L.A., Lake Havasu, and The Grand Canyon

After a good nights rest in the AC, I did a bit of laundry, and headed off to L.A. Los Angeles is only a few hours drive from Vegas, so I anticipated getting a little beach time before meeting up with my cousin Debbie for a bite to eat. Well, plans change, and a flat tire on the way caused a slight delay in my course of direction. Getting a flat tire in L.A. can be a scary ordeal, especially when you are on the side of one of the busiest highways in the area. Luckily I was aided by a very kind tow-truck driver, and the staff at the local Pep Boys, and I was on my way in no time at all.

After my tire so undutifully gave out, I headed over to Debbie's with my tummy rumbling. She suggested that we grab some Middle Eastern cuisine, which was plentiful in her neighborhood. Just a few blocks away we arrived at a local joint called Haifa. A discrete little hole in the wall, the restaurant was not much to look at from the outside, but the food was fantastic. We ordered a falafel plate that came with huge helpings of Israeli salad, hummus, baba ganoush, and other delicious fixings. That would have been enough food for both of us, but we also got a spicy fish dish (a specialty) that was spectacular as well. It was probably the best Middle Eastern food I have had outside of Tel Aviv - a real compliment!


After a quick driving tour of L.A. (including UCLA, Beverly Hills, and some other ultra trendy areas) we headed back to her apartment to get some rest. I woke early, did a little putzing around on the computer, and then got on the road to Lake Havasu. I was surprised by how temperate the weather was in L.A., but Havasu was quite the opposite. I arrived to temps soaring over 113 degrees, which all but suffocates the life out of any normal individual. It is quite a good thing that the city is located near the lake, or the climate would be absolutely unbearable. I chuckled to myself that evening when the forecaster on the local news was predicting a big cool down for the 4th of July - all the way down to 104!

I woke early after retiring fairly expediently, and headed out to grab some pics before the heat was unbearable. After taking a few pictures by the lakeside, I jumped in the car, barely able to contain my excitement for what came later that afternoon: The Grand Canyon. There is very little that is more iconic of America than the GC, and it proved to be just as spectacular as I had expected it to be. It was packed with tourists from every conceivable nation, all oohing and aahing at the grandeur of its beauty. I couldn't help but to join them.

It took about 5 hours to drive from Lake Havasu to The Grand Canyon, and it was possibly one of the hottest drives I have ever experienced. Temperatures on the road soared to nearly 120, and even the AC in the car struggled to keep up with the heat. After arriving, I quickly parked and walked as fast as my legs would take me to the rim of the canyon. A huge smile broke across my face as I was standing before the most incredible sight that had ever passed before my eyes. There are very few words that can aptly describe the GC, but if I was awestruck by Zion, The Grand Canyon was a completely different level.

The Grand Canyon is just over a tenth of a mile wide in its shortest area, but nearly 18 MILES wide in its largest. I'm not sure how wide it was at the South Rim where I was at, but lets just say cavernous does not even start to describe it. Not only is the canyon incredibly wide, but it is also more than a MILE deep in most places! In many areas, this is a sheer drop, and the people that venture out onto the cliffs are truly gutsy. The sheer size of the GC is really tremendous, and cannot be conveyed in its full accuracy through photos (I did my best, but this is one that you have to see to believe!).  If you haven't yet, you must head over to the flickr site to see the pictures though - They are truly stunning.

Alright folks, its that time again - you are completely caught up on the journey across the states. Today I will head off to either Albuquerque or Santa Fe to hopefully camp, and devour some delicious Mexican cuisine. The next update will likely be in a couple days, but do not fret, I am sure there are lots more epic tales of adventure and breath-taking photos to come!

A.S. Bloom

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Nevada and Zion National Park

A busy few days it has been! Again, camping and Internet availability have proven to be obstacles to daily blogging, but once more you will have the pleasure of multiple blog posts today! Last you heard, I was in Reno for the night and headed to Zion National Park. Well, as the situation dictated, I didn't quite make it to Zion the next day but did make it to another beautiful area.

