End of 2019 travel...

I may have had a bit of a travel hangover after Scotland (not a real hangover, we did more sampling than drinking), but that didn't mean that I didn't travel a bunch. Here's an overview of where I went in the last 3 months of last year...

Sunset at home, looking at Mt Hood

Scotland IV: Oban

I grew up in a ferry town, so I know that there's something to be said for "Island Time" that extends to the ports that tether those islands to the mainland. Wind, tide, and mechanics are the deciding factors in when "the boat" leaves, or if it leaves at all. We were already a little windblown and soggy when we arrived in Oban, but ready to brave the elements when we hurried to the ferry dock to catch the 11:20 boat to Mull. What we learned is that yes, the 11:20 boat would be leaving, but they were expecting to cancel all later sailings due to weather... in other words, we could get to Mull, but there was no guarantee we would get back. Since our rental car was due in Glasgow the next day, we decided to use this stranding as an excuse to slow down and explore Oban.

Oban might not have amounted to much more than other villages along Scotland's west coast, except for the fact that the railroad came there in the Victorian era. With the railroad came tourism, and with tourists came the sort of 19th century architecture that I've come to expect in coastal UK towns; stone hotels growing up several stories, brass bannistered and capped with slate roofs. We discovered several other remnants of Oban's 19th century boom as we explored. Fortified with tea and flapjacks (hint: not a pancake) from the Little Potting Shed cafe, we climbed the hill to McCaig's Tower, which gave us a view of the town and a starting point for more urban hill walking. The "tower" itself is an eponymous monument to Mr. McCaig's family, and encircles a lovely, wild garden.

Our wanderings took us through neighborhoods and up to a hill on the south side of the harbor, then back along the promenade to the north side of town. By this time the sun was trying to come out, and the reason for our cancelled ferry became evident... the wind was blowing out of the NorthWest at what I estimated to be a "small craft advisory," at least outside the harbor. Inside the harbor itself, the water turned a slate grey colour. We had donned all of our layers at this point (long sleeves, insulators, jackets, scarves...) but still found ourselves wind blasted by the time our distillery tour came around!

The ferry we would have taken back from Mull docking in a harbor full of whitecaps 

the "just let me get my hair out of my face" selfie

 If I'm being honest, I was more concerned about missing our scheduled tour of the Oban distillery if we were stranded on mull than I was about getting our rental car back to Glasgow. It turns out that I rather like a nice whisky, and Scotland is known for exceptional whiskys (Scotch being that subset of whiskies that is made of malted barley and aged 3 years + a day in Scotland).  The Oban distillery has been at it since the 1790's, and they are rather good at it! I was happy to learn that my home state contributed the pine for their newest Washback (the tubs where fermentation happens), and thus contributes indirectly to the creation of Oban's fine product. Of course, our tour included a taste straight from the cask. "Cask strength" whisky comes in at 50%+ ABV, which is diluted to 40%+ ABV for packaging. Much of the final flavour comes from the casks themselves, so our guide couldn't tell us what the final aging process entails. Regardless, the final product was delicious!

 

Am Bodensee (on Lake Constance)

In our tasting flight of a trip (Jon's description of our sampling of middle Europe), Jon had requested that we go to Switzerland. The default train route from St Anton to Stuttgart passes through a corner of Switzerland, but what if we took a different route and stopped for lunch there? After changing trains twice and my second visit to Liechtenstein, we reached the Romanshafen Harbor ferry terminal.

a Preview of San Francisco

My current sunny coffee shop seat is sun warmed and the familiar sounds of steam foaming milk, mugs clinking into their saucers, humming conversation between the silent page turners and highlighters bent over texts. Since this will also be at least a 3-part trip, I had better get caught up... I'm only a month behind! So, today, here's my walk through San Francisco.

IMTS Chicago

After 3 years of not going to Chicago for work, I've had two trips in the past two months! This time, instead of being out at the very end of the orange "L" line, I was staying in downtown Chicago on the Magnificent Mile. We were just a block of Michigan Avenue, which is lined with department stores, gourmet food, and high-class boutiques. We were also a 15 minute walk from the famous Navy Pier, which juts into Lake Michigan and gives an amazing view back over the city skyline. 

I took the "L" downtown...

Training last week was in one of the suburbs of Chicago. I was staying next to the end of the Orange Line, so after work one day I jumped on the "L" and headed downtown. The familiar rustle of public transportation made the new city seem comfortable. Passing train yards, warehouses, up-and-coming lofts, and finally the towering downtown blocks... It was a cross-section of the city. 

