As usual, I forgot something else. When we crossed the bridge the first time, there were people on the side of the freeway and standing on top of the off-ramps waving signs and banners. They looked old and weary. We honked at them, and made sure to flip 'em the bird. According to their signs they were standing there cheering for McCain and Palin. They were gone by the time we came back from Tacoma. Yay!!!
I woke up with a very odd hangover. I was moving like I was decrepit. Lonie was feeling unadventurous. Tom was like the only one with the girls that wanted to go some place out. I wanted to visit Seattle. Here's the problem. It's longer going by freeway to Seattle, plus very difficult to find parking. Also, expensive as hell that's what I've been told. They charge for parking everyday. If we took the ferry from Port Orchard it would an hour to get there. Now, that is was Football Sunday, we also knew it was the day we had to fly back to San Diego. We wanted to avoid getting ourselves too disracted that we'd miss our flight.
So, finally we headed out the door. Tom had an idea. He took us to Manchester State Park. From there, we could see Blake Island where Tom used to work as park interpreter. He had that job while he was a student at SDSU. It was a paid internship. It seemed so long ago and it was his second visit to Washington. We also got a great view of Seattle from the port. Lonie complained that her youngest daughter Julia either wasn't dressed right or was wearing the wrong shoes. We had to walk through a lot of mud. Tom was very convincing. He mostly spoke for me that I'm the visitor and I won't be able to see all this or go to these places that's why we're out here. He went to say that we would be going out to eat after this. Originally we were gonna do breakfast. Well 9:30 became 11:45 a.m., Tom was talking to total strangers again and taking pictures by the dozen, but finally he got us there. My stomach seemed to be half-empty and half-full and I had a slight headache.
We drove the lush country side around Port Orchard and we arrived at this Chinese Buffet. Most of us were pissed afterwards. I barely touched my plate. The spices were doing a number on my stomach. I made two trips to the restroom. Second time I checked myself. Ok, the belching is normal. No harm, no foul. The soup was ok. Not much variety at this place. I took Tom's advice and put fruit on my last plate with some vanilla pudding. Sure enough, I was beginning to feel better. We went up to the cashier paid the $48! Freakin' bs. It broke down something like this: $6.50 for the girls ( 2 children) and $10 for us (3 adults) drinks were like $2. The hosts didn't even come by with the water pitcher, so I stole it from the counter and refilled my glass. They didn't bother me. haha.
We pulled in front of the Walmart again. Saw some very peculiar people. There was this Hispanic man walking into the stores with his wife and kids wearing overalls. There was a woman leaving wearing a bathing suit with flowers all over it and skirt on top. Then, you had a middle-aged lady waiting for her rode who appeared to be wearing a bathrobe and dress underneath. Those people ain't right. My mom later told me, Jeremy you got to understand WalMart serves people of low income that's why they look the way they do. I'm like yeah, but they don't have license plates from Alaska, Oregon, and Iowa. To some degree, she's right. Ok, the movie-watching experience was over. Tom, got to pull out of the no-parking zone when Lonie returned with my medicine. She got me Pepto Bismal, so that I wouldn't honk.
We made back to Lonie's place. The three watched part of the football game between the Seahawks and the Eagles. I took about 3 doses, every half-hour of the Pepto-Bismal. The girls played around with the Play Doh and they made a mess with pictures they cut up and threw on the floor of barbie doll ads in magazines. lol. They asked so many questions. Sometimes it seemed like I was hooked to a lie-dector. haha. Yes, at times, they did stress Tom and I out a little. Then, came to big surprise. It was time to unload and pack for the airport. Lonie and the girls got to have 3 of our remaining water jugs, 11 cans of Dr. Thunder, the 2 soup cans, Dora the Explorer paper cups, the pot we bought for the stove, and finally the machete that Tom found went to Lonie. Lots of tears shed at the end. It was a poignant fare well and off we went. Tom was sad a later very nervous. I continued to stay calm and direct him as we made our way back to the airport.
Our flight to SD was 7 pm. We left Lonie's house at 4:15 p.m. The good news was Sea-Tac is south of Seattle, so we didn't have any problems with the traffic leaving the Seahawk game. We did alright. We arrived with the rental car, which by the way was a Ford Focus and it sucks. Although, it was great on gas. It showed you how many miles were left until it ended up on empty which was cool. It was 5:30 pm. My phone was out of commission, I guess it rained out on Friday. Tom's phone only had one bar, I didn't remember my friends number. I chose the homephone, wrong but I got through. The friend forgot Sunday we fly back to SD. She was resting; however, she managed to get up and bring my old childhood buddy along. They live 5 min from the airport. Sure enough we walked to the top of the parking structure level 4 and they arrived at 5:40 pm. I saw my old buddy, Jimmy. Even though, he has severe case of autism he remembered me. He didn't go to college, but at least he graduated high school. He was very happy to see me. I gave his mother all the camping gear she loaned out to us and I let them know that there could be a chance that I'd be coming back when the marathon is held there next June. I wished them well and we headed over to the security check-point. No problem. They found the medicine. All the woman said it has to be out of bag when it goes through the machine, and got to keep it. Whatever. Flight was good. I didn't order a meal this time. My mother's tote bag had a pink stain when unloading it. Oh well, at least my clothes didn't get peptoed out 'cause they were places in the center pocket and P-B was in the side. That's all. Great trip!! See ya!!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Well, Whoomp De Freakin' Do!!