The mountainous areas around Ely (Pronounced E-Lee) Nevada proved to be a real surprise in my trip: I figured it was just another little town in the middle of Nevada (which it is!) surrounded by nothing but desert. In fact, the area has many gorgeous rolling hills, rocky crags, and flora. Unfortunately, others have realized this area's beauty and the local campgrounds were brimming at capacity. After arriving in the area, I drove around to 3 campgrounds before settling on a KOA just outside of Ely. Not getting a prime camping spot was disappointing, however I was not disappointed by the pictures I was able to snap in the time I was wandering about. 

After an early start the next morning, I headed to my intended destination from the previous day: Zion National Park. For those of you who don't already know, Zion is a beautiful location in Southern Utah which is highlighted by massive red rock formations. After arriving at the campsite, I headed out for a nice walk around the park area to grab some photos. The area is just so unbelievably perfect, its truly hard to describe the awe-striking nature of Zion. With towering red rock on either side of you, its hard not to feel isolated in one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is definitely one of those times where you should pop over to the flickr site to get the full effect!

I wandered about for a bit, but the extreme heat in this area forced me to retire to camp a bit earlier than I had wanted to (It was a balmy 107). The large red rock formations on either side act like an oven, retaining heat for hours after the sun disappears on the horizon. So, after my walk, I put away the camera, changed into a pair of board shorts, and headed for water. Apparently I wasn't the only one with such a plan, as it seemed the entire campground was splashing about in the stream that abutted the area. The water was bath temperature, but still provided a well deserved reprieve from the heat. After a quick soak, I retreated back to camp, grabbed a bite to eat, and passed out.

After a couple days of camping in 100+ degree heat, I needed to find a place with AC to chill out for a couple days. I headed to Las Vegas, where I met up with a couple friends from college. Not only did they have air conditioning, but a pool to boot! What a score! After cooling down a bit, we did what most responsible Vegasites do: Go somewhere that they crank the AC down to unreasonable levels, and literally chill out. We went to go see the movie "Get Him to the Greek" which was pretty funny, a lot of "American Pie" type humor, but definitely good for a few laughs.

The real highlight of the Vegas expedition was a little West-Coast fast food joint called In-N-Out. Now let me preface this by saying In-N-Out is not your average McDonalds or Wendy's. This place uses the freshest ingredients available and doesn't skimp on quality or quantity like the other joints. There is no dollar menu, or any shenanigans of that sort, but the food, well, is absolutely fantastic. Mouth-wateringly tender beef patties, fries with cheese melted all over the top, and a chocolate shake to boot! Although it wasn't the most gourmet meal of the trip, it definitely won't soon be forgotten...

Alright blogosphere, that catches you up on a couple days of the past week, but there is lots more to come. After Vegas, I hit L.A., Lake Havasu annnndddd (drum roll please!) the Grand Canyon! Ill leave you now with a teaser from the GC...

A.S. Bloom

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Sannnn Francisco!

After a restless night in the hills of California, I made the brief drive down to San Francisco. As I've noted before, San Francisco is easily my favorite city (at least of those I've visited before!) in the U.S. The city pulses with activity, culture, and ethnic diversity unlike any place that I've ever been before, and has always had such a positive effect on me. With this in mind, I decided to stay a couple days rather than just blowing through like I have previously on the trip.

My cousin Elizabeth's daughter, Amethyst, lives in San Fran and is the most worthy of tour guides. Although I didn't go to the typical sites (Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, etc...) I saw San Fran for the amazing city that it is. Amethyst lives in a beautiful area of the city called 'The Sunset', one of many gorgeous areas that SF has to offer. Sunset is mainly known for its proximity to the beach, which we took full advantage of straight away. After a quick walk on the beach, we headed back to her place to get ready for a night on the town. 

