DAY 119- Nashville- Music, Parthenon, & Hee Haw!

As I’m finishing up writing this and going through for my poor grammar errors; I’m watching the bells being rung out for the children of Newtown and I can’t help but shed tears.  The TV first shows bells being run in Newtown, then Miami, FL, and then Washington, D.C.  For the last week as I’ve been driving, I’ve been seeing all of the flags hanging at half-mast.  I haven’t felt like this since 9-11; a change has happened to our country and it will never be the same.  I almost can’t help but mourn a little for the safety and security that I had in childhood.  But I will say that there is hope out there for all of us and I can say that from my experience while I’ve been out on the road.  I have met the nicest helpful people on the road and it really has given me hope for our wonderful country.

Photo- The Nashville skyline from the river area with flags hanging at half-mast.

DAY 119- Nashville…

Photo- Inside of the Ryman Auditorium.

From the current Opryland area, I headed to downtown Nashville where the old Opryland used to be the Ryman Auditorium.  I took a day time tour of the Ryman and was amazed at all of the talent that started out on this stage.  The Ryman is second only to the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle as far as sound acoustics in any building and has been referred to as the “Carnegie Hall of the South”.  I found myself fondly reliving through some memories as I watched Minnie Pearl videos when she appeared on Hee Haw.  “HowdEE!”

Photo- Cases of wonderful memorabilia from costumes (like Minnie Pearl's dress) to instruments.

Next, I walked over Printer’s Alley which is known as the Blues and Jazz section of Nashville.  I went down the alley and there wasn’t much going on. It looked like it was mainly open during the night time.  In fact, the only place that seemed to be open was a bar that looked like it was a topless bar if the photos outside was any indication.  Hmmm… that would explain the looks I was getting as I was walking down the alley.  I took the next turn and escaped from that alley.

Photos- Printer's Alley which is more of a night spot than day.

 

I walked down by the river and got a view of the city with the flags all flying at half-mast for the children of Newtown.  I also enjoyed the view of the bridge going across the river and the little park areas that run by the river.  There were tons of bicycle stands where you could pay to rent a cruiser bicycle and go around the city.  Though, watching some of the drivers and the pedestrian interactions I would question the safety of bringing one more into this mix.

Photo- All kinds of places that have LIVE music along Broadway in Nashville.

I then walked along the famous Broadway Street of Nashville.  There was all kinds of restaurants and bars where there was live music being played most of it was country.  I stopped here and there outside the doors; looking in doors to see who it was that was singing out of curiosity.  There were quite a few instruments being carried by people walking along on the sidewalk; most of them guitars in cases.  I looked like the total tourist as I went along snapping my pictures.  I even went by a place called Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville which had a guy playing what sounded like honky tonk.

Photo- Here's Jimmy's Place!

As it started to pour rain, I ducked into a souvenir shop and found a bumper sticker along with a couple of postcards.  When it stopped raining for a bit, I quickly walked back to my car.  It was time to head on to the city park area to see the Parthenon.  Yes, the one and only full scale copy of it is in Nashville.  Don’t ask me why but in 1897 it was built as an exposition piece for a fair.  It was the only piece that remained standing.  In 1921, it was refurbished.  Warning, it is not made of marble like the original.  This is fortified concrete.  I guess there’s an amazing golden Athena statue that is inside but it was closed on Mondays.  But it was rather impressive just going around the outside of it.

Photo- A full size copy of the original in Nashville!

Next, the clouds were starting to get very, very dark.  I had considered visiting a southern plantation nearby but looking at these clouds I thought it might be a better idea to forgo that and drive to Memphis.  I was hoping to drive through the storm before it got into full force.  I also heard that there was a ball game and a couple other events in the area that were supposed to make traffic in the area almost unbearable.  I wanted to be out of here before that happened.  Well, I must have caught the beginnings of that because it took me almost 10 minutes to move 1 block at one point.  Thankfully, shortly after that I was able to take a left turn and head out of town.  I could see the long lines of traffic going into town. Whew! Good call on that one; and off to Memphis I was…

DAY 118- Knoxville to Nashville…

The rain had continued all night long.  It was still coming down pretty good when I left my hotel.  I drove to downtown Knoxville, TN to explore what I could in the rain.  I first parked in the Old City area which is being renovated and there’s a host of new businesses opening soon.  There wasn’t much going on during a Sunday morning except for some brunch at some of the restaurants.  Some of the menus looked pretty good but I had a free breakfast at my hotel.  There were some rather neat old buildings in the area.