I forgot to mention, friends. It's a short side-note. On Wednesday, Tom and I listened in on the top of the 9th. We were catching the rain makeup game 5 of the World Series played between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. I mostly tuned in, Tom started to fix dinner, but it was kind of hilarious. Tom would be the chef/wildeneress and urban guide of this trip for myself. As we heard the game because we were in the rainforest, John Miller and Joe Morgon, the broadcasters, sounded like they were being shaken by an earthquake or something. The station was going in and out; no problem though. The third batters for the Rays struck out, game over. Phillies won the World Series. Well whoomp de freakin' do!! I wanted the Rays to win. Whatever! Back to camp! lol.
Tom and I got back on the road. We were traveling down the 101. Then, our plan was to come out to Port Orchard, No problem. We exited our favorite route and got on the 104 east freeway, and then the 3 highway heading south through Bremerton. Eventually it turned into the 16 and we were there. Well we left the Sequim Inn at approximately 10 and we reached Ms. Lonie's place at 11:30 a.m. Success!!! YES an Asian man did own this submersible nipple room and board, in this case we provided the board, and the woman the room!
Lonie and her daughters were so excited it was time for us to see the town. We looked at photos and got tour of her apartment. We rode in her car with the kids and crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Every driver has to pay $4 for the toll bridge whenever they go into Tacoma from Port Orchard. Sucks! We had lunch at the Antique Sandwich Company, yes Tom did purcahse me a AWESOME sanwhich. Hmm. Eating good in the neighborhood. This cafe had its own stage and when it wasn't a day for shows, they put a bunch of toys for the children to play with to keep them entertained. How 'bout that? A coffeeshop/ cafe that actually provides a playpen for the kiddies. haha. I went upstairs to use their restroom and I took a couple magazines. Accoustic Music Magazine and front page and sports page of the Washington newspaper. It wasn't the Seattle Times, I forgot what it was called. Next stop, Point of Defiance. haha.
Point of Defiance was actually a zoo located in Tacoma. It was awesome. They had lemurs, otters, walruses, tigers, sharks, penguins, red wolves, rams, and observatory. This is zoo gave the guest an education center where they ask questions and have some hands on training and knowledge about the animals. The sharks were their own exhibit in a dark room after you come to another room where the trainer is feeding the stingrays. They do have a stadium aphitheatre for shows, but it was the weekend and it was raining. They have the meerkats as an exhibit inside the children's zoo. It so well structured. It's not that big of a zoo, but I was very impressed.
We left the zoo, and stopped at Lonie's grandmother's house. Her parents were out of town, so she would house-sit at her grandmother's to take care of the dog while she was at work. I think that's the story. She drove the dog over to her apartment, then we made an extra trip to somewhere familiar. We went to Walmart! We got drinks. I bought a 12-pack of Dr. Thunder. Then, Lonie and I hit up a liquor store. I purchased a Jaegermeister and later two tall cans of Miller Lite for Tom. It sounds like here, did Tom buy anything, yes he did he actually bought the Dr. Thunder I have just been a bit drunk off of lack of sleep. Oh yeah, probably batteries for his camera. lol. I don't recall. But, got the party mix all together stacked! When, we got back, Hollie, the dog left Lonie a lovely gift on the carpet. No!!! T or L cleaned it, no problem. Then, Lonnie made us a great meal. Pigs in Blanket. Yes, the hotdogs wrapped up in bisquits. She also made a salad. Hmm, good times!! I downed the last Konakee, the Dr. Thunder came first, Jaegermeister preceded the Konakee, and finally a half bottle of Henry Winehard that Lonie forgot to finish and didn't want in fridge. Then, I left the apartment to go karaoking at one of the bars I saw on the way back. (A very drunk and gifted Jeremy will soon come out, not of the cave, NO, come out for wild times!!) A true beast was released, no not my banana-- but my vocals!
Myree's Bar and Grill is where I went for karaoke. I never felt so giddy and halfway uncoordinated. When I got there, I order a glass of coke and rum. After that, I only drank water. The sheets they provided allowed you to write 4 songs on one card. I picked "I Want a New Duck" by Weird Al Yankovich, then it was "Ode to My Car aka "Piece of Shit Car" by Adam Sandler. Song 3 was going to be "Don't Do Me Like That" by Tom Petty and lastly "Norwegian Wood" by The Beattles. Upon finishing song #2 there were some changes that needed to be made. I wanted to sing "We're not Gonna Take It" from Twisted Sister. I told the DJ I wanted to do that song instead and she said ok. I started dancing on the floor between the stage and the tables in between peformances. I was in feeling my groove and all the sudden an old lady who was sitting up by the bar danced with me. She request I sing "You're So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. I'm like sure, you got it. Now I figured, I should probably put in a new card with those 2 songs written down. The DJ went right passed me as I was sitting down and said, "You're drunk, Jeremy." I'm like yeah you're right. 30 min became 1 hr since I last sang, and I saw the same group up there twice. Finally, I walked over to the DJ asking her when I was coming up. She told me squarely you're not coming back up on stage. I was like fine. Now, telling Tom the story he felt I should've invited the elderly lady to the bar across the street and sing her the song there. I saw a lot of people standing outside that bar, couple black guys (no I'm not racist). I just didn't think it was the right place and the wait most likely would've been longer. See, at Myree's there were only 10-11 people inside. Very few took the stage. I did the right thing, I simply walked out. I had 3 glasses of water after the coke and rum order. They must have thought I wasn't giving them much business or telling them on stage that I was from San Diego must have ticked them off. It might just be it's Port Orchard and Bremerton is a military base, so these people are narrow-minded conservative rednecks that hate songs that are rock 'n' roll dirty. lol. They don't like Piece of Shit Car 'cause there's too much cursing. If you can't stand it why's it in the book? I walked up the hill, but was confused. I was looking for Prospect and I couldn't find it. I was walking back and forth disoriented. Then, I remembered. I crossed the street and made a right, the bar was very close. Oh!! Go up Frederick, and kept going and sure enough I found Prospect. It was a strange trip because I was coming from a different angle. I met Tom at the door, went in changed, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Daylight savings time occured. I wound my clock back an hour and hit the sack. OH YEAH ITS POINT DEFIANCE ZOO< NOT POINT OF DEFIANCE, DUH!
