a frantic few moments that consisted of Amy's attempt to extract her leg from a couple of stirrups--so the thousand pound animal wouldn't crush her as it flailed with its legs in the air--and David's horse naying and bucking as a result of Seven's erratic behavior...The situation calmed and Amy was standing looking like a confused and wounded kitten who had just had her right paw stepped on.

After a few more tense moments our guide offered her horse to Amy so for the rest of the ride as we still had the majority of the ride ahead of us. **Viewing recommendation, see if you can note in the pictures how Amy is on two different horses.**

After the ride we returned to our room where Dr. David performed a delicate procedure of gathering ice and adroitly applying it. Similar to Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open...Amy rallied and is ready to drive on to dinner at Roy's (we have a reservation at 8 pm).

We're both starting to sense the end of our fun is approaching as we enter the last week of our journey and know we are heading to Marina del Rey tomorrow.

MIKE THE HERO AND DEBI THE NURTURER

First and foremost...Our post this evening is in honor of our good friend Mr. Buffy and the man who rescued him/woman that will be charged with nursing him back to health. Tonight the exhausted trio deserve their own post following a near drowning incident that occured today.

At this time, details are limited but following our departure from our good friends Mike and Debi's weekend home in Healdsburg--where we had a BLAST--Mr. Buffy (see picture of the trio to the right) fell into their swimming pool. Mr. Buffy, not a swimmer but rather a sinker, fell into the pool that was covered with a solar cover.

Not sure how long Mr. Buffy was struggling, but word on the street is that Debi heard Mike yell, "BUFFY," and then a splash. Mike leapt into the pool to save their warrior guard dog. Debi, not sure what was up, ran to the back porch and found Mike struggling in the pool cover in an effort to rescue Mr. Buffy. This is where our information ends but based on the voicemail we received from Debi we understand that all are well but a little shaken up.

Mr. Buffy is important to us all as he wandered the hills of Sonoma with us for the past three days as we enjoyed spectacular wine tastings; more often than not Mr. Buffy joined us in the actual wineries (where he enjoyed the cold stone floors as we sipped and critiqued some outstanding wines). In fact, he was guarding our flank and growling other dogs away while we sampled vino at the Hartford Family Winery, which we decided was our favorite in Sonoma (http://www.hartfordwines.com/).

After a great meal last night at Cyrus (http://www.cyrusrestaurant.com/) in downtown Healdsburg (Debi and Mike took us for our wedding present that was over the top good) our schedule dictated that we get on the road to the Monterey Peninsula and our accomodations at Pebble Beach. We are staying at Pebble Beach's (http://www.pebblebeach.com/) Inn at Spanish Bay and as nice as it is, we miss sharing good time with our friends and remain worried about Mr. Buffy until we can talk to Debi and Mike and hear he is o.k.

Wanted to close this out by telling Karen and David that have reservations at the Inn at Spanish Bay's "Roy's" for tomorrow night. Thought you would be stoked. :)

We'll blog more tomorrow and hope all are doing well...

P.S. Debi and Mike: 1. This is a great picture of you guys, 2. We wanted to say one more time how great it was to see you both again and how much we really appreciated you opening up both of your homes and carting us around wine country, 3. We can't wait until its time to surf in Costa Rica this December and will be exploring the Montauk option, and 4. NICE STATION WAGON! Please give Mr. Buffy a scratch behind the ears from us both.

WINE TASTING EXTRAVAGANZA

Wow... So many good wines and so little time. After spending an awesome morning relaxing in Healdsburg and wandering around the town center (felt a bit like the West Coast version of the Hamptons) we got on the road for our first wine tasting at Twomey Winery. It was a lot of fun tasting so many different wines and having them explained to us. An example of our new found knowledge: Who would have known that in dry years the Pinot Noirs are considered superior to wet years? By the time we were done for the day had five wineries under our belt and a new appreciation for Pinot Noirs and Zinfandels. Dave's favorite was Donatiello and Amy liked them all. At the end of the day we had made a few purchases that we're going to ship home from here. Later in the evening, after a nice dip in the pool and a great meal put on by the boys (steak/salmon on the grill, squash/zucchini, sweet potatoes, eggplant), we lounged on some chairs in the backyard and made smores over Mike and Debi's amazing firepit. Can't wait to repeat today's events tomorrow at some different wineries!