Photo- Some really neat old buildings in the Old City part of downtown Knoxville, TN.

I wandered over to the Market Square area of Knoxville next.  There was a plaque that explained that the Market Square started out in the 1940’s as an area for farmers would pull up the back of their trucks and sell goods out of the back of their trucks.  It now has a series of restaurants with patios and other business around the edges of the square.  There was a large tented area in the center that is currently being used as an ice skating rink.  I could imagine on any other day than Sunday it would have been a place of activity. 

Photos- Market Square area of Knoxville.

I wandered south through Market Square and across the street into Krutch Park which was a lovely city park area with large sculptures on display and some of them were even available for purchase.  I walked south some more on a main city road through the area, turned a corner and there was a HUGE sculpture coming out of the sidewalk.  I will say there was a great deal of artwork in the downtown area which was rather nice.  I walked by a theater in the downtown area that had lines waiting to buy tickets.  I also walked by a café that had outdoor seating behind a clear vinyl hanging barrier that was different.  It was like looking at people through a shower curtain.

Photo- Krutch Park a city park south of Market Square in Knoxville.

Photo- A VERY large sculpture in Knoxville's downtown area.

Next I drove over to the World’s Fair Park but there wasn’t much going on because of the weather other than one runner getting soaked in the rain.  I admired the tall tower with the sphere a little closer but the rain clouds were dropping and I couldn’t see much.  I decided I would go ahead and drive on to Nashville which was my next stop.

Photo- World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville, TN.

About 10 miles out of Knoxville, I was white knuckle driving through thick fog where I could barely see the car tail lights of the car that was maybe 20 ft. in front of me.  I slowed down to 50mph but didn’t want to slow down too much for fear of getting rear ended.  This went on for almost 20 miles where there were patches of thick fog and then patches where it was very hazy.  The whole time it was still rainy too.  The radio station faded from an alternative rock to a twangy country station (which I HATE) and I just let it go because I was concentrating on driving. 

Finally, the clouds picked up off the road way but it was still raining pretty good.  I decided I needed a break and I turned into a truck stop.  I filled up the still half-filled tank and cleaned out the front passenger side seat of garbage.  A little while later, I was back driving on the interstate through rain but no fog.  As I got closer to Nashville, TN the rainy weather started to clear up but a cross wind had started to blow hard out of the north.  As I passed a truck, I had to be ready for a gust of wind to hit the car.  As I got even closer to Nashville, the traffic picked up. 

I took the exit to head over towards the Opryland area where my hotel was near.  On one exit there was a long line of cars almost ½ mile long.  It was the exit before the one I needed to take and it looked like there was a huge shopping mall off of it.  I think last minute Christmas shopping was in full swing!  The next exit was pretty busy too but not quite as much.  It still took about 8 minutes to get off the interstate.  Thankfully, I managed to get into the right lane to make a turn I needed to.  I took a quick right after going left over the overpass and then I was on an almost empty road to the hotel.  Yeah!

I got checked in and settled into the hotel.  It would soon be dark and I went down to the front desk.  There was information about a free shuttle service over to the Gaylord’s Opry Grand Hotel which I guess is a HUGE resort hotel.  In fact, the guy at the desk said that you could easily fit 10 of this hotel which had 150 rooms into that place.  He went on to tell me that there were restaurants, shopping, shows and Christmas lights too.  I signed up for a shuttle time and went upstairs to get cleaned up.

Photo- In side the large Gaylord Resort.

It was like a three block drive in the shuttle to the Gaylord Resort but then it was about a block and a half drive around to a loading-drop off zone in the back.  The busy mall was adjacent to the back of the Gaylord Resort and there were people walking back and forth between both locations.  The guy in the hotel shuttle van gave out the hotel business cards for us to call when we needed to head back to the hotel.  I walked into the Gaylord Resort through a foyer area, down a hall, and into a HUGE atrium area.  It was packed full of people and there was a map of the layout.  I looked at it and discovered there were three floors of restaurants and shops in the atrium area.  There were four ballroom areas and it looked like there were about 10 floors of hotel rooms on the outside areas.  It was HUGE!

Photo- The Giant Panda that kids can visit and have their picture taken with.

