Vancouver, BC

Drove straight through to Vancouver from Portland, Oregon. Glad I am in the Honda... this looks like a hard way to travel. Rod ? - this could be your future?

View from my hotel room. Sigh.

Spoke to this guy that lives on the beach at Stanley Park. He has been living  "off the grid" for 7 years!!. I asked him what does he do when it snows.. he answered "I have a tarp".

He has a great setup. Finds discarded food from the nearby cafe and cooks it up in his frypan.

More photos at Beautiful Vancouver Album

Oregon

One thing I know for sure, I need to come back to Oregon and spend some more time.

What I missed and will do next time - Crater Lake, Ashford Shakespeare Festival, everything along the coast and stay in a Yurt, more time in Portland.

Any town (Portland) that has electric trams (trolleys) is on my favorites list. This tram is 4 carriages long!!!

Played board games for 8 hours at Guardiangamesportland.com. Great Fun!!!

Saw a Frank Lloyd Wright House in Silverton. Eveything has a 15 degree angle theme including the edges of the kitchen benches.

That wooden pattern on wall ... it sandwiches the glass and is structural. Looks like marine ply.

And.... This was amazing!!!!!!! Saw the plane in the forest that is being turned into living quarters. Something that has been on my list to do for over 5 years. It was amazing to see. This image is from google maps. It was trucked in and then wings reattached. its on the side of a mountain.just getting it there was a major achievement

Thanks to Mark for showing me around and getting me up on the wing to gain access. That was a feat let me tell you!!!!! It might look easy but it was a big effort for me.

You can read more about it here http://www.airplanehome.com/

I have a lot more photos but havent set up a system for them yet.

More soon.....

Northern California

Stopped at a rest area in Northern California. See the VW combi in the background? the hippie in the back (cant see him) He was approached by 3 different people in the 10 minutes I was sitting there. Everyone wants to talk about "their" dream of doing what he is doing and their memories of "their" VW. I am glad I am in the Honda, with A/C, minimal road noise and a very comfortable ride. There a a lot of RV's on the road. Almost equal to trucks!!!

Forgot to mention, bought a great camera Sony H20 with 10x optical zoom. Will load more photos later

Black Butte (Plug-Dome)

Slow start

Filled up with gas (petrol) noted the miles on the speedo, stuck in a traffic jam trying to get across Bay Bridge (sigh) and stayed in a dive in the East Bay with no internet!!!!!!!!!. Too tired to get any further.

The Stats for those that are asking
What are you driving? - 2007 Honda Accord.
Any special modifications? - No
GPS? - Yes TomTom.
Cruise Control? - yes (love it!!!)

Next Adventure - RoadTrip

I am about to embark on my next adventure, a road trip around USA. Starting in San Francisco. Should take about 8 - 10 weeks. I drew this freehand so the line is just a suggestion :-)
The only dates that are firm are start on  Oct 1, and I need to be in Maryland by Nov 11. Everything else is loose and as the road takes me.
Hopefully I will be able to stay ahead of the snow.
Will keep my eye on the job market and look seriously when I get back to the bay area. Cant wait to get started.

The last couple of years....

I have been working at a company in Silicon Valley. It's been a great experience. Learnt a lot, met and worked with great people. Got to travel a lot - our other offices in Toronto and Quebec, customer offices in Kentucky, Nevada, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma. Trade shows in Nevada, Florida, Atlanta, Toronto.
And on my own time, several trips including New York, Buffalo, Las Vegas.
Attended thousands of meetings and teleconfrences, millions of email (it felt like it)
I worked long hours and put a lot of energy into the job, hence no entries on this blog :-), well thats my excuse.
Found a great hobby in board games, in particular, euro board games and found several groups to join. Met another bunch of great people through playing board games.
I belong to a book club where I dont have to read the book, thanks for the no pressure to read fiction books but still come along for the fun and sharing. More great people.

I have been asked a lot what do I like most about being in the USA.... that is easy ..... High speed, fixed price, unlimited internet access at home and on cell/mobile phone! You dont get this in other parts of the world, where eveything is metered. The more you use the more you pay and pay a lot.  And because of this there is lots of free wifi available and every hotel has cheap or free internet access.... and the other thing...all the great people I have added to my world family.

Stay tuned for news of the next adventure coming next week.

Cya - found out this actually stands for something here - cover your ass(arse)!!!

I cant believe it....

Back in Melbourne.....
I meant to to post a lot more during my 2 months in the USA but it didnt happen because I found myself a company willing to offer me a job.
So I have come back to get my E3 Visa. It lasts for 2 years and can be renewed. Its not a green card. You have to promise you will leave USA when the Visa expires.

Paperwork is due to arrive next week so I will be able to make my appointment at the Embassy.