There is something so inherently classy and romantic about the great wine regions of the world. The quaint reserve of Riems, the misty mornings in Napa Valley, the feed store in Prosser with the heavy-set lady pushing an equally hefty child in a stroller out front....okay that last one doesn't exactly fit the idyllic image you get when you think of wine country, but then again this area is young. Up and coming. It hasn't yet traded it's rustic, agricultural charm for formulaic tourist facade, although that transformation is on the horizon. It's that very principle that makes the Yakima Valley area both refreshing and challenging to visit. On one hand, many wine makers are still so involved in the development of their product that you can speak with them personally in a tasting room instead ... read more

This trip has been forever in the making. I'm honestly surprised to be writing of it as I thought it would never happen. We had originally planned to go last March. Yes, I realize it's almost October, but we had a week off and our brains swam with visions of rainforest camping and montane hikes. And then a huge storm blew through and flooded the campsites while mudslides completely demolished the roads. The trip was post-poned until summer. Summer came and went. The weather was good but the scheldule was not. If I wasn't working Andras was. On my days off he was at the office. Between the two of us we considered it a stroke of good fortune to have one day off together, and when it finally did come around (half-way through August) we ... read more

It's been nearly one year to the day since we arrived in the Seattle area and we still hadn't made the time to go visit the mountain. The mountain I look at nearly every day, the mountain that symbolizes the northwest, the same mountain I used to reminisce about when I was away....yes, that mountain. At 14,410ft Mount Rainier dominates the Seattle sky-scape and when the weather is clear and the haze is low it appears suddenly on the horizon, so close you feel as though you can almost touch it. Still it has eluded out grasp, just beyond our reach, and on days when the mountain is out I look longingly to the south and think of the cool crisp air mountain air that would fill my lungs. And, believe it or not, we haven't ... read more

Tucked out of sight in the middle of no-where is a city dedicated to the seven sins. Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Envy, Pride --all alive and well out in the Nevada desert. More remarkable than a city built upon the hedonistic desires of man, young and old, is the recent desire to market the resorts as family destinations. If you wipe the lipstick off a prostitute and dress her up in a habit does it really make her a nun? My feeling is that it really just adds deception to the list of ills. Vegas is a place where consumerism is glorified and where wasteful indulgence is viewed with awe. As valuable. As necessary. I have a really hard time jiving with that philosophy, but Andras just loves Vegas and myself, having never been, really ... read more

Driving up US 101 the landscape changes back from the warm fields of southern California and one dominated by tall, shady evergreens, a prelude to the drops in temperature and increased precipitation we can expect the further we head up the Pacific coast. It's a welcome sight to be sure, certainly one familiar to a Northwest native, but also a clear indication that our trip is quickly coming to a close. There's just enough left for a last hurrah before we turn the engine key one last time and gun it towards our final destination. On Friday we stopped in Leggett, not much of a town really, but the campground at Standish-Hickey Recreation Area was a convenient stopping point despite the long line of boats and trucks pulled up around us. They seemed to be incredibly ... read more