Tom and I got back on the road. We were traveling down the 101. Then, our plan was to come out to Port Orchard, No problem. We exited our favorite route and got on the 104 east freeway, and then the 3 highway heading south through Bremerton. Eventually it turned into the 16 and we were there. Well we left the Sequim Inn at approximately 10 and we reached Ms. Lonie's place at 11:30 a.m. Success!!! YES an Asian man did own this submersible nipple room and board, in this case we provided the board, and the woman the room!
Lonie and her daughters were so excited it was time for us to see the town. We looked at photos and got tour of her apartment. We rode in her car with the kids and crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Every driver has to pay $4 for the toll bridge whenever they go into Tacoma from Port Orchard. Sucks! We had lunch at the Antique Sandwich Company, yes Tom did purcahse me a AWESOME sanwhich. Hmm. Eating good in the neighborhood. This cafe had its own stage and when it wasn't a day for shows, they put a bunch of toys for the children to play with to keep them entertained. How 'bout that? A coffeeshop/ cafe that actually provides a playpen for the kiddies. haha. I went upstairs to use their restroom and I took a couple magazines. Accoustic Music Magazine and front page and sports page of the Washington newspaper. It wasn't the Seattle Times, I forgot what it was called. Next stop, Point of Defiance. haha.
Point of Defiance was actually a zoo located in Tacoma. It was awesome. They had lemurs, otters, walruses, tigers, sharks, penguins, red wolves, rams, and observatory. This is zoo gave the guest an education center where they ask questions and have some hands on training and knowledge about the animals. The sharks were their own exhibit in a dark room after you come to another room where the trainer is feeding the stingrays. They do have a stadium aphitheatre for shows, but it was the weekend and it was raining. They have the meerkats as an exhibit inside the children's zoo. It so well structured. It's not that big of a zoo, but I was very impressed.
We left the zoo, and stopped at Lonie's grandmother's house. Her parents were out of town, so she would house-sit at her grandmother's to take care of the dog while she was at work. I think that's the story. She drove the dog over to her apartment, then we made an extra trip to somewhere familiar. We went to Walmart! We got drinks. I bought a 12-pack of Dr. Thunder. Then, Lonie and I hit up a liquor store. I purchased a Jaegermeister and later two tall cans of Miller Lite for Tom. It sounds like here, did Tom buy anything, yes he did he actually bought the Dr. Thunder I have just been a bit drunk off of lack of sleep. Oh yeah, probably batteries for his camera. lol. I don't recall. But, got the party mix all together stacked! When, we got back, Hollie, the dog left Lonie a lovely gift on the carpet. No!!! T or L cleaned it, no problem. Then, Lonnie made us a great meal. Pigs in Blanket. Yes, the hotdogs wrapped up in bisquits. She also made a salad. Hmm, good times!! I downed the last Konakee, the Dr. Thunder came first, Jaegermeister preceded the Konakee, and finally a half bottle of Henry Winehard that Lonie forgot to finish and didn't want in fridge. Then, I left the apartment to go karaoking at one of the bars I saw on the way back. (A very drunk and gifted Jeremy will soon come out, not of the cave, NO, come out for wild times!!) A true beast was released, no not my banana-- but my vocals!
Myree's Bar and Grill is where I went for karaoke. I never felt so giddy and halfway uncoordinated. When I got there, I order a glass of coke and rum. After that, I only drank water. The sheets they provided allowed you to write 4 songs on one card. I picked "I Want a New Duck" by Weird Al Yankovich, then it was "Ode to My Car aka "Piece of Shit Car" by Adam Sandler. Song 3 was going to be "Don't Do Me Like That" by Tom Petty and lastly "Norwegian Wood" by The Beattles. Upon finishing song #2 there were some changes that needed to be made. I wanted to sing "We're not Gonna Take It" from Twisted Sister. I told the DJ I wanted to do that song instead and she said ok. I started dancing on the floor between the stage and the tables in between peformances. I was in feeling my groove and all the sudden an old lady who was sitting up by the bar danced with me. She request I sing "You're So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. I'm like sure, you got it. Now I figured, I should probably put in a new card with those 2 songs written down. The DJ went right passed me as I was sitting down and said, "You're drunk, Jeremy." I'm like yeah you're right. 30 min became 1 hr since I last sang, and I saw the same group up there twice. Finally, I walked over to the DJ asking her when I was coming up. She told me squarely you're not coming back up on stage. I was like fine. Now, telling Tom the story he felt I should've invited the elderly lady to the bar across the street and sing her the song there. I saw a lot of people standing outside that bar, couple black guys (no I'm not racist). I just didn't think it was the right place and the wait most likely would've been longer. See, at Myree's there were only 10-11 people inside. Very few took the stage. I did the right thing, I simply walked out. I had 3 glasses of water after the coke and rum order. They must have thought I wasn't giving them much business or telling them on stage that I was from San Diego must have ticked them off. It might just be it's Port Orchard and Bremerton is a military base, so these people are narrow-minded conservative rednecks that hate songs that are rock 'n' roll dirty. lol. They don't like Piece of Shit Car 'cause there's too much cursing. If you can't stand it why's it in the book? I walked up the hill, but was confused. I was looking for Prospect and I couldn't find it. I was walking back and forth disoriented. Then, I remembered. I crossed the street and made a right, the bar was very close. Oh!! Go up Frederick, and kept going and sure enough I found Prospect. It was a strange trip because I was coming from a different angle. I met Tom at the door, went in changed, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Daylight savings time occured. I wound my clock back an hour and hit the sack. OH YEAH ITS POINT DEFIANCE ZOO< NOT POINT OF DEFIANCE, DUH!