REST AND RECHARGE

All day Thursday, I was sure it was Sunday. We slept late (or at least Amy slept late) in Oakland, and spent the morning doing some laundry--thank goodness, since Dave's clothes were starting to get stinky! We also got to lounge around and watch the first day of the British open while doing laundry, and even took a little nap in front of the TV. When we finally got motivated, we ventured out into downtown Oakland and found a fun burrito joint for lunch. We also found a gym and were able to spend a couple of hours slinging some weights and using the elliptical machines. Nice way to knock the cob webs off the old joints. Following the workout we rallied at Mike and Debi's place, split into a boy's car and girl's car, and struck out for wine country (Healdsburg, Sonoma County). It took us about an hour and a half to get here but when we did we were stoked! Great home, quiet location and awesome deck with a pool. Looking forward to a lot of fun from this point as we use it as a base of operations to conduct wine tasting.

PASATIEMPO

Sorry for the long delay between posts. We've been busy having a great time in San Francisco and Sonoma with our friends Debi and Mike. Just wanted to catch everyone up on what's been happening.

Wednesday we left San Fran and drove about an hour south to Santa Cruz, so that Dave could golf at Pasatiempo, an Allister Mackenzie course (he just couldn't be so close to the course and not give it a go). Well, apparently, it was spectacular! Other quotes are that it was "the closest I'll ever get to playing Augusta" and "well worth the drive slightly out of our way." Amy spent the day in the town of Santa Cruz, checking out the shops in the downtown area, and also down at the beach. The area by the beach actually has a long pier into the water as well as a large 'boardwalk' area with roller coasters and an arcade.

After the golf, we headed back into San Fran where we met up with Debi and Mike (who we met surfing last December in Costa Rica) for a lovely, delicious dinner of vietnamese food at The Slanted Door in the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco. We then went back to Deb and Mike's house in Oakland to stay the night.

WE LOVE SAN FRAN

We had a fantastic time in San Francisco yesterday! We started our day by taking the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) in from our hotel down to Embarcadero station near the water. We walked around the Ferry Building, recently restored, and now adorable with little restaurants, cafes, fresh fruit stands, and shops. A Mexican restaurant called Mijita was where we enjoyed an early, delicious lunch. We also saw a lot of professionals on their lunch breaks eating at all the establishments and thought how much fun it would be to work in a building near the Ferry Building in San Fran.

We walked from there along the water, hoping to be able to go to Alcatraz. Sadly when we got to the peir for ferrys and tours of Alcatraz, we were told they are sold out until next Monday! (Who knew you had to plan so far in advance for that? NB If any of you visit San Fran in the future and want to see Alcatraz, but tickets in advance.) Undeterred we continued walking down to Fisherman's Wharf, a very touristy area of restuarants and shops on the water, but with a great view of Alcatraz from the back dock.

We were also excited to find a group of sea lions sunning themselves on the side docks of Fisherman's Wharf! We stopped to watch them for a while. Signs posted near the sea lions explain that they arrived shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake to the protected area with plentiful herring, and the city decided to partner with the Marine Mammal Center to protect the animals here rather than try to turn them away.

Our next stop was at the USS Pampanito, a WWII submarine preserved as a national historic landmark. Turns out Amy would not make a good marine or navy sailor, because as soon as she got below deck in the confined spaces with the waves rocking, she felt completely sick to her stomach!

Following the Pampanito incident, we struck out for a long walk through the hills of San Francisco towards the Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). We blazed a primary trail through China Town and after about an hour and a half walk arrived at the SFMOMA and went in enthused to see the work of Frida Khalo. Her work was good but...Dave's convinced of a couple of things: 1. Valerie's got more talent and 2. In the 21st century Frida would be medicated and potentially in a mental institution. On a side note, we were also lucky enough to find the work of Lee Miller on display; great photojournalism from a women well ahead of her time.

We left the SFMOMA around 4:45 in an effort to meet Amy's cousins Mike and Karen at the restaurant Delfina for an early dinner at 5:30. What we found, and another great tidbit of information for those of you traveling to San Francisco in the future, is that taxi's are not as prolific as in New York City. In fact, much to Dave's chagrin and completely counter to his military ethos, we arrived at dinner 45 minutes late after power walking from one end of the city to the other because no cabs were in site! Mike and Karen held down the fort and when we arrived they quickly ordered up some appetizers and drinks to replenish the energy stores we depleted walking the hills for the second time in the same day.