I proceeded to wonder around.  There were Christmas lights on trees, draped from the ceiling in some areas, balloons with lights, and towers of poinsettias.  I walked by displays where there were characters of Shrek and the Panda where kids could visit and get their pictures taken with them.  There were restaurants both high end and middle range serving all types of food.  There were all kinds of stores.  It was very much like a shopping mall within a hotel area.  It was rather confusing and I ended up backtracking to a map to figure out where I was quite often.  I ended up having dinner at a Jack Daniels Restaurant and watching the football game from near the bar.  I opted for just a bowl of chili and corn bread.  The steaks sounded good but they only had a 12oz. portion which was more than I could handle.  I was able to see out to the “mall” area through some barrels and also did some people watching.  There was a great deal of families with young kids wandering around.

Photo- Outside in front of the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

After dinner, I wandered out front of the Resort and there was a row of carriages lined up for people to take rides in.  There also was a great deal of the landscaping with trees that were filled with Christmas lights.  It reminded me a bit of the Temple Square in Salt Lake only quite a bit more down scale but it was a nice display.  There was a manger area and a very large tree with huge light holly formations at the bottom of it.  There were sitting areas and a little fire pit area where people could stand and warm their hands.  It was a fun festive air.  I walked around and just enjoyed.  But soon I was ready to head back to the hotel for the night.  I called the hotel and caught the next shuttle.

DAY 98- San Antonio, TX...

I woke up to a thick fog.  At first I could barely see the interstate that was running along outside of my window.  Later it became lighter out and I could see the interstate but the tall downtown buildings were lost in the fog.  I turned on the local news and they were showing accidents and backed up traffic all around the area.  I had considered a morning bike ride but I didn’t think it would be safe now.

Photo- A foggy morning in San Antonio, TX.

I went down for the grab and go breakfast at the Red Roof Inn where I was staying.  A muffin, some orange juice, a coffee and US Today paper, I was back up in my room.  I figured I would just wait out this fog thing.  The weatherman said it would clear as it warmed up during the day.  It was supposed to rain later that night and bring in a slight cold front.  The temperatures would be in the upper 60’s; sounded pretty good to me.

A while later, I found myself at the yellow trolley stop a half block away sitting on one of two benches.  There were two black guys there that were sitting on the bench not waiting for a trolley but taking a work break from the auto repair just down the street. I talked with them for a bit while I waited.  As the trolley (which was a regular bus) came I wished them a good day.  I rode the trolley over to the San Antonio Market Square stop.

Photo- Outside at the Market Square in San Antonio.

San Antonio’s Market Square is a colorful walking mall area where there are a lot of Mexican goods for sale.  It has a very festive air and there’s a whole variety of things to look at.  It was rather fun window shopping.  I walked around for a little bit and then decided to get lunch.

Photo- Inside the Mi Tierra's Cafe and Bakery.

I went to Mi Tierra’s Café and Bakery that says it’s always open.  I walked in and was enveloped by some wonderful smells.  Upfront, there’s a glass enclosed counter where there’s a whole selection of mouthwatering freshly baked goods.  Yummy!  I went up to the hostess stand and she started to take me back.  “Where would you like to sit?” she asked me.  She asked if I would like to sit at the counter or a table.  I said whichever is more interesting.  She gave me a perplexed look.  I asked about the covered patio area and she happily sat me out there; looking a bit relieved to be rid of me.

Chips and salsa were brought to the table and I ordered one of the specials of the day just picking something at random.  Their prices were very reasonable.  A very hot plate was served with a cheese enchilada, Spanish rice, a covered container of warm tortillas (corn and flour), and a huge chicken leg.  It was all tasty.  While I was enjoying my lunch, a table of Latino men were sitting and chatting in Spanish.  It was someone’s birthday and one of them was getting a hard time.  A short bit later a trio of guitar players showed up at their table along with a group of restaurant employees.  It was birthday song time; all sang in Spanish.  The birthday boy was turning all shades of red.  It was so cute.

After lunch I walked around the Market Square a bit more.  I went in a few shops and was tempted to try on some of the cute colorful clothes but I didn’t have the room in my car; so I thought I better not.  I caught the yellow trolley back to my hotel where I jumped in my car and drove to one of the Mission Churches in the area.  There are four of them in the area and they are a National Park.  There are guided tours that they do at a few of them and I thought it might be interesting to catch one of these.  So with my Google directions in hand I wandered south through San Antonio.  I went south on St. Mary’s which changed names twice before I came to the San Jose Mission and it’s visitor center. 

The tour was given by a National Park’s employee named Nanette.  She was a cute native Texan gal with an amazing unique southern drawl that almost had a hint of Spanish accent.  It was just amazing listening to her as she gave the tour.  She talked about the history of the Mission San Jose and pointed out the different areas along the way.  We got to see the “apartments” where up to 20 Indians would live.  It made my Salt Lake City one bedroom apartment look like the lap of luxury compared to these two linked rooms; one of which had a fireplace where cooking was done. 

