North America Round Trip Part 2

Oh Canada! Oh Toronto Traffic!. Ah well, after spending the day teaching
a class at the customer site, it was time to say good bye to Oshawa and
returning to Michigan. Since Donald had the rental, I didn't have to take
the train back, but was looking forward to a 5 hour drive through Ontario.
We were ready to go and turned the car westwards just in time to hit
the rush-hour in Toronto. Beautiful! Nearly 2 hours stop-and-go. 
Great! I had to be back in Windsor before 11PM, because the parking lot
at the train station would close and I still needed my car to drive back
to Novi. So, as we sitting in snarling traffic, I am getting concerned.
Luckily, the pace improved and we hit Windsor around 9. I got in the
car and hit the tunnel to the US. It was a little bit of a weird feeling. I
never had entered the USA by car before. But, the immigrations officer
only had a couple of questions and I was back in Detroit.

Today, I spend pretty much the whole day preparing for the next trip.
Mexico! The plane leaves at 6AM, so I decided to stay up and sleep
on the plane. It will be a hop to Houston and then across the border
to Toluca. I'll keep you posted.

North America Round Trip Part 1

So, I am sitting in a Holiday In in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. I have a training
class to teach tomorrow, so I turn on the laptop and ....................... nothing,
nada zilch, nix, no desktop. F!@#$%K.
OK, calm down, remember Windows 101. When in doubt, use safe mode.
After a couple attempts, the computer finally boots in safe mode
and after another 2 restarts, I got my computer back. Puh, close call.
But from the beginning. I started my North American round-trip today,
which takes me to Canada for two days and then off to Mexico.
Should be fun. For the Canada trip, I tried something different and used the
train from Windsor to Oshawa. Oh boy, first I drove to Windsor, just across
the river from Detroit, passed through the border and parked my car at the
train station. Being used to the German train system, I admit, I've been spoiled,
but the cars had WIFI and the seats were better than in an airplane.
And, being driven throughthe country side at warp speed 60mph is still better
than driving on a highway myself. I made it to Toronto and had to switch
trains, no problem, besides the fact, that people didn't seem to understand my
English accent. Every time I asked "Is this the train to Oshawa", they would
answer in French. Strange. But hey, I made it. Actually, every time I hear
the people speak here, it reminds me of this great Molson Commercial:




Well, tomorrow, I will head back to the US of A and than brush up
my non existing Spanish, because I am going to head South of the Border.

Food: I ate at this great Japanese place here, all you can eat Sushi
and everything, fresh made, from the Miso soup to the Green Tea ice cream.
Awesome!

PACKERS won the Super Bowl!!!

Unbelievable! The Packers actually won
the Super Bowl. After an impressive run
through the playoffs, beating the 'mighty'
Bears in Chicago for the NFC Title,
they also beat the Steelers in the final game
to win it all. WOW!
It has been a long time coming, 14 years
since they won the last time. I remember
celebrating at Water Street in Milwaukee,
skipping class the next day. Good Times!
I have to hand to the Packers though. They had a lot of
injuries, but didn't whine or complain.
They simple played the hand they were given and made
the best of it. Also, a shoutout to the Steelers. They
came back in the second half and made a game of it,
more than I liked actually. But, all's well that ends well.


Movie Update: The Kingss Speech (4/5)
The movie is about King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist Lionel Logue, who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

I really enjoyed watching this movie.
Of course, there was no action and
exploding cars, but the acting was just
superb. The movie was well written and
the humor very British. Just an example:



Lionel Logue: [as George "Berty" is lighting up a cigarette] Please don't do that.
King George VI: I'm sorry?
Lionel Logue: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.
King George VI: My physicians say it relaxes the throat.
Lionel Logue: They're idiots.
King George VI: They've all been knighted.
Lionel Logue: Makes it official then.

---

The movie has been nominated for a ton of Oscars and it certainly deserves
it. 4 out of 5 Stars from me.

Oregon Vacation, Part 2

Day 4, Up the coast
By day 4 the weather had certainly turned. It was foggy in the morning,
so I decided to go visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Its rather small
aquarium, but I it had some neat features and it was worth spending an
hour or two. I left Newport and followed coastal Highway 101 north.
After a short stop at Yaquimah Lighthouse, which was still covered in
fog, I stopped again at Cape Lookout. There is 2 mile trail to the edge
of the Cape. The weather had somewhat improved, so I was hopeful
the hike would provide some great views on the coast.












The trail starts in the deep woods, but after a half mile it opens up and
offers some great views on the Oregon coast line. But soon,
the trail lead back into the forest and
it became a muddy mess. The fog was
thick and one could hardly see a
couple hundred feet.
After about another mile, the trail opens
up to the north side of the coast, but by
that time, the fog had covered the
whole cape and I decided to
return to the car. I spend the rest of the day driving
towards Astoria.
Day 5, Heading East

I woke up in my hotel room in Astoria to the sound of rain hitting
the window. Great Start. After a quick breakfast I went to Camp
Clatsop. This is a recreation of the original camp build by the Lewis
and Clark expedition to stay the winter, before returning to the East.
They also had a small exhibition, showing items around the Lewis
and Clark Expedition. After I got my history fix, I stopped by the
Astoria column, walked up the 164 stairs, just to find out that it
was raining on top as well. Therefore, I decided to drive downtown
Astoria and pay a visit to the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
It was still raining and I wasn't really in the mood to do anything outside,
so I turned the car East and made my way up the Columbia river to
a small town called Cascade Locks. This would be my last stop outside
Portland. The plan was to drive to Mount Hood tomorrow and then
hit Portland of the end of the day.