Eye of a Hurricane
We got up early with very little sleep. Tom and I didn't care. For me, it was very uncomfortable sleeping in the car. Tom was already inside sleeping stretch out on backseat. He probably felt better, I couldn't lean back. :(
We took down the tent and shook it out. Once we got it folded up neatly with the tarp, we tossed it in the trunk. Then, remember the two male elk jousting in the meadow near our campsite, we walked over to see if they were in the same place. Turns out, they were. Another awesome duel that National Geographic could never show you at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. haha. And, to our surprise there was a hurd of elk behind them towards the exit. This fight didn't last as long, but you can't beat the squealing noises and the large antlers crashing together. After viewing and taking photos we got in the car. We saw about 3 deers now began to get really exciting. As we went around the bend, we notice the herd of elk we couldn't quite see being near our campsite. There were about 35 of them. From little to tall, bull elk and cow elk (male and female). They were very peaceful. The female elk had her hind legs in the parking lot when she saw us coming, she moved. Pause: photo time! Then, we preceded. As we drove the 15 miles out of the campsite and back to the main road this occurred twice. Approximately, a herd of 13 elk ran across the road in front of us. Twenty seconds later, 10 more elk from another tribe ran across in front of us. That's how we got to seeing an estimated 60 elk the whole time we were there in the Hoh Rainforest.
When we left the park, we decided we'd like to check out other attractions in the Olympic National Park. We entered Sol Duc Hot Springs. Unfortunately, the hot springs weren't active. Nothing really to see. We pressed onward. We entered La Poel. While were here, this was when the griping started to take precedence. I wore a rain poncho Tom loaned to me. I began bitch because my clothes from last night were still on and soaked and it was raining once more. But, Tom was determined to see Marymere Falls. It was hike through puddles of mud. The bridges were cool, I'll give you that though something just didn't feel right. Oh, probably that this waterfall we were seeing it kind of reminding me of the freakin' one we saw at Tom's Creek!!! haha. However this one, you could only see from the top if you wanted to walk up about 40 stairs. Yikes!! It sounds pretty rough, but it was only 10-15 feet in elevation from the main trail. Tom, being a smooth talker he is got me back on my curiouser and curiouser mindset and we made the mile and half walk back to the car. Crescent Lake, by the way, ruled!!! I think it was the biggest lake in all of Washington. Next, we came to Elwha. I think this area of ONP was more of a hikers' paradise, and I decided to let Tom go and adventure outward from the vistor center. No, what really happened was we had lunch. Park ranger wasn't around, so Tom got a fire going after we had cans of soup and peanut butter sandwiches. He went hiking, and I stood by the fire as the heat from the fired dried my wet clothes. It didn't thoroughly dry me, but my clothes weren't as wet as before. Port Angeles. Wow, the first big town we came to outside the wilderness. Families were out trick or treating. We actually saw the sun while in Port Angeles. We decided to finish the game. We ditched Port Angeles and headed out to Hurricane Ridge. First it was Heart O' the Hills. Very lovely, familiar deers walking around, some trees cut down. Let's go. Tom was trying to convince me to camp there. I was like, no way. Finally, going up and up the curvy road we reached the top of Hurricane Ridge!!! We had chilly, gusty winds blowing at us. We saw a lot of breathtaking features. We stayed up there longer than we should, it was fantastic!! We read a sign that said after 10/31 all guests had to drive up with chains on their tires. We lucked again. Plus they closed the visitor center. The annoucement on the radio station sounded like the whole park was closed. We went through anyway fuck that! lol
We made our way back to the Highway 101 and we determined to find another motel. This is when I pulled out the AAA Book. Tom did not want to stay a night in Port Angeles, so we looked for motels in Sequim. We studies the motels attempting to find the cheapest rates. We located one that was $59 a night. And with my AAA card the cost was still under $60. Yes!! And the Chinese man who rung me was cool gave me a nice room upstairs. I told him single, no problem. We brought everything up to our room except for the tent, sleeping bags, and mats. We got through almost all of the beer cans and bottles and we finished off the top ramen. Tom was still hungry and drunk. I went out to Burger King I bought him a double cheeseburger. Oops!! He wanted a double whopper with cheese. I order for myself a regular whopper. Believe it or not, he took my whopper and I ate the double cheeseburger. He wanted me to go back, I said no. So, he put the oatmeal we usually eat in the morning away. Oh well, it was a choice I was willing to make. It filled him up good. Good night!!! End of Day 3.
