Hi, Happy Holidays!
It's been very cold here (Northern BC, on the Alaska Highway), about -25C/-13F for the past three months, and we have had about 8 feet of snow. It's been a brutal Winter so far... So, I figured it was time for a road trip.
I saddled up my VW diesel and went South, into the USA (first time in about 20 years). The first thing that struck me was there were row crops actively growing in Washington, near Bellingham. It looked like beans. The next thing was the amount of dairy operations. That is almost gone in Western Canada. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I was very happy to see them prospering!
I visited Pike Market in Seattle, Wow! If you've never been there, it is definitely worth a visit. There's a big sign saying "Farmers Market" but they sure seemed like retailers to me. I had a coffee at the very first Starbucks, and a piroshky (apple/cranberry) next door at Piroshky Piroshky. I have got to learn how to make those things!
I went to Cannon Beach, OR. Very scenic, insanely windy. I visited a fishing wharf, where they are gearing up for the crab fishery, and I saw pelicans there. Then continued down the coast until the windy (twisty) roads started to make me crazy. That led me to think that I could save some time by going inland to the I-5.
The trip inland took me through many miles of twisted, gnarly, moss covered trees that Dr. Seuss would have been proud of. Kinda disturbing really. The valleys are so tight that there were no farms at all.
Once on the I-5 I encountered a road block, requiring that all vehicles have chains on... I'm from Northern Canada, and I never heard of such a thing! They wouldn't let me pass, so I soured the countryside trying to find a store that wasn't sold out of chains. I nearly turned around and came home...
Anyways, after installing and removing my new chains several times, I finally got to Corning, CA, where the most amazing crops of olives are grown. I also went to their store, The Olive Pit, and had lunch and bought many jars of olives. Very professional farms around there! I respect that...
Then I went to the University of California at Berkeley (I studied Math there). If you have never been to Berkeley, you should visit. And go up to the top of the hill, where there are gardens and an amazing view overlooking the Bay area.
I continued down to Monterey, where I turned around and came back up the coast, with notable stops at Eureka (architecture), the Redwood Forest (amazing trees), and many beaches in southern Oregon that I had missed on the way down.
When I got home, it was -34C/-29F. I went inside and shivered...
Bye for now,
Troy
It's been very cold here (Northern BC, on the Alaska Highway), about -25C/-13F for the past three months, and we have had about 8 feet of snow. It's been a brutal Winter so far... So, I figured it was time for a road trip.
I saddled up my VW diesel and went South, into the USA (first time in about 20 years). The first thing that struck me was there were row crops actively growing in Washington, near Bellingham. It looked like beans. The next thing was the amount of dairy operations. That is almost gone in Western Canada. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I was very happy to see them prospering!
I visited Pike Market in Seattle, Wow! If you've never been there, it is definitely worth a visit. There's a big sign saying "Farmers Market" but they sure seemed like retailers to me. I had a coffee at the very first Starbucks, and a piroshky (apple/cranberry) next door at Piroshky Piroshky. I have got to learn how to make those things!
I went to Cannon Beach, OR. Very scenic, insanely windy. I visited a fishing wharf, where they are gearing up for the crab fishery, and I saw pelicans there. Then continued down the coast until the windy (twisty) roads started to make me crazy. That led me to think that I could save some time by going inland to the I-5.
The trip inland took me through many miles of twisted, gnarly, moss covered trees that Dr. Seuss would have been proud of. Kinda disturbing really. The valleys are so tight that there were no farms at all.
Once on the I-5 I encountered a road block, requiring that all vehicles have chains on... I'm from Northern Canada, and I never heard of such a thing! They wouldn't let me pass, so I soured the countryside trying to find a store that wasn't sold out of chains. I nearly turned around and came home...
Anyways, after installing and removing my new chains several times, I finally got to Corning, CA, where the most amazing crops of olives are grown. I also went to their store, The Olive Pit, and had lunch and bought many jars of olives. Very professional farms around there! I respect that...
Then I went to the University of California at Berkeley (I studied Math there). If you have never been to Berkeley, you should visit. And go up to the top of the hill, where there are gardens and an amazing view overlooking the Bay area.
I continued down to Monterey, where I turned around and came back up the coast, with notable stops at Eureka (architecture), the Redwood Forest (amazing trees), and many beaches in southern Oregon that I had missed on the way down.
When I got home, it was -34C/-29F. I went inside and shivered...
Bye for now,
Troy