Food Reviews, More Seafood.....
Seafood Platter, Dooger's Seafood&Grill, Astoria, 3/5, Ok food, the clamp
chowder was very good
Breakfast Bagel, Bagel by the Sea, Seaside, 2.5/5, Not something to write
Mom home about.
Nutty Tuna Sandwich, Urban Cafe, Astoria, 4/5, Great little lunch place
and the food was fresh and very good.
Wild Northwest Salmon, Big River Grill, Stevenson, 4/5, Fresh fish is
always a great choice.

Oregon Vacation, Part One

Well, it's Friday afternoon and I am sitting in a Portland cafe,
sipping on a nice latte and watching the rain pouring down
outside. Might as well stay put here and write about my vacation.
Portland is the last stop on my tour through Oregon and after
clocking about 1200 miles on the rental, I've seen a lot of the
state. Everything from deep volcanic lakes, sandy ocean
shores and mountain tops.
I arrived in Portland last Friday, late at about 9:30PM. I picked
up the rental car and headed towards Salem to meet with Jim and
Angela. The first thing I noticed is that everyone pretty much
drives the speed limit or under! This is unusual and I wonder
if the fines here are heavier.

Day 1- Day 2: Crater Lake
The plan for the weekend was for Angela, Jim and I to head towards
Crater Lake, spend the night in Klamath Falls and go to the lake on
Sunday. We started Saturday with a quick tour of Salem and a great
lunch at The Konditorei. The sandwich I had was good, but the
Marionberry cheesecake was excellent. We headed the car southward
and arrived in Klamath Falls later that night. The only thing I remember
from Klamath Falls are the little green flies that seem to be everywhere
in swarms. Driving to and from the city, the car got covered and I was
happy to move Crater Lake.
Once we reached the lake, we stopped at the visitors center to get a plan.
We decided to hike up to the Watchman Peak and take the boat tour later
that day. Watchman Peak can be reached by a hiking trail that spans
about a mile and 500ft elevation. On top, the view over the lake and wizard
island is great.
After a picnic lunch, we headed to the boat tour.
In order to reach the boat, we had to walk down Cleetwood Cove trail,
which is the only access to the lake.
Over 700ft of elevation make this an exhausting walk, but the board tour was worth it. The Ranger did a good job of explaining and entertaining and the two hours went by fast.
Since it was already in the late afternoon, we started our journey back to Salem. Certainly, Crater Lake was one of the highlights of the trip and it is always great to spend time with Angela and Jim.

Day 3: Ocean bound
Monday was a travel day. After saying Goodbye to Angela and Jim, I made
my way out of Salem. But first, I stopped at the Original Pancake House
for Breakfast. I picked their specialty, Apple Pancake. Boy, what a pancake!
This was just a heap of apples, pancake and cinnamon sauce.
Very delicious, but way to much. You can feed 2 people with this
monster easy.
Afterwards, I drove east to stop by the Silver Falls. I picked the North Fall
which can be reached from the parking lot in a short walk.
The fall is cool in a sense, that you can walk behind it.
After the hiking I had done at Crater Lake, I wasn't in the mood
to explore the Silver Falls in more depth and I started driving
west towards the coast. I reach the coast in the late afternoon and
stopped at Seal Rock to take a walk at the beach and enjoy the
tranquility of the Pacific ocean.
I stopped my journey for the day in Newport. Driving down to the harbor for some dinner I must admit the city has strange vibe. On the same street you can see a working fish factory ,with all the sounds and smells, and the assortment of tourist shops trying to sell you all kinds of shiny beads.
But the dinner I had was great. I ate at Local Ocean Seafoods and the Fish Tacos were excellent. You could tell that the fish was fresh.

Food Reviews, of course
Marionberry Cheesecake, The Konditorei, Salem, 5/5 Stars, lecker!
Sweet Potato Chips, Walmart, Salem, 0/5 Stars, pretty much tasteless
Combo Plate, Wubba's BBQ Shack, Klamath Falls, 4/5, best ribs I had in a while,
the rest was good, too.
Sandwich, Fred Meyer, Watchman Peak Trail, 1/5, forgettable
Mexican, Matzatlan, Oak Ridge, 2/5, The food was average at best.
Apple Pancake, Original Pancake House, Salem, 4/5, delicious.
Cod Sandwich, The Diner, Seal Rock, 3/5, Fish was fresh but the rest to greasy.
Fish Tacos, Local Ocean Seafoods, Newport, 4/5, excellent
Marionberry French Toast, Fishtail Cafe, Newport, 5/5, just perfect.

So far, not a bad deal. It seems like the every time the Marionberry makes
an appearance, its a winner.

IPOD Shuffle the second

Just when I thought that Paula Abdul would be the worst I would
have to listen to, during the trip, I was proven wrong.
Just as I leave Chicago, in the midst of toll booths and constructions
zones, the 'sweet' sound of 'Muenchener Freiheit' punctures my
eardrums.
It took all the way to Indiana to calm my stomach.