We took down the tent and shook it out. Once we got it folded up neatly with the tarp, we tossed it in the trunk. Then, remember the two male elk jousting in the meadow near our campsite, we walked over to see if they were in the same place. Turns out, they were. Another awesome duel that National Geographic could never show you at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. haha. And, to our surprise there was a hurd of elk behind them towards the exit. This fight didn't last as long, but you can't beat the squealing noises and the large antlers crashing together. After viewing and taking photos we got in the car. We saw about 3 deers now began to get really exciting. As we went around the bend, we notice the herd of elk we couldn't quite see being near our campsite. There were about 35 of them. From little to tall, bull elk and cow elk (male and female). They were very peaceful. The female elk had her hind legs in the parking lot when she saw us coming, she moved. Pause: photo time! Then, we preceded. As we drove the 15 miles out of the campsite and back to the main road this occurred twice. Approximately, a herd of 13 elk ran across the road in front of us. Twenty seconds later, 10 more elk from another tribe ran across in front of us. That's how we got to seeing an estimated 60 elk the whole time we were there in the Hoh Rainforest.
When we left the park, we decided we'd like to check out other attractions in the Olympic National Park. We entered Sol Duc Hot Springs. Unfortunately, the hot springs weren't active. Nothing really to see. We pressed onward. We entered La Poel. While were here, this was when the griping started to take precedence. I wore a rain poncho Tom loaned to me. I began bitch because my clothes from last night were still on and soaked and it was raining once more. But, Tom was determined to see Marymere Falls. It was hike through puddles of mud. The bridges were cool, I'll give you that though something just didn't feel right. Oh, probably that this waterfall we were seeing it kind of reminding me of the freakin' one we saw at Tom's Creek!!! haha. However this one, you could only see from the top if you wanted to walk up about 40 stairs. Yikes!! It sounds pretty rough, but it was only 10-15 feet in elevation from the main trail. Tom, being a smooth talker he is got me back on my curiouser and curiouser mindset and we made the mile and half walk back to the car. Crescent Lake, by the way, ruled!!! I think it was the biggest lake in all of Washington. Next, we came to Elwha. I think this area of ONP was more of a hikers' paradise, and I decided to let Tom go and adventure outward from the vistor center. No, what really happened was we had lunch. Park ranger wasn't around, so Tom got a fire going after we had cans of soup and peanut butter sandwiches. He went hiking, and I stood by the fire as the heat from the fired dried my wet clothes. It didn't thoroughly dry me, but my clothes weren't as wet as before. Port Angeles. Wow, the first big town we came to outside the wilderness. Families were out trick or treating. We actually saw the sun while in Port Angeles. We decided to finish the game. We ditched Port Angeles and headed out to Hurricane Ridge. First it was Heart O' the Hills. Very lovely, familiar deers walking around, some trees cut down. Let's go. Tom was trying to convince me to camp there. I was like, no way. Finally, going up and up the curvy road we reached the top of Hurricane Ridge!!! We had chilly, gusty winds blowing at us. We saw a lot of breathtaking features. We stayed up there longer than we should, it was fantastic!! We read a sign that said after 10/31 all guests had to drive up with chains on their tires. We lucked again. Plus they closed the visitor center. The annoucement on the radio station sounded like the whole park was closed. We went through anyway fuck that! lol
We made our way back to the Highway 101 and we determined to find another motel. This is when I pulled out the AAA Book. Tom did not want to stay a night in Port Angeles, so we looked for motels in Sequim. We studies the motels attempting to find the cheapest rates. We located one that was $59 a night. And with my AAA card the cost was still under $60. Yes!! And the Chinese man who rung me was cool gave me a nice room upstairs. I told him single, no problem. We brought everything up to our room except for the tent, sleeping bags, and mats. We got through almost all of the beer cans and bottles and we finished off the top ramen. Tom was still hungry and drunk. I went out to Burger King I bought him a double cheeseburger. Oops!! He wanted a double whopper with cheese. I order for myself a regular whopper. Believe it or not, he took my whopper and I ate the double cheeseburger. He wanted me to go back, I said no. So, he put the oatmeal we usually eat in the morning away. Oh well, it was a choice I was willing to make. It filled him up good. Good night!!! End of Day 3.
Friday, November 7, 2008
"Damn, Son."
"Woke up this morning feeling fine. I had something special on my mind." That is to walk over to the restroom and get started with the day. As began the morning stroll, I got big surprise to tell. I saw the two elk out in the meadow. When, I returned to the campsite I knocked on the passenger window to wake up Tom after I changed clothes and brushed my teeth. Tom is very passionate about wildlife and parks, so of course got his digital camera out and took about 50 photos of these guys. They were having a fight. It was a duel to see who was the strongest bull elk to get initiate into the pack/ tribe of older elk. The squealing sound they made was funny. These two elk we saw, by the way, were the same elk that were sitting on the side of the road where we had entered the park and we were 10 ft from the streets were turned on to get to our campsite. I'm kidding the number of photos. I probably took about 6-8 shots.
We ate oatmeal for breakfast. I had the cinamon flavored oatmeal, Tom had banana. We also drank hot chocolate because it was very cold outside. Here's where the damn son expression came about. When we got the cups out, something just wasn't right. Your boy here didn't think about quality only quantity. I had thought we needed a lot of cups and we ought to keep the price down. Friends, I bought 70 cups with Dora the Explorer and Diego pictured on each one. Paper cups!!! lol. Bad choice. They were practically metal like wax and our fingers were barely touching the steaming flames. hahaha. Want more miscues? Sure you do. I didn't think to get cookies, matches, beef jerky, or firewood. The last item we got later, but with the strong winds we were getting plus chilly temperatures, it didn't matter. Needless to say, we did get through all the hot chocolate and we set on another adventure of hiking.