Our first night out was a great time, and certainly did not disappoint in any aspect of the word. After cruising a couple bars in the Mission, we headed down to a bar called Zeitgiest, a biker/hipster/whoever you are type of bar that makes S.F. what it is. We arrived and the place was crazy! Wall to wall packed with what we would discover were supporters of the 'Tamale Lady', a local cult classic food vendor, and a San Francisco staple for over a decade. Of course I had to try one, and it was absolutely epic! Easily the best tamale I had ever eaten. In addition, we met up with a friend from Omaha who was in S.F. for a couple nights sight seeing and such. We drank, smoked, and had a really excellent time.

Day 2 was just as exciting as the first, but with very different contents. Amethyst and I started the day by walking around Berkley, including the university campus as well as the surrounding area. After working up an appetite, we met up with her friend Matt for Thai food. The food was very good (sorry, no pics!) and very spicy -- Even asking for mild on most dishes resulted in some realllly hot food -- not that I'm complaining! After a nice afternoon in Berkley, we headed over to Oakland to catch a baseball game. We thrifted for some A's gear, and then headed over to the game. Although the A's didn't win, we had a great time, and it was a beautiful evening for America's past time.

Day 3 in the bay was slightly less eventful, but enjoyable none the less. Amethyst and I spent most of the morning looking around at schools in the bay area, and then we met up with another old friend of mine. Lauren, a friend from Omaha had moved back to the bay area about 4 years ago, and lives in the Marina area. Obviously this was a good opportunity to get down on the freshest seafood in country, so we decided to grab some sushi. We walked down to a place called Naked Fish, that had some brilliant sushi -- Incredibly fresh tasting, and delicious -- This was serious sushi! After having a delectable lunch and some intriguing conversation, we parted ways with Lauren and headed to the next destination.  

After a bit of running around, we headed over to Delila's (Amethyst's sister) for dinner. The main attraction at this destination was Delila, who is 8 3/4 months pregnant and about ready to burst! We had some pizza and salad with her and her husband Adam as well as a few others from their circle. The food was good, and after another long day, Amethyst and I retreated back to her place to get some Z's.

I awoke the next morning, packed my things, and regrettably left my happy place. I had planned to drive far into the desert of Nevada, but after traffic jams in S.F. and on the highway I ended up in Reno for the night. Tomorrow I hope to drive to southern Utah (Zion National Park) and camp for the night!

Alright blogosphere, you are officially caught up on my goings on! Again, my apologies for my extended absence, but as you may garner, I was too busy having a good time (and no Internet)! More to come soon.

A.S. Bloom

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Mendo and Such

After a night of 'camping' in the abandoned lumber yard, I headed expediently down the coast and a bit inland to Mendocino County. Talk about beautiful country, Mendo is one of those rare areas that has just about every geographical feature that one could imagine. The rolling hills in Potter Valley, Lake Mendocino, and the beach at Ft. Bragg -- Just about everything a man could want!

After driving around the area for a while, I arrived at my cousin Elizabeth's house in the hills of Potter Valley. As I stated before, this area is really gorgeous, scenic, and worth spending a good amount of time in. Although I only spent a night there, I easily could have stayed weeks/months. The area is filled with local farmers and the like, and is mostly rural with the exception of Ukiah, a few miles away from where I was staying. The house that I was staying in was perched atop a great hill, with views for miles around.

I arrived at Elizabeth's a bit before my anticipated arrival, and decided to take a walk through the hills. I walked about 1/4 of a mile before realizing that I really needed to bring my camera along for said endeavor. I retreated back to the car, grabbed my gear, and set out on my hike. It was a gorgeous California day with the sun shining, and a slight breeze blowing at my back, propelling me as I went. I was really glad to have my camera along with me to capture the beauty of the area, and if you haven't checked out my flickr page already, jump over there and check out the rest of the pics to know what I am really talking about!

