Miscellaneous

Road Trip: Carmel to Pismo Beach

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Randy

Someone’s cell phone in the next room woke me up multiple times during the night. The walls at “grandma’s place” were so thin, it sounded like the phone was on my night stand. So, we got a bit of a slow start in the morning. Grandma’s place provided a free breakfast, so I had and english muffin and Claire had a bagel and cream cheese before we hit the road. It was a bit of a “carb-fest.”

We got back on Highway 1 and continued down the coast. As beautiful as the California coast is, Claire and I both agreed that we thought the southern Oregon coast was actually more picturesque. Traffic was extremely light and was mostly tourists like us who stopped a lot along the way for photo ops.

One of the cool stops along the way was a sea lion rookery. There were hundreds (maybe thousands) of the big boys stretched out on the beach. They seemed to enjoy all the attention from the tourists like us who were madly snapping pictures.

We stopped for lunch in Cambria at a funky little place called the Indigo Moon Café. Claire was disappointed that the sweet potato fries (her vice) were soggy and over cooked. Other than that the lunch was wonderful, and we continued cruising until we reached Pismo Beach. We decided to splurge and get a beach front room at The Cliffs Resort. The room was so comfortable that we decided t stay in, order room service, and watch a movie.

Since we are ahead of schedule, our daily drives are getting shorter and shorter which means later morning starts, more stops, and earlier arrivals. From here we are going short way to Santa Barbara to do some wine tasting and more hard core goofing off.

Big boys on the beach

Great spot to shoot a pirate movie

Driving a thousand miles of coast

Spending a lazy evening

Beautiful room with a view

These little guys are watching over the sea lions

All my funniest captions were inappropriate … Make up your own.

King of the winding roads …

Chief navigator, and Queen of the winding roads.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: California Coast, Carmel, Pismo Beach, Sea Lions | Leave a comment

Road Trip: Down the California Coast

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Randy

We woke up early as always and started a fire in the little woodstove. We had no internet or even cell service, so our morning ritual of sipping coffee and catching up on the goings on in the world was cut short. I know we made fun of the Inn in our last post, but it was actually a very pleasant experience, and the people running the place (especially Teresa) were delightful.

Instead of “tippy tapping” on the internet, Claire made our own entry in the guest book. She laughed one more time about some of “in depth” entries that previous guests had made.

We walked down to the beach in the early morning mist. One of the seven cats who inhabit the Inn followed Claire like a dog. Where she went, the cat followed. The sand was much darker than in Oregon, which made it feel less pristine, but the rock outcroppings where spectacular.

We had breakfast with the other quests, and then were on the road again! We stayed on the coast until we got north of San Francisco and then cut inland through Oakland to avoid the city traffic. We then cut back to the coast and rolled into Carmel by the Sea around dinnertime. Claire checked us into the Carmel Inn & Suites; nothing fancy but right in the middle of town and the rates were reasonable. The room is large and decorated like your grandma’s parlor.

We had dinner last night at a well-reviewed Mediterranean place called Dametra Café. The meal was excellent. Claire had a steak, and I had a Greek combination plate that included lamb, a chicken kabob, hummus, and a Greek salad.

After dinner we strolled around town a bit. This is clearly a place where the well heeled come to shop. Just another day on the road for us …

Why yes, i will have some wine…

We met another retired couple …

Hanging with our new friends

The main house at the Inn

Breakfast at the Inn

A girl and her cat …

Walking on the beach

They said the cat’s name is “Scraper”

View of the Inn from the beach

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: California Coast, Carmel | 2 Comments

The Road Trip: Redwood Forest

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Randy

Woke up in our beach front room to the sound of the waves and the gulls. For some reason, we have been waking up at 5 am ever since we returned from our time in Michigan a few weeks ago. The nice thing about getting up early is you get a lot done before most people have rolled out of the rack!

Claire went out and did a power walk, while I cleaned up some eMail and did a blog post. Then we strolled on the magnificent beach. The Oregon coast looks like something from a sci-fi movie or a video game. The giant rocks that jut from the sand and the water provide unique views from every angle.

A dozen sea lions were warming themselves in the morning sun, and we had to be careful not to step on the random starfish that had washed up on the beach.

From Bandon, we continued south on 101 enjoying our last views of the Oregon coastline. We stopped for lunch in Eureka, California, and then entered the redwood forest. Although we have gotten somewhat used to big trees living in Washington state these past three years, we were still stunned by the groves of magnificent redwoods! Claire has fond memories from her childhood of seeing a car drive through a hole cut in a giant, living redwood tree. Apparently there are three such trees in the world, and we had to take the turn off’s to see at least two of them. Disclaimer: unless you are driving a very small car, you would be best advised NOT to drive through. I wasn’t even temped to try and get our pickup truck through the hole.