Dinner was amazing and not wanting our time with Mike and Karen to end so quickly we decided to take the "Karen Tour" of the surrounding area where we dipped into a local bar and had a couple of after dinner drinks. After several more laughs it was unfortunately time for us to depart and get back on the BART towards our hotel.

All said and done, we had a great day in San Francisco and really enjoyed spending some time with Mike and Karen.

SAN FRANCISCO, HERE WE COME

We left the Albion River Inn and the foghorn behind shortly after breakfast, and turned onto Highway 128 into Anderson Valley. Our first stop (circa 10:15 am) was at Handley Vineyards where we promptly toasted to putting the dark times behind us! It is interesting to taste wine so early in the day. But we did visit 2 lovely vineyards and picked out a winning bottle of wine for the correct answer to our Tsunami question, provided by John Haddad (who’s also the best cat sitter ever!). The Navarro winery (picture to the right) was probably our favorite. Although, we know we’ve got many more to come when we hit Sonoma for a few days starting this coming Thursday evening.

We continued down the road to San Francisco, and filmed our crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge into the “City by the Bay”—click on the link to see us crossing the bridge. We ended up a nice Westin, where we’ll probably spend 2 nights, and promptly fell into bed to recover from the lack of sleep last night, due to the foghorn incident (I know, I know, time to let it go).

After a nice nap and much needed workout to knock out some of the cob webs, we headed out for Pacifica, California (where our friends Debi and Mike--who we will be spending Wednesday through Sunday with in Oakland and Healdsburg—regularly head to catch some waves) for some dinner at La Playa Taqueria. Unfortunately, we arrived at Pacifica to find that our restaurant of choice was CLOSED on Mondays! We’re starting to get concerned about all dinner plans from here to the end of our trip (reference our last posting about the Albion Inn). J All that said, we found a restaurant in Pacifica that was just fine and proceeded to have a nice meal with a lot of laughs about the previous day’s events.

Now, we’ve got nothing but tomorrow ahead of us…We’re set for a great day exploring San Francisco and dinner with Amy’s cousins Mike and Karen who live in the bay area.

P.S. Shad, got to give you a BIG thanks for the awesome California CDs you put together for us. They’re spectacular and have also served to carry us through the “dead radio zones” surrounding much of our time on the coast.

THE DARK TIMES

This entry deserves its own post…Our 44-mile drive (refer to previous post) turned into a 2.5 hour stomach curling drive up and down narrow and winding roads that transformed both the passenger and driver into anxious/squeamish travelers. After finally arriving at the Albion River Inn—exhausted, tense, and ravenous—we found the inn’s kitchen closed at 8:30 PM, 30-minutes prior to our arrival at the restaurant door. Still needing to grab a bite and finding ourselves in the middle of nowhere-California Coast, we were lucky enough to have the Albion Inn Restaurant’s staff call an establishment named “Pattersons Pub” in Mendecino, a town about 20-minutes back on the road we came in on, to ensure they were still serving dinner. After confirming the kitchen was still open, the hostess sketched out a map to Pattersons for us and, although weary, we hopped in the vehicle with the hopes of recharging over a nice meal.

Then it happened…We got to Pattersons and found it was a bar. Not a pub…A BAR. We still paused for a second inside the doorway to scan for a table as the hostess at the Albion River Inn raved about the food. Unfortunately, we found no tables available and decided to skip the two bar stools next to the Jagermeister machine because we really didn’t want to keep someone from sitting directly next to the speakers that were blasting music throughout the establishment for the patrons.

After leaving Pattersons we did a quick scan of our surroundings and noted there wasn’t an open eatery to be found, prompting one of us to say, “Where in the hell are we?” (Please use internal voice inflection when reading this passage.) The comment led us to find a small local grocery store and purchase some wheat thins, cheese, and deli turkey slices; we then returned to our quarters and tried our best to ignore the fog horn that we determined blasts out off the coast every 30-seconds (literally) as we ate our crackers and cheese with our fingers, sitting on the floor in front of the fire that Dave had built in our in-room fireplace (yes, we did need to light a fire in the middle of July).

