Seattle to Los Angeles 2009
Sep. 24th, 2009 05:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furtechI am posting this installment of the Seattle Roadtrip out of chronological order while the trip home is fresh in my mind. Here's the full Flickr set.
We headed out of Seattle at the crack of noon. Tracy had to catch a flight on Thursday, so we needed to be efficient in our travels south. The plan was to drive straight down to Weed, CA and get some sleep before continuing on to Los Angeles. Tracy got one last breakfast at Wild Wheat.
I was much less stressed on the trip down: I don't enjoy long-distance driving. I tend to deal with this by going faster and making the trip shorter, but I also hate getting tickets. Then I discovered that Tracy -likes- to roadtrip! She in fact drove about 95% of the trip down, much to my happiness: I could snooze, look at the scenery, take pictures of dogs and stuff . Bliss.
Tracy wanted to see a little more scenery on the way down so we stopped at a small Oregon waterfall (which I forget the name of...Tracy?). The spot was tiny: a little dirt parking lot across from the trail head. There was a little drinking fountain/spring that had cool, very tasty water (I'm used to the springs in San Jose that have a LOT of sulfur in them). The dogs were very happy to get a break to run and, eventually, to splash about in the water.
The waterfall destination was a beautiful grotto with a tiny stream of water cascading over a basalt cliff. There was even a grotto under the falls (backside of water!) that you could walk under. R0ndo loved the small stream of water and did his best to bite it into submission. He lost, but enjoyed himself.
We made good time through Oregon and stopped for dinner at the Wild Goose Cafe and Bar in Ashland. As Tracy noted, the place looks like a Denny's but the food is *wonderful*! Lots of dog art on the walls, too. A short time later we rolled into Weed and Tracy died as soon as she found the bed at the luxurious Motel 6. She didn't even notice the evening dog-romp. The next morning was breakfast at the Hi-Lo Cafe: linguisa sausage and oatmeal! Plus, souvenirs from the storied city of Weed, CA.
Near Shasta I saw some huge granite pinnacles from the highway, and a State park called, "Castle Crags". Very nice stop: a little hike up to the vista point, but the view is worth it, with a beautiful view of Mt. Shasta and a spectacular panorama of the Castle Crags-- granite-topped mountains above a riparian forest. Looks like a fantastic place to camp and take day hikes from. Take careful precautions with your food, though: there are many warnings (including from the ranger at the gate) about all the bears in the area. Even the garbage cans are built like tanks.
Kids and dogs...
I still think that Oregon and Washington have the most pleasant rest stops in the US. They are full of trees and grass and free coffee and snacks. While California's rest stops aren't nearly as bad as in some states, they're pretty minimal and sucky.
The rest of the trip was uneventful but pleasant: we discovered that the drive from Seattle to Los Angeles is perfect for listening to J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". We started shortly after we left Seattle and got the credits in Los Angeles!
I really enjoyed myself on this trip. Having my car in Seattle was both neat and convenient. As will be noted later, the Prius *loves* the Northwest (and Tracy): my mileage up there was easily 7mpg higher than in L.A. Part of this is Tracy drives about 15mph slower than I; part of this is that the northwest is a lot cooler than southern California (temperature is a killer for batteries). After owning the Prius for almost three years, this was the first time I ever saw the battery-bar completely full !
My two favorite shots from the trip down:
I hated getting out of the car when I got home: the Santa Annas were in blowing at full force and the air was extremely hot and dry (even at 10pm). There was smoke in the air (just like it was when I left for Seattle). I love being home-- but I wish home were about a thousand miles north.
We headed out of Seattle at the crack of noon. Tracy had to catch a flight on Thursday, so we needed to be efficient in our travels south. The plan was to drive straight down to Weed, CA and get some sleep before continuing on to Los Angeles. Tracy got one last breakfast at Wild Wheat.
I was much less stressed on the trip down: I don't enjoy long-distance driving. I tend to deal with this by going faster and making the trip shorter, but I also hate getting tickets. Then I discovered that Tracy -likes- to roadtrip! She in fact drove about 95% of the trip down, much to my happiness: I could snooze, look at the scenery, take pictures of dogs and stuff . Bliss.
Tracy wanted to see a little more scenery on the way down so we stopped at a small Oregon waterfall (which I forget the name of...Tracy?). The spot was tiny: a little dirt parking lot across from the trail head. There was a little drinking fountain/spring that had cool, very tasty water (I'm used to the springs in San Jose that have a LOT of sulfur in them). The dogs were very happy to get a break to run and, eventually, to splash about in the water.
The waterfall destination was a beautiful grotto with a tiny stream of water cascading over a basalt cliff. There was even a grotto under the falls (backside of water!) that you could walk under. R0ndo loved the small stream of water and did his best to bite it into submission. He lost, but enjoyed himself.
We made good time through Oregon and stopped for dinner at the Wild Goose Cafe and Bar in Ashland. As Tracy noted, the place looks like a Denny's but the food is *wonderful*! Lots of dog art on the walls, too. A short time later we rolled into Weed and Tracy died as soon as she found the bed at the luxurious Motel 6. She didn't even notice the evening dog-romp. The next morning was breakfast at the Hi-Lo Cafe: linguisa sausage and oatmeal! Plus, souvenirs from the storied city of Weed, CA.
Near Shasta I saw some huge granite pinnacles from the highway, and a State park called, "Castle Crags". Very nice stop: a little hike up to the vista point, but the view is worth it, with a beautiful view of Mt. Shasta and a spectacular panorama of the Castle Crags-- granite-topped mountains above a riparian forest. Looks like a fantastic place to camp and take day hikes from. Take careful precautions with your food, though: there are many warnings (including from the ranger at the gate) about all the bears in the area. Even the garbage cans are built like tanks.
Kids and dogs...
I still think that Oregon and Washington have the most pleasant rest stops in the US. They are full of trees and grass and free coffee and snacks. While California's rest stops aren't nearly as bad as in some states, they're pretty minimal and sucky.
The rest of the trip was uneventful but pleasant: we discovered that the drive from Seattle to Los Angeles is perfect for listening to J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". We started shortly after we left Seattle and got the credits in Los Angeles!
I really enjoyed myself on this trip. Having my car in Seattle was both neat and convenient. As will be noted later, the Prius *loves* the Northwest (and Tracy): my mileage up there was easily 7mpg higher than in L.A. Part of this is Tracy drives about 15mph slower than I; part of this is that the northwest is a lot cooler than southern California (temperature is a killer for batteries). After owning the Prius for almost three years, this was the first time I ever saw the battery-bar completely full !
My two favorite shots from the trip down:
I hated getting out of the car when I got home: the Santa Annas were in blowing at full force and the air was extremely hot and dry (even at 10pm). There was smoke in the air (just like it was when I left for Seattle). I love being home-- but I wish home were about a thousand miles north.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 04:26 am (UTC)By the way, I *love* my Prius. If I drive it carefully, I can get the battery bar green a couple times a day. My best mileage driving down to So. Cal was 57mpg!!
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Date: 2009-09-26 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 06:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-26 12:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 07:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-26 12:46 am (UTC)I already do-- it's called, "Steve's house"!