Photo- The cute Nanette with the wonderful Texas drawl accent.

Photo- The outside of the little "apartments" that line the outside wall of the San Jose Mission.

Nanette talked about what was expected of the mission Indians and what an average day for them would have been like during this time frame.  Most of their life was centered around the church.  They would get up and attend church in the morning; go back to their “apartments” for breakfast and then report to whatever work area they were expected.  Then, at the height of the day would be siesta time.  Then after their nap they would be expected to attend church again.  Then, it would be dinner and they had free time in the evening time.

Photo- The Famous Rose window.

During the tour, we steadily worked our way over to the church part of the mission where she ended her tour.  She told of two different legends regarding a Rose window on the side of the church and said we could decide which one was true.  The actual church was not part of the National Park.  Though, it was open to the public.  It’s an active parish church and run by the San Antonio Diocese. 

Photos- San Jose Mission Church, outside and inside.

After that I wondered around taking pictures and reading some of the displayed signs.  It was all very fascinating.  I walked over to the milling area which was just outside the wall areas.  It was the miller’s day off but normally they would have someone that would be operating the mill.  It was the only one of the four missions that had a working mill.  Most of the missions had been somewhat restored in the 1930’s.  It was while viewing this that I had this kitten rubbing up against me and getting all friendly.  It was a sweet thing but I wasn’t taking it home if that was what it was hoping for.

I headed back to the hotel where I did a quick shower and change before going over to the River Walk Area.  I got some change at the front desk just in case I decided to take the trolley back after dinner.  I walked over the 6 or 7 blocks to the River Walk taking a bit of a different route now that I was getting to know the area.  I walked along almost all of the River Walk area trying to decide where I wanted to eat dinner.  I went by almost every restaurant; checking quite a few menus.  I must have walked about 2 miles in all; nothing seemed to be sparking my interest.

Photo- Lighted carriages you can rent in the River Walk area.

Great deals of the restaurants along the River Walk are Tex Mex, Italian, and BBQ.  I finally decided to turn around and go back to the Waxy O’Connor Irish Pub.  They had a lamb stew that sounded rather good and it did turn out to go very well with a draft of Blue Moon.  I was enjoying the outdoor table until rain started to sprinkle just a bit.  I asked the server to move in and finished my meal indoors while watching a bit of Monday night football.  The rain started to come down a little harder and I ordered another beer in hopes of waiting out the rain.  It finally calmed down and I walked back to my hotel.

Photo- One of the restaurant areas along the River Walk.

 

DAY 52- The Wine Country of Paso Robles & Templeton, CA…

So I woke up all pumped up to do one of the bicycle routes that I had talked over yesterday with Elaine at the Bike Lane Inn.  I got out of bed, pulled back my curtains on the sliding glass door, and my face fell.  It was raining.  Darn it!  Well, I thought I can do some wine tasting and maybe catch a tour at one of the wineries.  This day can yet be salvaged.

I had a wonderful breakfast of a eggs almost like there were rolled like a jelly roll with bacon and fresh cut heirloom tomatoes inside, fresh fruit with a bit of Greek yogurt, an organic chicken sausage and coffee.  There was another couple from just outside of San Diego that was also staying there.  They were visiting a daughter and grandkids that lived nearby.  They were wonderful breakfast company.

Armed with a map and coupons for free tastings from the B&B, I went off driving into the rainy weather.  I was to take Vineyard drive all the way to its end and then take a left.  There wine tour wasn’t supposed to start until 10:30AM and I left at 10AM; that should’ve been plenty of time.  But I took the left before I got to the end and got a bit turned around. 

Photo- Jack Creek Farms with pumpkins galore!

I stopped at this cute little farm called Jack Creek Farms.  There were pumpkins galore on displayed, a small windmill, and 6 cats playing among the pumpkins.  I asked for directions and the next thing I know the gal in charge is on the phone with Tablas Creek and finding out if they were doing a wine tour.  They weren’t because of the weather but if I went over there and told them that I talked with the manager they could give me a talk and possibly a shortened tour.  With new directions, I headed out to Tablas Creek.

Photo- Part of the pretty drive out to Tablas Creek Winery.

