Geo: 44.0472, -123.02When we first started planning this roadtrip, DH had expressed serious interest in only three of the many, many odd ball attractions spread all over the U.S. and Canada: the Lucille Ball Museum in New York, the worlds largest perogy in Saskatchewan, and Springfield Oregon, world famous home of the cartoon Simpsons. Our first crack at her relatively short list wish list (mine sits at 1,857 and growing) was Springfield Oregon. Two TV shows make DH giggle like a teenage girl- Modern Family and The Simpsons, so the idea of going to the home of Homers "Doh!" was high on the list for her. She was hooked after an episode in which Homer, as a coach, started cutting everybody included the voice-over guy who was trying to shush him as the credits rolled- she ... read more

Geo: 40.8032, -124.16We're pretty sure that Bonnie D hasn't seen enough tree photos yet so we immediately headed for the Avenue of the Giants to get her a few more. The Avenue is surrounded by Humboldt Redwoods State Park, which has the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world, but many of these massive trees sit on private land so there is a fair bit cheesiness involved in some of the more well-known stops along this avenue. That said, you can still see the Immortal Tree (950 year old tree that has survived not only the ravages of time but also the 1964 flood of the area, a 1908 attempt at logging, and a direct lightning strike which removed the top 45 feet of the tree), various Treehouses (which are usually hollows in the ... read more

Geo: 38.2992, -122.285We had stayed a day longer in Reno than planned and we were getting differing reports as to whether or not a recent dump of snow had melted to the point that the drive through the Sierra Nevada Mountains would be trouble-free. DH has been doing the vast majority of the driving and was not particularly motivated to drive on ice especially since our near term destination was somewhat underwhelming for us- the off-season wine country of Napa Valley (and neither one of us would know a Chardonnay from a Sauvignon Blanc, although I have mastered the red vs white taste test). When I casually mentioned that an interim stop was going to be The Jelly Belly jelly bean factory, she had a re-think and left me to handle the bags as she quickly ... read more

Geo: 38.0672, -117.229Heading north from Death Valley presented us with two options. We could stay in California and head along Hwy 395 which would deliver a wonderfully scenic drive, and we might even be able to duck into Yosemite (although the excess snow is not being cooperative). The second option would see us cross into Nevada for a less spectacular drive, but one that seems loaded with the wild, wacky, and weird stops that I love (and as much as she grumbles, even DH is getting out of the car for a closer look more often these days). DH is doing most of the driving but I still control the GPS so, in short order, we were off to Nevada. A couple of years ago I funded pole dancing lessons for DH and Christine L when ... read more

Geo: 36.5544, -121.924After our brief stay in Perry Mason's town, we were firmly on the Pacific Coast Hwy (Hwy 1) that would take us most of the way north (with 1 major detour to Death Valley). An early stop was going to be Santa Barbara but we weren't going there for the surfing. Some years ago we had met Rami and his wife, Cindy, on an Antarctic exploration boat and we had stayed in touch ever since. Rami has been struggling with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and we were concerned that he wouldn't be up for a visit with two chronically homeless Canadians he met on a ship 5/6 years ago. As it turned out, he issued an enthusiastic invite to stop by for an Oceanside lunch at a nearby Santa Barbara restaurant. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy ... read more