Trip blog of my drive westward &
Memorable moments only,
or the ones that I can remember
Note that referred
to pubs can be reached at : My Nanaimo Pubs page
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Monday - June 6, 2005
Toronto to Iowa City IA - 1,198 km
Left at 4:30AM and arrived at at 3:20PM local time
Arrive Iowa City IA - Exit 242 1st St -
Best Western - Cantebury Inn, with Internet connection,
704 1st Avenue, Coralville, Iowa, United States, 52241-2104
Phone: 319-351-0400 Toll Free Reservations: 800-798-0400 Fax: 319-351-1657
Room with 1 Queen Bed Seniority rate 63.71 USD, AAA 67.46 USD
I actually got to the bar before it opened at 4.
When I left this morning, had intermittent drizzle 'til past London, then clear & sunny all the way in; 92 in Coralville.
Crossing border - no wait, no problem
Toll for Bluewater bridge is now $2.50 cdn
Toll on I 80 Chicago is .30 (I284 around the corner is .80)
Leaving
Trip rather uneventful - with the exception of the normal construction and slowness around Chicago, somehow got stuck in an express construction lane which wouldn't let me get off on to I80 but stuck with I284, got off at highway 6 asap and eventually got back on I80. Just in time for a 10 mile backup caused by 20' of construction forcing all to 1 lane. Great test for LHS overheating as it was stop n go with the temperature 88; absolutely no problem, slight up then back down to middle, all in the center range area. Looks like things have been fixed for good. (saw some poor schmuck in a Caravan blow out his antifreeze)
Here's the 4 dumb f _ _ ks that caused it all
Almost was able to stretch the tank to Coralville but short by about 15k. Stretched Michigan fillup to Charlotte (past Lansing), $2.25, Iowa was $2.04 but actually lower in Coralville. Had to nurse it to get to the station; will be better if I didn't screw up and go one past Charlotte.
Crossing the mighty Mississippi
Random road shots - Pretty boring eh! Nothing but blue sky
Natalie, the bar person; had a Boulevard Wheat ale (Blue Moon being the other) 20oz and then went to Martinis, Cosmo; then Malibu & cranberry.
Went to the River City Beefstro, part of HI up the road. Started, Jessica, with a Boulevard Wheat ale and then had glasses of a Mc Williams Hanwood Shiraz and the Steak de Burgo. Although the meat was done to perfection, the rest left lots to be desired, sautéed veggies were peppers & onions, you can't screw up a baked potatoe, presentation was a fast food plate style. Service was pedestrian at best; after all, rolls after the meal had been plated! No offer of pepper and notwithstanding, the mention that my wine glass shouldn't be empty, I was sucking air for a time. After all probably would have had a better & cheaper meal back at the Best Western Black Bull.
Because there was nothing better to do, I went next door to Cancun, and because my buddy Ray said that I missed Cancun in my tip dialogue. All Mexicans and unfriendly to gringos, so I just had a big mf Dos Equis. Too bad it's run by a bunch of Mexican, young ones, who have no clue as to service! Food actually looks semi appetizing.
Went south on 1st and some of the action appears to be by 2nd. Hang a left and there's a couple of pubs; on the right some fast foods and and a Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon. Went to Wig n Pen, appears to be a pizza specialty with nice hostesses, and had a couple, Boulevard. Sure build 'em nice out here in the "heartland"! Must be the country fresh air, the corn and farming which appears to develop such pulchritude.
Noticed that my "check engine" light had come on.
Looks like in this part of the country, Boulevard & Blue Moon wheat ales are the only relative local ales.
If your actually reading this, you must have more time to waste or you wish to live your life vicariously through others eyes. See, at this moment, I have nothing better to do but write this apparent drivel! Then again, I've had a few tonight and that could be a problem with my thought process.
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Tuesday - June 7, 2005
Iowa City to Cheyenne - 1,308 km
Start 4:48AM
No "check engine" light on, all OK
Best Western Hitching Post Inn Resort & Conference Center
1700 W Lincoln Way, Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States, 82001-3314
Phone: (307)638-3301 Fax: 307-778-7194
Room with Two Double Beds AAA Seniority 79.20 USD Best Rate 74.00 USD
Arrived in Cheyenne at about 2:15, local time after 11 hours on the road and 1,300 km. All nice easy straight drive on I 80. Iowa speed limit is 65 mph but everyone travels at 75, watch for State troopers around Des Moines & construction areas.
Speed limit in Nebraska is 75 mph and is OK to go 85; I pretty well traveled at 90, with some slight slow down in major urban areas. Didn't see any State Troopers on my side.