It was an additional four mile very scenic drive that took me through tree covered roads with vineyards all along and even an olive grove too.  I finally reached the end of the road and arrived at Tablas Creek.  There was only two other vehicles other than mine.  I walked in and a man asked me if I was there for a wine tasting.  I said yes but I was also there for the tour too.  He said that there wasn’t a tour because it would be too muddy out in the fields for that.  My face fell and he said however he would be willing to talk about the vineyard to me while it was slow here.

Photo- Tablas Creek Wineries tasting room.

Steve proceeded to tell me about the history of the vineyard.  How it started out as a friendship between two families (one American and one French) and ended up as a partnership in 1985.  It took them four years to find the right property.  They were looking for a limestone soil, a certain climate, and a rugged terrain.  All conditions needed to grow the grapes that were brought over from France.  They finally found the right one here in Paso Robles (the town just north of Templeton where I was staying) in 1989.  The French vines had to be held in quarantine for 3 years and then they were finally able to plant them here in California. 

Tablas Creek’s 120 acre vineyard is an organic estate.  The emphasis is on dry farming; another reason that the limestone soil is so important.  Limestone soil will hold water and allow the grapes a steady supply of moisture throughout the growing season.  But Tablas Creek takes organic one step further; they have become Biodynamic farmer.  They plant certain plants around the vineyards vines that feed sheep that are on the property and supply manure as natural fertilizer for the vineyard.  These plants also are chosen because they promote lady bugs and other pests that help keep away pests that are not good for the vineyard.  There are three dogs that roam the property and they help keep the deer, rabbits and other rodents away from the vineyards.  Steve explained in wonderful and understandable detail of all of what is involved in Biodynamic farming.  He took over 15 minutes while we sat outside under a covered area and he drank his morning coffee.  He patiently listened and answered my questions.

Then, we went in and Steve took me through a wine tasting and explained each wine and the types of elements that were in each.  It was wonderful and enjoyable as he also explained some of the nuisances of it all.  They had a wonderful red table wine which had been ranked 37^th worldwide.  I could tell why; it was wonderful.  I later found out that Tablas Creek has a reputation for emphasis on education in the area.  They generally do two vineyard tours a day at 10:30AM and 2PM.

Photo- Pasolivo's olive oil tasting room and giftshop.

Next, I headed down the road to the Pasolivo Olive Oil which said it was open daily.  Another thing that you find common in the area is olive groves; they quite often go hand in hand with vineyards in some areas.  I drove up to an unassuming long white building and went in.  I got to experience my first olive oil tasting.  First, you pick up a small bag with cut up pieces of bread.  Then, there are little cups that you can put a bit of oil into that you dip the bread in to taste.  There were several different flavors of oil. 

There was an Italian one that had a bit of a peppery bite to it; or I thought it did.  It was funny because one guy started to cough and the sales lady said that it was natural to cough because it was showing that the anti-oxidants in the olive oil is working.  The next thing you know almost everyone in the place except for me is coughing while I was having a hard time keeping a straight face.  Boy!  Everyone was sure making sure those antioxidants were working!

Other flavors in olive oil that they had were; kitchen blend, rosemary, lemon, tangerine, lime, and citrus.  The two that I thought were the best was the rosemary and the lemon.  They also had other items available such as; bar soaps with different scents, salts and spices, vinegars, jams, lotions, lip balm, body butter, and liquid hand soaps.  It was a fun shop to go through and just smell or test some of the products.

Photo- A water fountain on the outdoor patio at the Rotta Winery.

Then, I headed to the oldest winery in the area.  Rotta was started in 1908 and is the only remaining family owned vineyard out of the first three original vineyards that started in the early 1900’s in San Luis Obispo County; a real rarity.  Currently, a grandson owns the vineyard and has been trying to breathe new life into it.  I was the only car in the parking lot and was wondering if they were opened until I went in.  A gal behind the counter took my free wine tasting coupon and started my tasting. 

Among my favorites at the Rotta vineyard was a Zinfandel Rose; that had a bit of a dry nice crisp flavor with a hint of strawberry, and two dessert wines.  The first dessert wine was a Zinfandel Port which had a wonderful smooth port flavor to it.  The other one was the Black Monukka which is a rare find of a grape.  This dessert wine had a nice nutty vanilla flavor and was not finished like a port but finished off with a grain alcohol to keep its wonderful flavor.  I bet would’ve been wonderful over ice cream. Yum!

Photo- The sign near the entrance of Aron Hill Winery.