We picked this trail called "Tom's Creek." We were mesmerized. The trees kicked ass!!! We saw more of the Hoh River. Finally, we found Tom's Creek. We thought that the body of water we jumped over while on the trail was the creek, nope keep moving. It was this towering waterfall we spot that lead down into the river. Now, that was a cool spot. We took the long walk back and it started to rain. Something I learned on the way back, if you stand under a tree you won't feel the rain. The tree protects you from being wet just like standing under a bridge.
When we got back to our campsite the soup cans were eating for lunch. Campbell's Chunky Beef cans. I bought about 6 of them, we were left with 2 at the end of the trip. We felt, it was time to explore outside the park. We decided we wanted to check out the most Northwestern port of the state of Washington, Neah Bay. Great call!
So, we hopped on the highway 101 which became the route 112, which then became the 113 going west. It's really not hard to factor, the signs tell you where the route is going and you take it. haha. We stopped this small Native American town of Forks and got gas. After we dealt with hundreds of twists and turns on this windy road. We already passed Sekiu and Clallam Bay, we then reached Neah Bay and we couldn't go any further. The sign basically said, this is Native American land or game preserve and you'd have to pay for a permit to enter. There cool murals near the entrance. We drove a long way and it was getting to be dark. Which is no surprise we rarely ever saw the sun. In Washington, sunset tended to start around 5:30 or 6 pm, and this was before daylight saving time was in effect. Although, Tom, took pulled to the side of the road to take pictures more than once, he was not very pleased with long drive to Neah Bay. This when I familiar quote came up more than once, Damn, son!!
We turned around and repeated our course back the other way. We picked up firewood which we ended up saving for later in the trunk. Then, a big breakthrough happened. Tom, got the call from his ex-girlfriend. Reception was aweful on his phone. He decided to stay in the town of Forks because whenever he was in a populated town as opposed to the rainforest his phone would have good reception. He worked out the details on sleeping arrangements while on the phone with her, and he also called home letting his mother know he was ok. I did the same. We also visited the Bogachiel River. Not much of a memory there. It was just Tom, trying to get a few shots and then finding nature's restroom. lol. We were golden. We found a place to stay towards the end of the trip instead of another night of camping or staying at a motel.
It was raining hard we when returned to our campsite. I also detected that it was very wet on the right side of our tent. My sleeping bag was orignally placed vertically and parallel to the right side of tent. So, I made it horizontal and off to left with my head placed toward the corner. The sleeping bag was wet on the outside. Because it wouldn't stop raining we brought the stove into the tent and cooked up top ramen for dinner inside. hahaha. We didn't fairly well; although, Tom was kind of grumpy and demanding. He and I were drinking the Konakee beer bottles imported from BC and Rainier Beer cans. He drank more than me, but he still managed to get back to the car. I went over to the restroom afterwards and upon returning, Tom didn't have his trusty flashlight on to guide me returning to the tent and my shin made contact with the firepit. Ouch!!! It's okay the pain is gone now.
I turned into bed around 10:00 pm. I was awake at midnight, and the raining coming down hard. I mean it wasn't hail, but it was loud and unstoppable. I had a puddle inside the sleeping bag down at my feet. I rushed over to the rental car where Tom was sleeping. I think this was at 1:30 a.m. He seemed to be saying make the best of the situation, see if you can fall asleep if not you can move to the car. I was like ok. Back to bed I went, but it didn't last long. Finally, at 4:00 a.m. I had enough of this shit. Water was coming up from under me at every minute, the puddle had grown inside the sleepbag. Our tent, well techinally, my tent where I slept was flooded!! :( So, it was time to move over to the car and try to get some sleep. I kept checking the watch it was 5 then 5:30 a.m. At long last, it was daylight and about 6:45 a.m. when I opened my eyes. It wasn't raining as hard. I think mother nature took a short break 'cause it was drizzling with off and on sprinkling next time we checked. Night over. Damn, son!!
We ate oatmeal for breakfast. I had the cinamon flavored oatmeal, Tom had banana. We also drank hot chocolate because it was very cold outside. Here's where the damn son expression came about. When we got the cups out, something just wasn't right. Your boy here didn't think about quality only quantity. I had thought we needed a lot of cups and we ought to keep the price down. Friends, I bought 70 cups with Dora the Explorer and Diego pictured on each one. Paper cups!!! lol. Bad choice. They were practically metal like wax and our fingers were barely touching the steaming flames. hahaha. Want more miscues? Sure you do. I didn't think to get cookies, matches, beef jerky, or firewood. The last item we got later, but with the strong winds we were getting plus chilly temperatures, it didn't matter. Needless to say, we did get through all the hot chocolate and we set on another adventure of hiking.
We picked this trail called "Tom's Creek." We were mesmerized. The trees kicked ass!!! We saw more of the Hoh River. Finally, we found Tom's Creek. We thought that the body of water we jumped over while on the trail was the creek, nope keep moving. It was this towering waterfall we spot that lead down into the river. Now, that was a cool spot. We took the long walk back and it started to rain. Something I learned on the way back, if you stand under a tree you won't feel the rain. The tree protects you from being wet just like standing under a bridge.
When we got back to our campsite the soup cans were eating for lunch. Campbell's Chunky Beef cans. I bought about 6 of them, we were left with 2 at the end of the trip. We felt, it was time to explore outside the park. We decided we wanted to check out the most Northwestern port of the state of Washington, Neah Bay. Great call!