After getting back from my hike, I met up with my cousins, and shared a nice vegetarian meal. We talked for hours about family, life, and radio lab -- easily three of my favorite things to chat about -- and the night rapidly slipped away. These people are very interesting artists types, so inevitably there are always lots of cool things to talk about. Elizabeth is actually a little famous, as she has done mosaics around the country for different organizations. Michael, her husband, is a music teacher at local school, as well as an independent artist with a new CD scheduled for release in the near future. Simply said, the conversation was stimulating, and it was quite a surprise to learn that is was well after midnite before I said my goodnights. 

I slept well that night, even though I was a bit restless, tossing and turning with thoughts of impending travel to my favorite city in the U.S. -- San Francisco -- and that's where this blog ends and the next begins!

A.S. Bloom

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Coos Bay & Eureka - Two beautiful locales

First and foremost, let me extend my deepest apologies for leaving my followers without a blog for nearly a week, but let me assure you, the next couple are full of great information, and beautiful pictures! Its been a great few days, with events running the gamut from an ocean dip to baseball in the bay, so hold on for the blog onslaught!

The last time you heard from me, I was taking in the natural splendor and tasty food of Portland -- Some of the best in the country! I departed Portland and drove down the coast of Oregon on Hwy 101, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The 101 is only matched in beauty and sheer driving excitement by Hwy 1 in California (which I intend to drive at some point on this journey) and is truly a spectacular expedition. The roads winds up and down the coast, zig-zagging between quaint little towns, and dense forestation. If there were no speed limits, and limited traffic, this would be the road you would want to test your new Porsche on. Period.

After arriving in Coos Bay, I explored the town a little, and then headed for my selected campground for the night. The reason I had selected this particular area was for its proximity to the beach and coastline, and I was surely not disappointed. Within two blocks of my site, I had vast sandy beaches surrounded by dense forests. I took a quick run on the beach, and then retreated back to the campsite to get my camera for an excellent photo op. I snagged some pictures, and decided it would be best to get the full effect and jump in, if only for a moment.  Although it surely wasn't the warmest beach I have ever been to, it was still worth jumping in quickly to get the full effect. Chilly, but refreshing!

After a restful night of camping with the ocean as my soundscape, I jetted down the West coast to Eureka. The drive took a bit longer than I had anticipated with the windy 101 often having a maximum speed limit of 35, but I still arrived in time to set up camp and cook up some dinner.... Or at least I thought.... After driving all around town trying to find a campground for almost 3 hours, I finally found one that wasn't at its maximum occupancy. Bear in mind that this was a KOA, which in my opinion is not technically camping, but by that time I arrived, I was exhausted and resigned to stay there, even though it was located in what appeared to be an abandoned lumber yard. An interesting night to say the least.

Although I spent most of my afternoon driving around in vain, I was able to grab a couple good pics from one of the areas that I visited to obtain a campground. The Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, just outside of Eureka was stunning, and reminded me a bit of the dunes in Colorado. Sand as far as the eye could see, but with beautiful rolling hills interspersed throughout. This area used to be used as an ammunition bunker during WWII, and these bunkers are still there in area (although I was not able to capture them on camera) on the outskirts of the dunes. It was gorgeous and scenic, especially on a day when I was a bit stressed!

Alright blogosphere, 1 of 3 posts for tonight finished! I'll be uploading 2 more posts in the near future after I finish uploading and editing the subsequent pictures -- More Cali to come!

A.S. Bloom

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The City of Roses

After a restful night of camping, I woke early, took a run around the Olympic National Forest, packed up camp, and set out down Highway 101 towards Portland. The drive down the coast was absolutely spectacular with the road winding serpentine through iconic little cottages and towns along the way. Although it wasn't the quickest route between two points, it certainly was the most beautiful.

I arrived in Portland at about 1:30, and set about getting my hands on some food, ASAP. I had heard of a little hole in the wall Thai restaurant called Pok Pok. This place has won numerous awards, is Zagat rated, and is widely known as one of the best Thai restaurants in the country. It certainly did not disappoint. I ordered one of their most famous dishes, a Thai chicken wing dish, that was recognized as dish of the the year by Food and Wine magazine in 2007. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. This dish was purely a mouthgasm. Sweet, Savory, Spicy, Unami -- It hit on all sectors of the palate, and easily was in the top 5 dishes I had ever eaten. If you're ever in Portland, you HAVE to go here.