Next, I went to Aron Hill Vineyards where they had signs advertising food.  It was lunch time and that sounded good.  I ordered a Panini sandwich and then took out my coupon for the winery.  Well, I discovered that it was a 2 for 1 wine tasting which didn’t do me any good.  The gal said that she could charge me ½ regular if I just choose three wines to taste.  Okay, I thought and I tasted 3 of them; all of these wines were reds where the other wineries so far had both red & white.  I ordered one of them as a glass to have with my lunch and because of the weather sat at a table inside.  I imagine on a clear day their patio area would fill up for lunch; it was a gorgeous view overlooking Hwy 46 and three other vineyards in the area.  While eating my lunch, I ended up sharing a table with a couple from just north of the San Diego area.  This was their first winery that they had visited of the day.  I ended up giving them of the lists of the ones I had visited and the olive oil too.

Photo- The rustic barn that houses the tasting rooms
for Lone Madrone and Stehphen's Cellar.

Next, it was down and almost around the corner on Hwy 46 to the Lone Madrone winery that Steve at Tablas Creek had highly recommended.  There’s also a Stephen’s Cellar located at the same place.  It’s a little like one stop and two wineries.  Though, the Stephen’s Cellar is more like a selection of wines from different producers.  I didn’t have a coupon but if you purchased one tasting you got the other tasting for half price.  I started with the Lone Madrone; which only had one white wine selection then it was onto reds.  I’ve never truly been fond of reds in general and I didn’t really care for any of these.

 A tall blond willowy gal in her late 20’s was standing next to me and started talking away while I started the wine tasting at Lone Madrone.  She was really disappointed when she found out that I wasn’t from the area.  She had just moved back in with her mom after breaking up with a boyfriend where she lived in southern California.  I think she was hoping to make some new friends to hang out with in the area.  I guess I was funny because she laughed a couple of times but quite a bit of my humor kind of just went over her head.  I asked her about jobs in the area and she said she had gotten hired almost the same day at a place in Cambria.  But I wondered if it was because she was beautiful and her mom lived in Cambria and pulled strings?  After she left, I finished my wine tasting and wondered if the reason she visited the winery was the young man doing the tastings behind the counter.  Sorry to say but I had the feeling he swung the other way.  She was paddling up the wrong creek on this one.

I took my wine tasting glass from Lone Madrone and went right around the corner for the wine tasting at Stephen’s Cellar.  There was a very stylishly dressed older woman that was behind the counter.  For this wine tasting you could choose 6 out of the list of wines.  She started me off with the whites that I had asked which ones she would recommend.  I did reserve one of the 6 as a Muscat wine that sounded delightful.  This lady explained the wines to me like Steve did at Tablas Creek.  This was wonderful and these wines that she was choosing for me were gems.  I asked her where she would recommend next.  By this time it was almost 4:30PM and a great deal of the wineries closed their tasting rooms at 5:30PM.  She recommended that I go the city square of Paso Robles because a great deal of those stayed open till 6pm and were closely situated.

So, off to Paso Robles I went which was maybe a quick 7 mile drive.  I parked north of the city park square and got out.  But I really by this time had felt like I had been “wined out”.  I just walked around and happened to stumble upon an art gallery called Studios on the Park.  It was a group of studios within the same place.  It had about 10 local artists that had their art on display; most of it 2 dimensional in nature.  There was one featured artist that had the main walk center area for displaying their art.  There was a great deal of variety and styles; a good selection for an art gallery.  I walked through slowly and said hi to a couple of the artists; some who were working on another piece of their art.  It was just interesting walking through and seeing them at work.

Photo- Just inside the door at the Studios on the Park Gallery.

I wandered around the city park square some more and then walked back towards my car.  But I was thinking of maybe some dinner.  So I stepped into a local bar/restaurant that was called something Irish like.  I can’t remember the name and I sat at the bar.  I ordered a beer and wasn’t there but a minute before this older woman sits next to me and am showing me pictures of her grandkids.  She said she needed a drink because she just came from the hospice where her sister was in.  I must have said something funny because the next thing she’s doing is thanking me for being there to lighten her mood.  We talked for a while and then a guy sat next to her on the other side.  Soon, she had him in on our whole conversation too.  She was quite the character.  As I drank my beer, I just didn’t feel hungry for anything that I was seeing.  I finished my beer and headed back to the freeway.

DAY 20- Chocolate, Cars, & Cheese!

