Vacation Road Trip to ARizona, San Fran, and Portland

[Huckleberry]

I'll be moving on the 28th. I'm heading to ARizona to see some relatives for a day or so before arriving in San Fran on the 4th or 5th. From there I'm headed to Portland, Oregon. Hopefully I'll get a few good pictures on the way.

I'll be gone for a while again. Maybe if there is a nearby internet cafe I'll stop by and say hello. Hopefully I can get internet access again quickly. Wish me luck.

 

[Diane_]

Good luck, Huckleberry! I've driven that route before - it can be a beautiful one.

When you get to Portland, take an afternoon to go out to Multnomah Falls. It's worth seeing, if it isn't too cold.

 

[moose]

Oregon is a nice place!BTW, everyone on PF is starting to invade Arizona

 

[Evo]

Be careful Huck and check in as soon as you can!

We'll miss you!

 

[Moonbear]

Have a safe trip and hope the move goes smoothly! Check in as soon as you can and let us know how things are going (or else we'll have to send the OR Mentors out looking for you!) I think you need to look for the infamous Home Depot when you get there and see if you can spot Ivan!

 

[Huckleberry]

Have a safe trip and hope the move goes smoothly! Check in as soon as you can and let us know how things are going (or else we'll have to send the OR Mentors out looking for you!) I think you need to look for the infamous Home Depot when you get there and see if you can spot Ivan!

Actually I was thinking about standing outside the local Starbucks and begging for change. Ivan doesn't strike me as a Starbucks kind of guy and I don't think business would be as good in front of Home Depot. I think people are more willing to lose some change after they spend $3 on a cup of coffee than they are while hauling heavy lawn equipment to their car.

Moose, I used to live in Arizona. From about 98 to 02 if I wasn't on the road somewhere in the country I was in Arizona. I like the weather there. Nice and dry and warm year round. Summers are hot but I didn't mind even when it went over 120 F. Some people say they can always put on more clothes but they can't take off more to get away from the heat. Not me. I like it hot. The hotter the better. But I missed the trees. It was so ad seeing those rocky hills and cliffs with nothing on them. Even the rocks seemed tired and brittle. I couldn't adjust to that and used to go hiking in the mountains occasionally just to visit a more temperate atmosphere.

Hi Diane. I've driven this route several times before and it is nice. I especially love the higher elevations in New Mexico. Somehow passing through there it feels like the naval of the Earth. It's the place where the sky touches the Earth and you can stand on the horizon. It's beautiful.

I'm not very familiar with Oregon. I passed through it once on my way to Seattle, but it was night time and I didn't get to see much. I remember it was very, very dark and it felt like the trees were crowding in over me. I'd like to see it in the daytime and I'll definitely check out Multnomah Falls sometime.

 

[Math Is Hard]

You will be part of the PF Oregon cluster now! There's Ivan, Tsu, Integral, Kerrie, and umm.. is Janus there, too? I forget...who else is there? Anyway, Oregon sounds like a beautiful place.

 

[loseyourname]

hitssquad is in Oregon.

You'll be driving right past me on your way out of San Francisco. I'm just north right by Santa Rosa five minutes off the 101.

 

[Danger]

Have a good trip, bud. Happy moving.

 

[honestrosewater]

Wishing you a safe trip!

Are you taking photo requests? If you see some colorful autumn leaves, snap a picture for me? Ooh, and mountains... or even just a big hill.

 

[Huckleberry]

Wishing you a safe trip!
Are you taking photo requests? If you see some colorful autumn leaves, snap a picture for me? Ooh, and mountains... or even just a big hill.

I intend to take a lot of pictures. I get really focused on what I'm doing and don't like to pull over unless I have to so they might be pictures taken from a moving car. Maybe I should practice taking my time and seeing a few of the sights, but I've set up a pretty tight schedule for myself.

Now I just have to figure out how to get past that reduced speed limit at night in Texas. Why does that state have to be so big?

Huckleberry is making a road trip and driving past a neighborhood near you. Maybe I'll try to quit smoking too. Now seems like a good time for me.

 

[honestrosewater]

Maybe I'll try to quit smoking too. Now seems like a good time for me.