After having one of the best meals of my life, I headed to Washington Park, home of some of the most beautiful and ornate gardens in the states. My first stop was the iconic Rose Garden, known worldwide for its immense collection of roses (who woulda thought?!?). There are literally thousands of different varieties of roses, and although I'm no expert on flora, I was still very impressed by the collection. I was awestruck by the simplicity, yet the immense beauty of the area, and its really hard not to be. There are award winning, classic, ornate, hybrid, and just about every type of rose one could ever dream up. Truly amazing.

After touring the rose garden, I headed up the hill to the serene Japanese gardens. Although my trip has been a bit hectic at times, these gardens truly provided a moment of serenity. The term 'garden' should be used somewhat loosely, as it was more of an oasis of Japanese culture that happens to have many different types of plants and animals. The rock gardens were especially fantastic, and brought a calming aura to everyone that entered the area. All in all, very interesting, and beautiful.

After another long day of travel and sightseeing, I settled down in my motel room to watch the celtics v. lakers game which turned out to be an epic battle. Ate some leftovers from lunch, drank a tasty local beer, (Full Sail Pale Ale made in Mt. Hood, OR) and now its time for bed. Goodnight blogosphere, we'll talk again soon.

A.S. Bloom

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Seattle and the Olympic National Forest

Its only been 2 days since the last entry, but it feels like its been ages! So much has happened since the last posting that again I will be breaking my post into two manageable sized blogs rather than one incredibly large one. The good news: You, the reader, get another double dose of life on the road with me -- Could you ask for more?

OK, so last you heard from me, I had arrived in Seattle, and was preparing for a day on the town. Well, that day on the town was wildly fun, and filled with all the sights, sounds, and smells of one of the most beautiful cities on the West Coast. My first stop, after struggling to find parking, was at the Pikes Place Market, an icon of Seattle. The market is absolutely spectacular and chaotic, with vendors hawking their wares, street performers crooning on every corner, and the smells of fresh fish, baked goods, and just about every other wonderful smell you could possibly dream up. It is truly a feast for the senses! 

After strolling about the market for over an hour, being fed by every vendor with a little bit of this and that, I settled down by the waterfront for a quick bite from Piroshky, Piroshky -- a delectable baked bite filled with delicious BBQ pork. This place is world reknowned for their cuisine, and it was completely apparent why. As I approached, the line was waaay out the door, probably at least 30 people or more. You know that the food is good if people are willing to wait 30 minutes in line, when there is an abundance of great food within spitting distance. Its authentic, and in case you doubted them, they have a huge window right into their kitchen where you can see babushka piroshky herself!

After feasting my senses at the market (and buying a couple items for dinner - but more on that later!) I made a quick jaunt over to the Space Needle to snap some pics of the surrounding artwork, as well as take pictures from 60 stories up! The space needle provides the best vantage point in all of Seattle, and is truly worth the price of admission. You can see for miles and miles around you, with breathtaking views of the city, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Peninsula. The art was cool too :).

After my adventures in downtown Seattle, I made the trek to the Olympic National Forest for a night of camping. This involves driving down to the coastline, and then taking a ferry from Seattle to a little town called Kingston. After arriving, one takes a magnificent rural road up the coastline to the Forest which sits secluded on the Northern part of the peninsula. The whole drive is absoultuely breathtaking, and I would reccomend it to anyone, any day of the week. 

I arrived at the campground around 8:00, exhausted from a long day of travel and sightseeing, but not too exhausted to cook myself a gourmet meal  --- Remember I mentioned that I bought some goodies for dinner? Those goodies included freshly caught spot prawns, hand picked organic arugula, and Washington asparagus. Inspired by the bounty of my shopping, I quickly cooked up a delicious plate for myself, took a walk around the forest, and then passed out. A fun filled day, not to be soon forgotten...

A.S. Bloom

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