I ended up staying the night at the “Hilton” of the KOA campsites.  The facilities for this KOA were deluxe and they even had a free pancake breakfast that they served in the morning at their kitchen building.  The night before, I had gone to a chocolate and wine tasting that they held at the main KOA store.  It was chocolate truffles cut up and then served with a red wine that was infused with chocolate.  It was chocolate heaven!  The wine tasted like a chocolate version of Bailey’s and was very yummy.  So yummy in fact that I bought a bottle of it and took it back to my tent site. 

Photo- My campsite at the "Hilton" KOA.

I almost drank half of the bottle while I sat at the covered picnic bench at my campsite with my plugged in computer surfing the web on my computer till it was bedtime (midnight).  Did I mention that I had a tent site where I had power and water?  It was also fenced in and rather private; too cool!

Next, after breaking camp and grabbing my free pancakes, I headed south along the coast on Hwy 101.  It was misting rather heavily most of the morning since about 7am shortly after I had gotten my camping gear packed up. (Thank goodness!)  I had asked a gal at the pancake breakfast if this was considered rain in the northwest.  “No, not yet there but it’s on its way,” she answered.

So it was some wet driving towards the south for the next 14 miles.  It never full rained but the misting got to a point of a good drizzle.  I drove about 5 miles under the speed limit because I wasn’t sure how the roads were when they were wet here.  In Utah, the roads get awfully slick when they get wet.  I think that I was frustrating some of the other drivers behind me and I took every opportunity to get over into the turn outs so they could whiz on by me.  I just didn’t want to chance it.

Photo- Car show in Seaside.

Seaside was the next town that I came to.  It’s a vibrant little community along the beach area.  They were also having some kind of hot rod car show along their main street area; only all of these cars were taking all of the parking along the street.  They also had the street closed to other cars.  It was rather fun to walk among the cars and the misting seemed to be finally waning a bit. 

But I still ended up purchasing a much needed raincoat at local store.  It’s not that I didn’t have one at all but that the one I did have was for my cycling.  It has bicycle grease on it from riding around with my bike in the back of my car.  I went to several different shops and finally found an inexpensive men’s raincoat that I liked.  I walked down to the end of the street where there was a lovely turnabout and plaza area of the town that overlooks the beach.  There were a lot of people flying kites along the beach.  T was rather fun to watch them.

Photo- The wonderful view of Cannon Beach from the south of town.

Next it was onto Cannon Beach which came highly recommended in the 1001 Places to See Before You Die book that I’ve periodically been using to help me along the way.  I lucked out and found a parking place at the end of a street just off of the beach.  I just walked over to the end of the street but didn’t go out on the beach.  I didn’t want to worry about sand in my sandals or my socks. 

Yep, I’m doing the socks with the sandals thing that is like a Utah thing.  MAN! And I used to hate that when I would see that but after living somewhere for over 20 years I guess you pick up some of the habits of the locals.  What the Heck! (Which is another Utah-ism, because they don’t say hell! They consider that swearing.  But then it doesn’t tend to hail there much either so you can’t choose to say you were using the proper word to describe precipitation either. Oh HECK!)

Photo- Cute little courtyards nested along with shops in Cannon Beach.

I walked around the main street of Cannon Beach; mainly, through some of the galleries.  I was particularly liked the art gallery in the Cannon Beach Mall called Haystack Gallery.  It had a beautiful original watercolor painting from Steve Hanks.  And another artist that I really like was Michael Schlicting who had some amazing ocean scenes done in watercolor.

Photo- A self-supported cyclist on Hwy 101.

Next, I stopped by the first viewing area just south of Cannon Beach which had a better view of the overall beach.  While there two self-supported touring cyclists I had passed earlier stopped at the viewing area too.  I talked to them for a bit.  This was their first tour of any sort and they had started in Vancouver, BC and were on their way to San Francisco where they would fly back to Ontario, Canada.  I wished them luck and when they saw my Utah plates they said that a bike tour of southern Utah was next on their list.

Photo- I took a self-guided tour.

Behold the power of cheese!  I next went to Tillamook where I took a self-guided tour of the cheese factory.  It was interesting reading about the process and then viewing some of the processing from a second floor observation area that overlooks the production floor.  Then I came back down stairs where there was an area that you could sample some of the cheeses.  I would’ve bought some cheese but I really had no way of keeping it much past the afternoon and even the smallest package was a bit much for an afternoon consumption for me.

I turned onto Hwy 6 and started heading towards Portland where I would be staying the night.  I drove through the very dense Tillamook State Forest which seemed to make a very winding road to drive on.  Then, it was on to Hwy 26 which was a double lane in each direction.  I was able to pick up some speed, and before I knew it I was near Portland.  I managed to find my way to the Sellwood area where I was renting a room for the next two nights from a homeowner that I found on the www.airbnb.com website.  A friend had given me the website to check out.