So, we hopped on the highway 101 which became the route 112, which then became the 113 going west. It's really not hard to factor, the signs tell you where the route is going and you take it. haha. We stopped this small Native American town of Forks and got gas. After we dealt with hundreds of twists and turns on this windy road. We already passed Sekiu and Clallam Bay, we then reached Neah Bay and we couldn't go any further. The sign basically said, this is Native American land or game preserve and you'd have to pay for a permit to enter. There cool murals near the entrance. We drove a long way and it was getting to be dark. Which is no surprise we rarely ever saw the sun. In Washington, sunset tended to start around 5:30 or 6 pm, and this was before daylight saving time was in effect. Although, Tom, took pulled to the side of the road to take pictures more than once, he was not very pleased with long drive to Neah Bay. This when I familiar quote came up more than once, Damn, son!!
We turned around and repeated our course back the other way. We picked up firewood which we ended up saving for later in the trunk. Then, a big breakthrough happened. Tom, got the call from his ex-girlfriend. Reception was aweful on his phone. He decided to stay in the town of Forks because whenever he was in a populated town as opposed to the rainforest his phone would have good reception. He worked out the details on sleeping arrangements while on the phone with her, and he also called home letting his mother know he was ok. I did the same. We also visited the Bogachiel River. Not much of a memory there. It was just Tom, trying to get a few shots and then finding nature's restroom. lol. We were golden. We found a place to stay towards the end of the trip instead of another night of camping or staying at a motel.
It was raining hard we when returned to our campsite. I also detected that it was very wet on the right side of our tent. My sleeping bag was orignally placed vertically and parallel to the right side of tent. So, I made it horizontal and off to left with my head placed toward the corner. The sleeping bag was wet on the outside. Because it wouldn't stop raining we brought the stove into the tent and cooked up top ramen for dinner inside. hahaha. We didn't fairly well; although, Tom was kind of grumpy and demanding. He and I were drinking the Konakee beer bottles imported from BC and Rainier Beer cans. He drank more than me, but he still managed to get back to the car. I went over to the restroom afterwards and upon returning, Tom didn't have his trusty flashlight on to guide me returning to the tent and my shin made contact with the firepit. Ouch!!! It's okay the pain is gone now.
I turned into bed around 10:00 pm. I was awake at midnight, and the raining coming down hard. I mean it wasn't hail, but it was loud and unstoppable. I had a puddle inside the sleeping bag down at my feet. I rushed over to the rental car where Tom was sleeping. I think this was at 1:30 a.m. He seemed to be saying make the best of the situation, see if you can fall asleep if not you can move to the car. I was like ok. Back to bed I went, but it didn't last long. Finally, at 4:00 a.m. I had enough of this shit. Water was coming up from under me at every minute, the puddle had grown inside the sleepbag. Our tent, well techinally, my tent where I slept was flooded!! :( So, it was time to move over to the car and try to get some sleep. I kept checking the watch it was 5 then 5:30 a.m. At long last, it was daylight and about 6:45 a.m. when I opened my eyes. It wasn't raining as hard. I think mother nature took a short break 'cause it was drizzling with off and on sprinkling next time we checked. Night over. Damn, son!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Come As You Are
Yes, friends, it's been confirmed. I was cleaning out my room this morning and I found a receipt/ souvenior from Del Taco. The name of the woman who took our orders was Tatyana. There's your proof. That girl was Russian. lol.
We got back on the road and headed through Aberdeen, Washington. We we were in Aberdeen when the sign said "Welcome to Aberdeen, Come As You Are." For those of you who don't know this "Come As You Are" is a title of a song a Grunge band, Nirvana wrote. Kurt Cobain, the leadsinger of the band, who tragically killed himself, was born there in Aberdeen. So, the sign gives you a welcoming tribute. We stopped there for lunch at a Taco. The woman who rung me was, you guessed it, Russian. This time no receipt to show for it, but you gotta trust me with this theory. She had the same accent. Mmm mmm, nothing like lunch from the Bell. Goodbye, Aberdeen.
We droves hours and hours, but finally we arrived at the Hoh River Rainforest. This was one of many campsites inside the Olympic National Park. We got the tent made up. Then, we got out the stove we borrowed from my friend's mother and started cooking up the packs of Top Ramen. Oh, and Tom found a machete someone left under the bench. There's was hardly anyone out camping, and we got a nice spot right by the Hoh River. We hiked a few of the trails later. We covered the Spruce Loop and the Hall of Mosses. These trees were incredible. Not to mention, the leaves were bright orange, yellowish brown, and red. So, as I said, we got our hiking on just when it was starting to get dark and we didn't bring flashlight; though, we still make it back to our campsite. Tom packed a flashlight, I didn't own one. I had to use my cellphone as a torch to find my way to the restroom and back. There's more to come folks. I swear it does get better.
I slept well. I rested in the tent, and Tom slept in the car. The sky was perfectly black, but there was something fishy about those clouds. They were bunched together just like when we arrived in Washington. Oh know! I checked the weather report. It's all good. I know what's going down. Stay tuned!!!
We got back on the road and headed through Aberdeen, Washington. We we were in Aberdeen when the sign said "Welcome to Aberdeen, Come As You Are." For those of you who don't know this "Come As You Are" is a title of a song a Grunge band, Nirvana wrote. Kurt Cobain, the leadsinger of the band, who tragically killed himself, was born there in Aberdeen. So, the sign gives you a welcoming tribute. We stopped there for lunch at a Taco. The woman who rung me was, you guessed it, Russian. This time no receipt to show for it, but you gotta trust me with this theory. She had the same accent. Mmm mmm, nothing like lunch from the Bell. Goodbye, Aberdeen.