Claire did her online research along the way, and found us a B&B on the coast to stay the night. We pulled into the Howard Creek Ranch around dinnertime. I am not really sure how to describe the “ranch.” It is a cross between a homeless encampment and a hippy commune (but in a good way.) “Quirky” is the word Claire chose to describe it.

Claire booked “the beach house” which turned out to be the sturdiest building on the site. The other buildings included an old farmhouse and a barn that had been converted to the proprietor’s residence, guest rooms, and a bit of a museum. I am guessing most everything at the ranch has been scavenged over the past 40 years, and the owners have lovingly used what they could find to construct the compound. Once we settled into the beach house, we poured ourselves some drinks and laughed ourselves silly. However, the real laughing began when Claire started to read the entries in the guest journals of the beach house. Apparently the ranch attracts an “artsy” clientele who feel the need to express themselves (sometimes with poetry) as they recorded their life stories for future generations of guests. I honestly don’t know that I have ever seen Claire laugh so much!

Anyway, the place was a great part of our adventure, and we got a good night’s sleep before hitting the road for another day.

Yea! We are retired!

Anyone need any driftwood?

The blow hole …

Sea lion beach

Stars on the water …

Wha?

Cute!

Drive-thru tree #1 of 3

Can’t drive thru this one!

Roosevelt Elk

The might redwood

Mighty Claire holding up the might redwood

Drive-thru tree #2 of 3 (in the world)

The “beach house”

Historic Inn or dilapidated barn … You be the judge.

Home for the night.

Historic Inn from another angle.

Precious antiques or old junk … You be the judge.

How YOU doin’?

Gorgeous coast …

Glad we had this stove because the “beach house” had no heat, and it got down right chilly in the morning.

The bed was clean and comfy though …

Guest are provided with boots in case the want to ford the stream …

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: California Coast, Oregon Coast, Redwood Forest | 1 Comment

Road Trip! Day #1

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Randy

Since we have lived in the Seattle area, we have only once driven out to the coast. People who visit Seattle often mistakenly believe that the Puget Sound is the ocean when in reality Seattle is over 50 miles from the coast. Over two years ago we rode the Harley out to the beach town of Westport. The beach was a bit of a disappointment, but then again coming from Michigan most of the places were the water meets the sea are lacking in comparison.

But numerous people have told us that the coastal drive from Seattle down to Northern California is spectacular. It just so happens that Alex’s PhD graduation ceremony is scheduled at CalTech for next weekend, so it provided the perfect opportunity to take a road trip!

Day #1 we headed south to Portland, and then cut to the southwest to pickup highway 101. The bumper-to-bumper traffic getting out of Portland was a pain, but eventually we broke free from the crowds. We stopped at a little dive called Maxwell’s at the Coast in Lincoln City. From there we followed the winding road along the coast. There is literally a scenic stop every quarter mile!

We stopped often and shot pictures. The wind was howling. The views were spectacular. It’s a bit of a challenge to drive 101 along the coast because the views demand our attention while the slithering road along the top of the cliff also demands you keep your eyes on the road.

By dinnertime we made it to Bandon, Oregon. Claire found us a cool little place to stay right on the beach called Sunset Motel. After we settled in we walked across the street to Lord Bennett’s for dinner. The restaurant was clearly built to take advantage of the views. Food was good, not great, but it was a fine way to end the day on the Oregon coast. Next stop: The Redwoods of Northern California!

The view from our deck

One of our many stops along Highway 101

Mine … mine …. mine …

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: Bandon, Highway 101, Oregon, Road Trip | Leave a comment

Making Peace with the 255

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Randy

When people ask me about Seattle, I have said “its I nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live here.” The biggest reason that Seattle has not been my favorite place to live is the population density and traffic. Seattle is the city with the fourth worst traffic in the nation, and worse yet it is moving up the list faster than any other city. It is hard to go almost anywhere here without spending part of the trip sitting in traffic. For example last night we went to dinner at a restaurant in our little town of Kirkland. The restaurant is on 6.5 miles from our house, and it took over 30 minutes to drive there!

Because there are more people than roads, and because it is difficult to build more roads given the geography, the Seattle area struggles to figure out transit solutions. The mass transit system is a patchwork of largely disconnected systems. But, there are more busses on the road here than any place I have seen in the world. As a driver, this can be frustrating as there are times when the roads are so clogged with busses, there is no place to drive.

One particular bus that we have been dodging for the past two years is the 255. The 255 runs from Kirkland (where we live) to downtown Seattle and back. As we commute back and forth we encounter the dreaded 255 seemingly at every turn. It cuts us off down town. It blocks us from leaving our neighborhood. It gets in front of us on the floating bridge, and just generally slows us down. I have cursed the 255 more times than Claire would care to count.