Spring Wanders at Washington Park

I was browsing my photos from the past few months, and was reminded that we've been on an adventure or two since the rain stopped and the clouds cleared... From different days, here are a few snapshots of our spring wanders about Washington Park. 

The sunset tree finally died... now just a gnarled silhouette.

Highway 101: Oregon Coast

We drove over the towering ribbon of a bridge that links Washington and Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia river. After a brief stop to refuel at one of the old cannaries on the Astoria waterfront, we continued along 101 down the coast. 

Highway 101: WA coast

A few weeks ago, we went on a springtime road trip. You would think that I would know better than planning a road trip through several rain forests in April, but that's exactly what I did. Sunday morning, we loaded up the Toyota Adventuremobile and headed south to the Pt Townsend ferry.

First stop: LaPush. And really big driftwood logs!

Off to Los Angeles...

Some friends I hadn't seen in a few years were heading to LA for an extended weekend, so I flew south to join them. We didn't have much of a plan besides "rent a car, hike a bunch, and see at least one national park, and have fun!" I think we hit it on every count! The first day started with a leisurely breakfast near our VRBO in Pasadena, and then we headed towards Santa Monica for a hike...

Amtrak Cascades

I think it has been 15+ years since I was last on a train in the USA. A few weeks ago I took the train from Portland to Mt Vernon as an alternative to driving home. It is a little slower thanks to frequent stops, but flies at 80 mph through the segments that are slow on I-5. The route is also different, winding along the water in the South Sound and through the farms in the Green River valley. The sun set by the time the Amtrak Cascades actually neared the Cascades, but the view through the South Sound was beautiful.

So Cal Beaches

In the past two months, I have been sent to southern California twice for work. The first was to Costa Mesa for some update training, the second was to Long Beach for a standard training. Of course, while there I unwound a little after long training days at the nearby beaches: Huntington, Newport, and Long.

MWRT part 6: Flathead Lake Breakfast

We left Kalispell on Saturday morning, packing the tent and the rest of our worldly possessions into the Rav4 and pointing it South towards Utah. On our way, we stopped at a state park on the shores of Flathead Lake. It was beautiful. The water was warm (except where a stream poured into the lake!) and almost tropical looking.

A few thoughts from the Oregon coast

Before my friends left the Pacific NorthWest, we had two things to do: shopping, and a visit to the Coast. The Coast took priority.

Chesapeake Bay (North Point State Park)

 After my last day of training, I was ready to release a little stress by taking a walk in the woods. The nearest state park (at least a state park that had more than a 1-star rating on Trip Advisor) was was at the edge of Chesapeake Bay, 20 minutes away. Perfect. I was off over the Francis Scott Key bridge to North Point State Park.

Chesapeake Bay

a sunny Sunday on Lake Union

 Emily asked a few weeks ago if I could pick her up at the airport on Sunday. It was the perfect excuse to spend a sunny day neighborhood-hopping in the Emerald city.

Our first stop was the Center for Wooden Boats, where we snagged a beautiful little lapstrake skiff and rowed up wind onto Lake Union.

Skillfully maneuvering us out of the harbor

Coasting back to town with a tail wind

Sunshine in the San Juans

 Despite my long silence, I really have been adventuring in the past several weeks! Getting 2 weeks off from work was wonderful. The first was taken over by Christmas and a nasty head cold. The second week, I was lucky enough to be visited by friends from Sweden! Russ and Josefin invited Maria and I over for dinner when I was in Göteborg this summer. They were in the area for Christmas with Russ's family, so we took a day to explore the San Juan Islands.

Me and Josefin, Mt Baker behind us

November Sun

I love the wintry weather of the Pacific Northwest. Last week we had a Northerly wind that brought clear skies and icy temperatures. My new desk looks east to the Cascade Mountains and the sunrise lures me into my office very morning.

Cascade Sunrise

Donostia Regatta

Jone walked me to the train station Sunday morning to make sure I got my ticket, then I jumped on a train with hundreds of colorfully dressed enthusiasts headed to Donostia. It was regatta weekend!

Flysch

Gurutze had arranged on Saturday for us to go to Zumaia to see a unique geological phenomenon, flysch. Layers of roc sediment and organic matter were laid down at the bottom of an ancient lake or bay and were them lifted up at a crazy angle to make the amazingly rugged coastline of the Basque Country.

Adventures with Kike, Liere, Jone, and Gurutze