Well, this morning we determined that the fog horn, in fact, goes off all night and all day at 30-second intervals; therefore, we’ve determined that it is time to cut this visit short. We’re going to eat breakfast, terminate our stay a day early and head on to San Francisco. (We really tried to film the fog horn for you but decided that it didn't have the same impact on film as in real life; trust us, it was bad!)

CALIFORNIA OR BUST

After a religious like experience in Bandon Dunes (one of a kind golf on the cliffs of the Pacific Coast, beautiful scenery/numerous hiking trails through the Dunes, great lodging and food) we struck out for NORCAL (aka, Northern California for those of us on the East Coast).
A noted difference in vegetation/culture was almost immediate as we crossed the border; a phenomenon we also noticed when crossing over from Washington to Oregon.

The drive through Redwood National Park was amazing and we finally were able to put our eyes on something we’ve been concerned about since Olympic National Park…Dangerous Elk! Amy--such a brave young lady--decided to document the experience and use her knowledge of Elk to project a non-aggressive posture, which allowed a one of a kind viewing experience.

As we continued down the road with towering redwood trees on either side of us we were lured in to the world famous and “original” drive through tree. For the mere price of $5.00 one is able to drive a vehicle through a living giant redwood. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity! OK, we actually might have splurged on the drive through tree because we were a tad bit giddy; think about it this way, we were on the on the road for 5.5 hours and about to get on what we thought was the final 44-mile stretch to the Albion River Inn (http://www.albionriverinn.com/) where we were scheduled to spend a couple of nights. Regardless, check out the attached video to see our elk experience and to join us in the wonder of driving through a tree.



After driving through the tree we got back on US Highway-1 for what we thought was a short jaunt to our stopping point for the night and a much looked forward to dinner…

QUICK UPDATE FROM BANDON DUNES

Just finished dinner at McKee’s Pub. We split the surf and turf special. It was a wonderful meal and an equally solid bottle of wine from a local Oregon vineyard. To answer your questions, Dad, the food has been great and the prices are pretty comparable to Miami. Some of the places in small towns are a little pricey due to the tourist mark-up, but nothing outrageous.

If you’re interested, click the video link next to this to see our accommodations here in Bandon Dunes. Blog to you tomorrow…Good night!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Back on the road today, Saturday, and heading toward Bandon, Oregon to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/) —Dave is SO EXCITED! We said good-bye to the Gilbert Inn after a scrumptious homemade breakfast of quiche and coffee cake. The views of the Oregon coast line are amazing on this stretch of 101 (check out this pic at Neahkahnie), and the towns are adorable with local art shops and cafes. It seems the people in this part of the country take their coffee very seriously. There are drive-through espresso shacks about every 2 blocks with names like ‘The Human Bean!’

So… At noon we arrived at the Rogue Brewery (http://www.rogue.com/brewery.html) in Newport, Oregon to have lunch with our good friend Erik’s parents, Darlene and Jim Leklem, who live about an hour’s drive east. It was a great break to the drive and the conversation, as usual, was splendid! On a side note, the beer was out of this world. Unfortunately, after what seemed like a much too short hour and a half chatting/laughing with the Leklem’s, it was time for us to get on the road for the final run down 101 to Bandon. Fortunately, we were armed with some great travel literature provided by Darlene and Jim, who also suggested some cool locations to pull into along the route.

Now we’ve arrived at Bandon Dunes and we’re off to explore!

GREETINGS FROM SEASIDE, OREGON

After a delicious breakfast at the Misty Valley Inn in Forks, WA (Moroccan omelet for Dave, apple soufflé for me), we got on the road pretty quickly.

Our first stop of the day was Hoh Rain Forest, part of the Olympic National park for a short hike partway along the banks of the Hoh River.

We then got back on US 101 heading south but stopped again at Ruby Beach. I’m still amazed at how different the beaches are compared to those in Florida.

Our drive today also took us through the Quinault reservation and the booming metropolises of Hoquiam and Aberdeen, where we stopped for lunch at a local pizza joint. We crossed from Washington into Oregon mid-afternoon by means of a long suspension bridge, and then ended up at the Gilbert Inn Bed and Breakfast in Seaside, OR, http://www.gilbertinn.com/, which is the restored home from 1892 of the mayor of Seaside. Seaside’s claim to fame is the endpoint of Lewis and Clark’s trail, where the explorers turned around before heading back east (see picture for the famous roundabout). Seaside has a 1.5 mile promenade stretching along the beach, and the center of town has a carnival feel, with arcades, go-carts, and salt water taffy.