Occasionally during our commutes we would joke that “one day we should ride the 255 into the city.” Well, we never got around to riding the 255 until yesterday. After doing our online research on riding the bus, we walked about a half-mile from our house to the bus stop. Within 10 minutes we were in the belly of the beast as we boarded the dreaded 255.

Turns out it was a pleasant way to get into the city! Even with half a dozen stops, it only took 30 minutes to get downtown. And, we learned there is a whole underground transit system under Seattle. The busses and the light rails share the infrastructure and it appears to be a relatively efficient system. We got off at the last stop, which is the International District downtown.

We have never visited this district before, so strolled around seeing what there is to see. If you have been to “China Town” or “Little Italy” in other cities, you would find this area is Seattle pretty disappointing. Not much here other than small shops and restaurants catering to the large and diverse Asian community here.

From there we wondered through the Pioneer Square district, which we have visited many times and ended up in our favorite area of Seattle, the Pike Place Market. We love the market even though it is crazy crowded with tourists most days, especially during the summer.

After strolling the market and having lunch at Le Pichet (a French restaurant we have always wanted to try,) we headed back to the underground bus depot. The ride back to Kirkland was quick since we got out of the city before the rush hour. We feel good that we made peace with the 255 before leaving Seattle, and will probably ride the bus a few more times while we are here.

Lunch at Le Pichet

Harley Guitar Art

Everyone else on the bus glued to their smart phones

Happy Bus Riders

The International District

Waiting for the 255

Underground Transit

Balloon Man

Throw that Fish!

Love the Market!

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: International District, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Seattle Sixty | 4 Comments

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Randy

During our last two months here in Seattle, we are trying to do a number of things we never got around to doing while we were working. However, we also have work to do to prepare for our move back to Michigan. So, not every day can we spend all day being tourists in our own city. Yesterday, we spent the morning doing “chores” and then made our very first purchase from Craig’s List.

Moving across the country is an expensive proposition (think tens of thousands of dollars) and we have done it a number of times. One of the things that can get expensive is all the boxes you need. Our consultant from the moving company suggested we look on Craig’s List for boxes. Claire did. We drove less than a half hour from our house and loaded up the pickup with boxes, bubble wrap, Styrofoam peanuts, and other packing materials. $65 in cash and the transaction was complete!

The final resting place of Bruce Lee and his son Brandon.

In the afternoon, we made the pilgrimage to the gravesite of Bruce and Brandon Lee. My son and I were huge Bruce Lee fans, and I suspect the influence of people like Bruce Lee is the reason my son went on to get in karate black belt. The Lake View Cemetery is a spectacularly beautiful place. The trees and shrubs rival a botanical garden, and the ornate headstones are works of art.

The Lee gravesites are simple and beautiful, and we are glad we took the time to pay our respects before leaving Seattle.

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: Bruce Lee, Seattle, Seattle Sixty | 1 Comment

Roslyn: The Real Northern Exposure

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Randy

Remember the 90’s TV show, Northern Exposure? Young Jewish doctor fresh out of med school sent to a small town in Alaska for two years of service, quirky locals including a potential love interest for the young doctor; I loved that show! Even though the show was set in Cicely, Alaska, the town was actually shot in Roslyn, Washington.

On our first “official” day of retirement, we fired up the Harley and rode over the Cascades to visit Roslyn. We are having an atypically great weather week here in Seattle. Sunny with temperatures in the 70’s is pretty unusual for June so we are taking maximum advantage of it as we ease into retirement.

Roslyn is about 90 miles from Seattle. Heading east on I-90, we rode over the still chilly Snoqualmie pass. The further you get away from Seattle, the less weird the traffic patterns are. By the time you get to the other side of the Cascades, people drive down right normal! The weather is always different on the other side of the mountain. Temperatures were in the 80’s as we rolled into the sleepy little town of Roslyn. If you remember the opening sequence of the TV show, you have pretty much seen all of Roslyn.

We parked the bike in front of the Roslyn History Museum where we were immediately engaged by one of the local residents. An older gentlemen (I wish I would have gotten his name) complimented us on the bike and invited us into the museum. The “museum” is actually a small storefront filled with antiques, old photographs, old mining gear, and odds-and-ends from times gone by.

Now, I am still getting used to this retirement thing. I generally have a difficult time strolling, chit-chatting, lingering, etc; think Chevy Chase viewing the Grand Canyon in the Vacation movie. But I did my best to S-L-O-W down as this gentleman, who is a life long resident of Roslyn told us stories of his family, stories of World War II, and stories of the mining history of the town.

After our time in the museum, we strolled the town, visited The Brick, the bar where much of the Northern Exposure plots unfolded, and finally had lunch at the Roslyn Café. Claire had a cob salad that included a breaded and deep-fried hard-boiled egg. I had the turkey club sandwich, which was much more than I could eat.