Oh, yes! That would be soooooo much better than pictures of leaves and big hills!

No pressure... well, only the good kind of pressure. You can do it!

 

[Huckleberry]

Hi Everyone!

I have internet access again. Just got connected today. I'm in the Portland area now and got my own little apartment and will start work soon.

The trip was interesting. I decided to take the scenic route. From Mass I headed west through New York and Ohio, eventually passing through Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. I had never been in those states before and just wanted to see them and add them to my list. Only have North Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii to go.

From Colorado I turned south at Denver headed to New Mexico. At Santa Fe I broke down. The under cairrage of my car is all rusted from a dozen New England Winters. It seems the Controller arms that keep the wheels straight was eroded. As I was pulling out of a gas station the car was shaking rather violently as I accelerated onto the highway. I took the next exit and stopped at a garage. 24 hours and several hundred dollars later I was ready to go again, but now every bump in the road made me nervous. I had an ominous feeling that my front wheels would suddenly wobble uncontrollably like a gyroscope out of whack, and tear right off my car as I'm going 70mph on the highway.

I went to Arizona and visited my aunt and uncle. An hour after I arrived my aunt went to the emergency room. She had been sick for the last few days with flu like symptoms. I think she was waiting for me to arrive before she went to the hospital. They don't have a phone and I was late because of my breakdown. I had no way to reach them to let them know when I would arrive.

My aunt spent 3 days in the emergency room. She seems to have had a stomach virus. I stayed 5 or 6 days because I didn't feel right leaving while she was in the ER, and stayed the extra few days so I could spend some time with her. Don't worry, she's ok.

I stopped in Alameda, CA to see an old friend for the weekend and then up to Portland. I've only been here a little over 2 weeks and it hasn't been easy. I didn't plan things at all so it was to be expected. I spent 2 nights sleeping at the reststop south of Portland on I-5 because the bank took a week to clear my cashier's check and I had spent a lot of money on repairs. I couldn't afford the hotel. Went hungry a few days, but that's alright. I spent money on going to see movies rather than eating, because I was more bored than I was hungry. One of the nights I was staying at a hotel I found a wallet with $320 in it. It would have come in handy, but I returned it immediately to the hotel office.

After the check cleared I got my apartment. I was surprised they decided to rent to me without having employment yet, but they did. Just had the internet connected today and here I am. It has been an interesting adventure

 

[tribdog]

lol, do you ever think ahead or consider consequences of your actions? I'm not saying this in a cruel or mean way, I've made a few dumb choices myself. but my god man. skip the movie, buy a sandwich and a used book.

 

[Moonbear]

Wow, that's some adventure! Glad you finally arrive safely in OR and have found a place to hang your hat.

We better get the Oregon mentors to check in on you and make sure you haven't starved yourself! I have to agree with tribdog... ...choosing movies over food?! What if it took a few more days to get the cash before you could buy food and you'd spent all you had on movies?!

 

[Huckleberry]

No, I rarely plan ahead more than a week. I can go at least 3 days without getting weak from hunger so I wasn't too worried about it. I spent most of the days running around looking for work and the nights are cold and I needed something to do. Movie theatres are nice and warm and gave me a few hours of entertainment. For the t/$ ratio a movie theatre is a pretty good deal.

 

[tribdog]

try (pink lace curtains). it's free, fun and keeps you warm.

(Edit by Moonbear: I thought the pink lace curtains idea was a good one, so went with it. )

 

[Huckleberry]

try (pink lace curtains). it's free, fun and keeps you warm.

It's not that kind of a movie theatre PeeWee.

 

[hypatia]

Welcome back! You have been missed. Happy to hear things went well according to your journey of random motion, lifes a crooked trail anyways.
But also happy to hear your safe. You know you almost timed out, and someone was going to start one of the dreded"Wheres Huckleberry" threads.
Wishing you all good things in your new home.

 

[honestrosewater]

Yay! You weren't mangled in a ghastly, blazing clash of steel and gasoline! Heh. Congrats. Glad you're safe at home. Did you take any pictures? How's the not smoking thing going (if it ever got anywhere)? It was a month on the 27th for me. Woohoo! I hope you try it -- it's super. Welcome back!