We droves hours and hours, but finally we arrived at the Hoh River Rainforest. This was one of many campsites inside the Olympic National Park. We got the tent made up. Then, we got out the stove we borrowed from my friend's mother and started cooking up the packs of Top Ramen. Oh, and Tom found a machete someone left under the bench. There's was hardly anyone out camping, and we got a nice spot right by the Hoh River. We hiked a few of the trails later. We covered the Spruce Loop and the Hall of Mosses. These trees were incredible. Not to mention, the leaves were bright orange, yellowish brown, and red. So, as I said, we got our hiking on just when it was starting to get dark and we didn't bring flashlight; though, we still make it back to our campsite. Tom packed a flashlight, I didn't own one. I had to use my cellphone as a torch to find my way to the restroom and back. There's more to come folks. I swear it does get better.
I slept well. I rested in the tent, and Tom slept in the car. The sky was perfectly black, but there was something fishy about those clouds. They were bunched together just like when we arrived in Washington. Oh know! I checked the weather report. It's all good. I know what's going down. Stay tuned!!!
Flying into Washington to Raise Some Hell
I'm just playing. It was Tuesday night October 28th. My buddy Tom and I flew to Seattle, Washington from San Diego to enjoy a brief vacation break from all the madness. Originally, it just gonna be Tom going to see family and his ex-girlfriend. However, with the communication not being very strong with reaching family and getting approval from his girl for having a place to stay, he called on me for help. He told me about the cheap flights he found (round-trip) $219.00. Rental already paid, so I used my own money and booked that flight just 3 days away.
We met an old friend mine at the parking structure where we picked up the car. She was the mother of my first childhood buddy. She hooked up with the camping gear. The only thing she missed was the pot, but we got the goods. We received sleeping bags, tarp, tent, mats, and a stove. We lied about saying we would stay out the nearest hotels in Seattle. Instead we took off like a bat of hell down the 5 freeway and hopped on the Highway 101 going as far west of Washington state as we could. We first exited at Enchanted Prkwy and pulled into a Del Taco drive-thru. The woman who took our order was white with blonde hair and a thick accent. Come to think of it, it was a Russian dialect. Kind of chumby looked like she had the face of my former cross-country teammate in high school and Kornikova. haha. Oh those, Russians. That was cool. I guess they are most prevalent among ethinicities who run the fast food restaurants.
By exiting Enchanted Prkwy, we noticed there was a WalMart adjacent to the Del Taco. We, actually, I went into the supermarket and took down Tom's list buying most of the things we needed for camping. I bought the pot, crackers, soup cans, top ramen packs, 9 water jugs, 2 gatorate jugs, 4 propane containers (2x2 that's how they were sold), a wind-resisted flame starter, bread, and peanut butter. The total amount $80. 81. I stiffed him a little. I didn't buy cookies or a 10th water jug or firewood. He didn't mind. I was so pale. I was walking like an old man, constant back a forth searching for all the products we needed at like 12 a.m. It must have taken me an hour and an half to find everything and get through the cash register.
Off we went continuing west on the 101. Nobody was out on the road except for those big trucks. It became frustrating for Tom because at certain times when was making a pass he couldn't see the exit signs. We passed a motel and realized there we weren't gonna see anymore for awhile. It kept being the same features trees and creeks and wide-open country. So, we turned back into this town called Montesano where we saw a motel. We got in about 2:30 a.m. and I told the gas station clerk a single room and $66 is all I paid. We were about 5 miles outside of Aberdeen and this would be for one night before we embarked in the morning for to one of the campground sites in the Olympic National Park.
We met an old friend mine at the parking structure where we picked up the car. She was the mother of my first childhood buddy. She hooked up with the camping gear. The only thing she missed was the pot, but we got the goods. We received sleeping bags, tarp, tent, mats, and a stove. We lied about saying we would stay out the nearest hotels in Seattle. Instead we took off like a bat of hell down the 5 freeway and hopped on the Highway 101 going as far west of Washington state as we could. We first exited at Enchanted Prkwy and pulled into a Del Taco drive-thru. The woman who took our order was white with blonde hair and a thick accent. Come to think of it, it was a Russian dialect. Kind of chumby looked like she had the face of my former cross-country teammate in high school and Kornikova. haha. Oh those, Russians. That was cool. I guess they are most prevalent among ethinicities who run the fast food restaurants.
By exiting Enchanted Prkwy, we noticed there was a WalMart adjacent to the Del Taco. We, actually, I went into the supermarket and took down Tom's list buying most of the things we needed for camping. I bought the pot, crackers, soup cans, top ramen packs, 9 water jugs, 2 gatorate jugs, 4 propane containers (2x2 that's how they were sold), a wind-resisted flame starter, bread, and peanut butter. The total amount $80. 81. I stiffed him a little. I didn't buy cookies or a 10th water jug or firewood. He didn't mind. I was so pale. I was walking like an old man, constant back a forth searching for all the products we needed at like 12 a.m. It must have taken me an hour and an half to find everything and get through the cash register.
Off we went continuing west on the 101. Nobody was out on the road except for those big trucks. It became frustrating for Tom because at certain times when was making a pass he couldn't see the exit signs. We passed a motel and realized there we weren't gonna see anymore for awhile. It kept being the same features trees and creeks and wide-open country. So, we turned back into this town called Montesano where we saw a motel. We got in about 2:30 a.m. and I told the gas station clerk a single room and $66 is all I paid. We were about 5 miles outside of Aberdeen and this would be for one night before we embarked in the morning for to one of the campground sites in the Olympic National Park.
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