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Published: March 28th 2015
Tillamook marina
There were sea lions on the other side but were too far for my camera to see.After promising myself to start saving this year and not travel so I can have all the material things guys my age should already have; here I am again spending all the money I saved throughout the year. Saving and living up to other peoples expectations seems like a sad route to take. I think I need to attend a will power camp or something. Anyway, this trip didn't start well. The Air China flight attendants talked to me in Chinese. I'm sure they knew I'm not Chinese. I had a five hour connection in Beijing. The line for people with connecting flights was too long. There were only two attendants. I couldn't make their Wifi work. The board didn't mention which gate I have to go to for my flight to Vancouver. I brought a cake as a present for a friend in Vancouver. The inspector at the airport in Beijing ran his fingers on the cake's chocolate frosting. That ignorant bastard!
I stayed overnight in my favorite city in the world and crossed the border the next day. I was a little nervous as this was my first time to go to the States. I had to go
to their border patrol and talk to the immigration/military guys. I'm not sure if they're immigration or military. The officer I talked to said he trained in the Sulu islands in the Philippines 20 years ago. So I'm sure that's military related as no tourists go there because there's a 98% chance that you'll get kidnapped by terrorists in those islands if you're white. The border control people looked mean and were not very polite. Like they suspected me of being an illegal immigrant or something. So I had to pay six dollars and they gave me a six-month-multiple-entry pass. A friend of mine was previously given only two months pass so I guess I did well during the interrogation.
I skipped Washington state and went straight to Oregon. My plan is to go through these states in this order; drive through Washington, then Oregon, California, go West to Nevada, drive north to Idaho then West again to Washington and fly back home from Vancouver. I got the plane tickets cheap for Vancouver so I have to fly in an out from there. And it's my favorite city!
First stop was Cannon Beach. It's a beautiful seaside town
with old houses. I love the architecture there. They used the same materials for construction of their houses. It looked like most of the people are rich. Beach time there meant wearing a jacket and staring at the beach. The water is too cold for swimming. It's nice and all but nothing compared to beaches in tropical islands where you can actually swim. The highlight of Cannon beach for me are the beach houses. At this time, peoples houses are what I appreciate the most. Maybe because I don't see too many beautiful houses in the Philippines (It's a third world country and I was born poor and still am poor). That or I was an architect in my past life. I am not gonna go to museums unless they're free and I have time to waste. They have an air museum in Oregon with WWII planes on display but I didn't bother. Didn't read the history markers either. Just took in the beautiful sights.
Next stop was Tillamook. Another seaside town. Their industry is farming I guess. There were lots of cows and the major tourist spot is the cheese factory. I wasn't really interested in seeing how
people made cheese in a factory. But I figured it was worth going to since they gave free samples of different types of cheese. I'm lactose intolerant but had as many as I could anyway. Even though I knew that it would give me violent diarrhea after. Which it did but it was worth it. They have tissue in all public toilets anyway. With automatic tissue dispenser. The best place in Tillamook was the marina. Not sure what 'mericans call it. Maybe pier. Anyway, I like it because the place felt so sold. Even the new furniture that they put there look old. And the best part is, I saw sea lions there! So I didn't have to go to that other place with the cave where I have to pay to see sea lions. They were far off but at least I can still say I saw sea lions in the wild. I already saw one up close "performing" in Ocean Park Hong Kong. I didn't want to be too close to a colony of sea lions.
I found a farm that sells farm fresh eggs. Their store was just a sign by the roadside and
a chiller where you can put your money and take the eggs. I guess Tillamook people are honest enough to leave their money there and not take more than what they paid for, or take all the money in the chiller. Went to Dune city to find the sand dunes but I got lost. Last stop in Oregon was Bandon beach. Another old fishing village. They have a beautiful marina.
I noticed that compared to Canada, driving in the States is pretty bad. Drivers switched lanes and cut other drivers. Compared to Manila it's better. People are nice and friendly in Oregon. Though my Canadian friends warned me to be careful.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
On eggshells
Love your feeling of trepidation in this blog Harold...customs guy running his finger on the icing of your cake...border guards look mean...water too cold can only stare. But you like me spend your money on travel and not on your future. Reckon you therefore have reason to smile. After all...you are dead for a long time...and life is short. Adventures await you. Enjoy USA.