DAY 16- Twilight, Beaches, & Rainforests...

After an evening of a fun filled construction drive to Forks, I basically stopped at the first motel that said they were AAA Approved.  After checking in, I went into Forks 2 more blocks and stopped at a local hamburger joint called Sully’s.  Their burgers weren’t too bad but the hand dipped onion rings were out of this world. Yum!  They even had a Bella Burger on a special menu.  Yes, one of those Twilight references.

Photo- A Twilight store on main road of Forks.

The next morning, I drove around Forks.  Yes, there was more Twilight stuff going on here.  There were signs about Twilight tours some advertising that the music is playing and Edward is waiting, but Bella and Jacob would be there too.  There were two stores on the main drag area one was Dazed by Twilight and the other, right across the street I might add, was Native Twilight.  But can you blame them for capitalizing on it when the logging industry and the economy have taken a dive in the last few years.

Photos- Of signage out towards La Push.

Next, I drove out to La Push to see the beaches.  On the way out to the beaches, I saw a sign stating No Vampires beyond this point and Twilight Treaty Line.  I was cracking up pretty hard I almost drove off the road.  Then, there was a Jacob Black’s Vacation Rentals outside a house that looked like what they used in the movie, hmmmm.  I continued to drive out as far as I could on the road out to La Push which ends in the Quileute Indian Reservation town called La Push.  There are 3 beaches; the first one is a Tribal beach and you can drive right up to.  I stopped, got out, and walked around for a bit.  It was terribly foggy along the entire beach but I tried to take a couple of photos.  I found some cool shells that were an almost royal blue with black.

Photo- 1st Beach at La Push.  Just a BIT of fog!

I then turned back up the road I had just driven, avoiding the loose dogs in La Push.  It seems like they just let the dogs roam where they want on the reservation.  I drove to the 2^nd beach but the parking lot was swamped and the smallest one of the three.  So I drove to the parking area of the 3^rd beach, I got out and proceeded to do the 1.4 mile trail to the beach.  I walked through a very wet forested land on the way.  It was so quiet and I felt so remote it was a bit surreal.  I got to the beach and again there was a fog.  But this beach was a little larger and had more land area to see that wasn’t covered by the fog.  There were a couple of tents set up where people were camping on the edge of the beach near the forest; an interesting idea. 

Photo- The trail to 3rd Beach at La Push.

Photo- 3rd Beach at La Push. Not quite as foggy.

Photo- Here's what the 3rd beach looks like without tons of fog.

Next, I drove back through Forks on my way south to Hoh Rain Forrest which is in the Olympic National Park.  It was about 22 miles south of Fork that I turned and then there was an additional 13 miles to the gate area.  But it was a rather amazing drive as you went in more because there were tall slim evergreen trees on both sides of the road that were covered in green moss and the forest floor was covered in ferns.  Here and there you could see a wide river off to one side where there were fly fishermen.

Photos- The VERY green Hoh Rainforest at Olympic National Park.

A rain forest needs several different things to have it happen and this area of Washington has all of the ingredients.  I was the most amazed that this average rainfall for this rain forest was about 142 inches per year. WOW!  They listed other cities to compare to like Seattle only averages 42 inches per year and Phoenix averages 9 inches per year.  142 inches of rain-- That’s a lot of rain!

I went for a short hike called the Hall of Mosses.  It was an easy hike of about .8 mile with a short additional spur of 200 ft.  I took it at an easy pace and enjoyed looking at the varieties of moss, ferns, and trees.  They were all SO green too.  Some of the trees were huge and very tall.  I guess that some of the trees can get up to 200 ft. tall and as big as 30 ft. around.  It certainly made my 5ft 6in frame seem small standing among them.

Photos- Ruby Beach in Olympia National Park.

From there I continued south on Hwy 101 till I saw the turn off for the Ruby Beach which is in the Kalaloch part of the Olympic National Park.  It’s a HUGE Park and claims a great deal of the northwestern corner area of Washington State.  This beach area was also very foggy but it had some very interesting rock formations and it was an easy walk down.

From there I decided to head further south.  I had a late lunch in Aberdeen, and while there I started looking at my Washington map.  I decided that I want to see about going over to visit Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helen’s while I’m kind of midway down in the state.  Then I can work my way back over to the coastline.  So I started to head east on Interstate 12 and spent the night in Centralia.