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.

IPOD Shuffle

Do you know how many songs are on your IPOD? Do you actually know
what kind of songs are on your IPOD? I certainly don't. Somehow the
thing syncs with the MacBook and whatever song I want to listen to is
usually there. But, I had long drive to Peoria coming up, so I set the
playlist to ALL and hit the shuffle button. Quite interesting what the
speakers blurted out for the next 7 hours of drive. Some songs, I am
sure, I've never heard before. Some songs provoke flashbacks and for some
songs my reaction was: "WTF is THAT doing on my IPOD"
I hit I94-W and I was transformed back into the 80s with Duran-Duran and
Alphaville. In Kalamazoo a voice was trying to teach me to say things in
Spanish. Of course, the 90s showed up with the obligatory sax solo.
The only skipped a song, when I hit the relaxation CD of some hotel telling
me to close my eyes and slow down my breathing. Not a good idea while
driving.
But otherwise, I listened to everything that came out of the little black box.
Here some more examples on what I was exposed too:
- O.M.D - No its not a misspelling of OMG. Its a Brit pop band from the 80s,
which had some interesting videos for the time. Anybody remember
"Formel Eins"?
- Fischmob and Cranberries - Ahh, the good fun we had at the Loop in Luebeck.
- The Verve Pipe - Doe ANYBODY remember those guys from the late 90s?
- Paula Abdul - No idea how that make my IPOD. Really!!
and many more.

You would think it would be easier, to just create some playlists with stuff I
like, but on the other hand, you get to hear a song that you really like and you
wonder "Who is that?". Either way, I'll do the same thing again on the way back,
just to see, what song lurks around the corner.

Inception

I just came back from the theater and since
I can't fall a sleep anywayI figured I write a
little review on the movie.
I saw 'Inception' the new movie from
Christopher Nolan with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Here is the short intro from IMDB:






Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.


I thought the movie was well made. The story was not as complex as I
thought it would be. After the initial confusion about what is a dream,
the flow of the movie was pretty straight forward. I mean, having seen
movies like The Matrix or Memento, the concept of 'virtual' realities is
not that new. Some of my favorite movies were made by Nolan and this
one is very good, but not great. For me it misses the real blow-your-mind
concept of 'Memento' and the perfect villian vs. hero of 'The Dark Knight'
Still, worth seeing. I give it 4 stars.

Oh yeah, I forgot. The ending was clever. Nuff said.

FInal Thoughts

So, Spain is the new World Cup Champion. Do they deserve it? Sure,
although I still think Germany played the more attractive football.
And the Dutch? They played a terrible final. Mostly rude fouls with
mainly 2 chances for a goal. Overall the final was rather boring.
The game for 3rd place was much more entertaining. I think
final World Cup games are rarely good. Its just too much at stake, so
team are playing cautious. A well, here are my final thoughts of the
World Cup:

- Take the octopus Paul and bake him in a nice Paella.
- Bring on some technology to avoid controversial goals/non-goals
- Review video footage of games and suspend players that are obviously
faking injuries to get the opponent carded.
This is a trend that has become VERY annoying.
- Germany played a great style of football, besides the Spain game, where
they were running scared. Get the coach a new contract and let him work
the young players. This could be something good in the making.
- It looked like South Africa organized a great World Cup.

Now, with the World Cup over, it's football time. GO PACKERS!!!

What is cheating?

After the heartbreaking loss of Ghana against Uruguay, some of my soccer
challenge friends and the Wall Street Journal, nonetheless, considered
the way Uruguay won the game by 'cheating' because one of the Uruguay
players used his hands to prevent a Ghana goal. They would even question
the morality of the player and claimed that this is the reason why
Americans don't like soccer and American sports are more 'fair'.
Example: Basketball goal tending rule.
Here is my answer: Thats BULL.
First of all, the Uruguay player used his hands illegally. He got punished
for it with a red card and the team got punished for it with a penalty kick.
He didn't play by the rules, he got punished according to the rules.
How is that cheating? Ghana had every chance to make the PK and
win the game, but they choked. That's football.
As for the rules being unfair.... PLLLLEEEAAAASSSEE....
No American will say that the football player 'cheated' when he caused
a pass interference in the end-zone. By rule, its ball on the 1 yard line and
1st done. Nobody would consider it 'cheating' when a basketball team
fouls on purpose at the end of the game for a chance to get the ball back.
So, Wall Street Journal, if you don't like soccer, just say so and don't
give me some lame reasoning based on one example in one game.
To quote old Mark Twain:

“It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”