On a separate note, I want to give props to the folks on the Northern Pacific Coast for sincerely considering the risk of Tsunami’s and taking the safety of their citizens so seriously. Everywhere we look, we see signs about Tsunami danger zones and evacuation routes. Which leads us to ask: when was the last time a Tsunami hit the Washington/Oregon coast? Dave says there’s a bottle of local wine for whoever can provide the first correct answer!

THE WILD TOWN OF FORKS, WA

Its 0600 and we're waking up after a late night on the town in Forks, WA; it entailed eating dinner at one of three restaraunts the town has to offer and driving to the beach to watch the sun go down. Yep, we're out of control and don't know how to handle ourselves in big city! ;)

Flashing back though, yesterday was quite some day. After getting our fill of Seattle's Pikes Place Market and tipping back a couple cups of coffee (Allen, in response to your question, black for me and latte w/ skim for Amy) at the first Starbucks ever, we drove down to the docks and pulled onto a ferry to cross Puget Sound. Following the crossing we drove off the boat and headed north until we hit highway 101. This was a momentus occassion for us as we'll be on this road more or less for the rest of the trip until we hit San Diego.

About halfway through our trip and after the megametropolis of Sequim--where thanks to Amy's charm we were lucky enough to talk our way into a lunch table at the world renowned "Gwennies"--we made it to the road that would take us up Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Forest. It was/is something else. Breathtaking vistas and a drive with no guardrails that makes you grip the steering wheel a bit tighter on the way up (and down as it turns out). (http://www.nps.gov/olym/)

After making it to the bottom we continued our trek west to our predesignated waypoint at the Misty Valley Inn Bed and Breakfast (http://www.mistyvalleyinn.com/). After checking in and spending about half an hour with the owner/operators we headed into town for a bite to eat and to find our way to the Pacific Ocean to watch a sunset. It was a hike to get to the beach and we were both beat by the time we got there (still feeling the effects of the three hour time difference) but... When we got to the water it was a beautiful rugged coast.

Now, its time to sign off and get moving again. Hopefully when we add an entry tomorrow morning we'll have some great stories about the Hoh Rain Forest (our planned activity for this morning after breakfast) and then we've got nothing but forward movement to Seaside, Oregon planned so... We'll see what the day has in store for us as we begin our movement out of Washington. BYE FOR NOW!!!

P.S. Justine, to respond to your blog comment... I think the nearest airport is the Quillayute Airport. Not sure of the flight schedules but they did say in 2002 they cleared MANY of the visual and physical obstructions so it should be good to go. The following link gets you to the website: http://www.forkswashington.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=9. Just let us know when you're arrive and we'll wait in the cell phone staging area until you give us a ring and we can swing by to pick you up.

WE MADE IT TO SEATTLE

Well, yesterday we got on the road for what we expect will be an amazing honeymoon. We started out wearing our eharmony shirts for good luck and in the hopes that we'd find our way to first-class for free! Unfortunately, all flights were overbooked (Delta) so we felt lucky just to have a couple of seats. If you want to see us as we depart, we're going to try our first video clip insert right now.

Yesterday in the Atlanta airport we were able to grab a quick tuna wrap from Au Bon Pain; Amy said she and Val used to enjoy them on their trips home from college so much that Marla used to replicate them at home.

We arrived in Seattle early this morning--about 0200 (EST)--after a long day of travel. Although its only 0600 here right now our body clocks are telling us its 0900 and time to get moving--not to mention time to get something to eat.

That is about it for now! We're going to close up shop here, grab some breakfast and head to the Continental United States' most NW point in our spectacular rental car; we were issued a Dodge Nitro.

We're got to get underway and grab a coffee at the Pikes Place Market Starbucks, which as it turns out is the first Starbucks ever. Hope everyone's having a great Thursday morning!

We're packed up... Nothing left to do but wait for the cab tomorrow morning. Still beat from the wedding but ready to recharge on the Pacific Coast Highway--and dodge some fires. :)

Getting ready to go

We're in travel preparation mode. Closing up shop, packing, ensuring reservations are set and checking the weather. Many more posts to come... Can't wait to fly out!