With temperatures in the mid eighties, we stowed the leathers and enjoyed the sunny ride back over the pass. All-in-all it was a great first day of retirement!

The Brick

Lunch at the Roslyn Cafe

Downtown Roslyn

Randy replaces the Moose

Opening scene of Northern Exposure

Categories: Adult Beverages, Dining - Casual, Miscellaneous | Tags: Roslyn, Washington | 2 Comments

Day #1 of the Seattle Sixty: Play Ball!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Randy

One of the things I have enjoyed most about living in Seattle is seeing ballgames at Safeco Field. There is nothing better that a “dog and a beer” on a sunny day at the ballpark. We have probably seen more than a dozen games during our two years here. Of course when our Detroit Tigers come to town we try and see every game of the series.

When the games have been on weekdays, we often walk the mile and half from our office to the ballpark. On a warm day, it is great to stroll down 1^st avenue, stopping for the occasional adult beverage on the way. Often we would end of at Jimmy’s on First which is a nice upscale bar/restaurant right across from the ballpark. Claire loved the calamari there, which was served as “logs” of breaded and deep fried squid.

This year we had a going away party with our exec team and had access to a suite for game one of the series. We missed game two. But yesterday, on day #1 of our Seattle Sixty, we saw game #3. We had pretty good seats about half way up on the 1^st base line. The only downside was we were in the shade. Even though it was a sunny-mid 70’s day, it was a bit chilly in the shade. But you have nothing to complain about with you are at the ballpark on a sunny Sunday afternoon, watching your hometown team, having a dog and a beer, and enjoying the day.

While Claire has not historically been a sports fan, she does enjoy (or at least pretends to enjoy) a day at the ballpark with me. I enjoy explaining some of the nuances of the game, and baseball has the perfect pace for casual conversation.

Yesterday was no exception, and we had a relaxing afternoon (once we got parked) enjoying the day. It was a perfect way to start our Seattle Sixty!

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: Bancino, Detroit Tigers, Mariners, Seattle Sixty | 1 Comment

The Seattle Sixty

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Randy

We admit it; we suck as bloggers… Two years ago when we moved to Seattle we created a blog to share our experiences in “dining and what-not.” We saw our time living and working in downtown Seattle as a great adventure we wanted to share with our friends and family. We started with great enthusiasm, and almost immediately we lost steam (see our blog post “If our blog were a goldfish, it would have died.”) While we were going, doing, and seeing, it became “work” to sit down and write about it. But, with renewed commitment we re-launched the blog and that lasted for another couple of months.

As I sit and write this post today, we have not made a post to the blog in 15 months. As I said, we suck as bloggers. But alas, it is a whole new ballgame! We just retired from our corporate jobs here in Seattle! An now we have a new opportunity which I am calling “the Seattle 60.” We have 60 days here in Seattle before we move back to the Midwest; 60 days with no jobs and no responsibilities; 60 days to do all the things we have always wanted to do here in the Pacific Northwest.

Our Seattle Bucket List

Speaking of new ballgame, today is day #1 of the 60 and we are heading to Safeco Field to see our Detroit Tigers play the Seattle Mariners. Watch this space for REGULAR posts as we share our last 60 days in Seattle (we really mean it this time.)

Categories: Miscellaneous | Tags: Bancino, Seattle | Leave a comment

Melrose Market

Posted on February 18, 2013 by cbancino

Well, this was a fun new find! Today, we decided to explore Capitol Hill and check out Melrose Market. A thanks go to the Alexes, for suggesting we watch Anthony Bourdain’s Layover Seattle episode, in which he eats his way around the city and highly recommended a stopover at Melrose Market.

An old converted warehouse, (wonderful old brick walls, high beamed ceilings, large iron-paned windows) Melrose Market houses several fooderies: a full service butcher with quite an assortment of specialty meats; a gourmet cheese shop; a wine shop; local florist; fresh shellfish and a small gift shop.

At the back is Sitka and Spruce, a small inviting restaurant specializing in locally sourced fare and unusual ingredient combinations. Again, thanks to the Alexes, for the gift certificate they gave us over a year ago. I’m embarrassed to admit it has taken us so long to get here, but we are so glad we did. We loved the open dining table adjacent to the chef’s prep table, making you feel like you were at home in their large country kitchen. We ordered fresh olives, a local goat cheese with apricot spread, cured trout with roasted parsnips and honey cured ham with spicy mustard and sauerkraut. Our favorite was the trout with parsnips – not enough trout on the plate but excellent flavor overall.

Would we go again? Probably not just to dine, as parking is unreliable, and location is off the beaten track for us…but we will definitely take out-of-town Foodies to Melrose Market simply for the novelty of the experience and the quality of the shops and the food.

Categories: Dining - Casual, Miscellaneous | Leave a comment