Weather was sunny and in the high 70s or 80s,except for some brief showers west of Des Moines. They called for golf ball hail this evening in some areas which I passed; this must be common as there's ads to fix the damage.
With such an easy drive, had lots of time to listen to country music, think and philosophize.
America is a great country! From the rolling farm lands of Iowa to the vast corn farms and ranches of Nebraska to the range and oil & gas of Wyoming, all speaks of a people who have built the world's greatest food machine from what was open range and not cultivar friendly. The people that you meet are friendly, open and proud of their accomplishments. Their cherishing of people, from pitchers to presidents, through monuments is to be admired. Never have I seen more cars with the "Support our Troops" ribbon! Americans are not afraid to be patriotic! A quality that is sadly lacking in our "grey", mediocre, paternal dictatorship! Canadians used to have honour through blood, sweat & tears but the marginalizing of those fundamental characteristics by the paternal left has made our country a sop on the world's stage. Evidence the support of proven thieves and liars over upstanding Christians with ethics!
If you see and understand the "Heartland", you comprehend the nuances and chords that country music strikes.
And another great thing was the vision that Eisenhower had about a network of Interstates to connect the nation, I80 actually named after him. They are fantastic to drive on, as they all are well cared for with lots of clean rest stops, hell! In Iowa you even get free wireless internet. We have nothing even close in stature; then again we have very few visionaries.
Iowa is a beautiful state with it's gentle rolling farm land, rivers & lakes. Take exit 110, west of Des Moines, for the bridges of Madison County.
Nebraska seems to flatten out and spread out, the colour & vistas just get grander, whether corn or range.
It's funny that after 11 hours of cogent thoughts, I can't string anything more than simple sentences to express the complex nuances and revelations which I had time to explore.
Of course had supper at the Cheyenne Cattle Company (Jan); of course I had the buffalo ribeye again for $26.95 and bottle of Sterling Merlot, (what was I thinking! Especially after a few in the bar). Meat beautiful and tasty and tender. BTW no problem taking the bottle back to the room. Crème brule (BTW a western crème brule is different) + Amaretto = Good evening!
Some of you may think that I put myself into an alcoholic haze every day, but that's not true, at least I've been able to express a few cogent thoughts whilst having my buffalo!
God bless all and it's going to be long day to get to Reno.
You know, I should work out the mechanics to podcast my thoughts and musings; I'll have it figured out for the trip home in September.
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Wednesday - June 8, 2005
Cheyenne to Reno - 1,535 km
On the road from 4:05AM to 4:24PM local time, 13+ hrs
John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort
1100 Nugget Avenue · Sparks, NV 89431
800-648-1177 or 775-356-3300
TOWER 1 King-non smoking $ 118.00 total for all nights
Thought that I would be smart and be ready for the hot weather so I put on shorts; what an error in judgment, 45° in Cheyenne then down to 30° in Laramie. Had a foot of snow in Estavan WY and the mountains were capped in it. Apparently its been the coldest & wettest in WY UT NV. Top temp was 54° and generally drizzly in NV. BTW, it's not supposed to rain in June in Reno!
I keep waxing about the grandeur, the vastness and the colour & texture of Wyoming; hasn't changed, still as beautiful.
Now the Great Salt Lake basin is sure something totally different, from the Morton's salt production facilities to the Bonneville flats, (now, unusually covered in water) and then similar basins in Nevada; sure speaks of a massive ocean floor from the Pleistocene period! You should see how it looks around Moab UT!!
Note that Utah’s State troopers try to get a last shot at you as you are approaching the Bonneville Rest Centre, watch for him in the middle!
BTW, running’s been great, probably set cruise control at around the 142 kpm or about 93 mph limit and although it appeared; I generally was the fasted on the road for the 75 mph limit, just be careful around major urban areas!! Kinda weird, here the limit is 75 and most travel around 85 but not higher, just the dumb f _ _ k occasional tourists.
Did I have any great epiphanies? No, but cried a couple of time when listening to some of my stations. Weird, in a radio black hole, between Winnemucca & Reno, had nothing but a couple of cool religious stations. Yes, cruise control was invented by America to cover these vast distances in car comfort and satellite radio will solve all that.
Nugget
It's great to be back in the fascinating casino environment! The sounds, the anticipation of the timelessness, big score, the winners, the losers.
Diner at The Steakhouse Grill
Wine -Shiraz - 2002 Arger-Martuci Winery, Napa Valley - $42 - quite good actually.
Appetizer - Buffalo Carpaccio - thinly sliced lean filet of buffalo, arugala, capers, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and extra virgin olive oil - meat great but could have used some fresh ground black pepper and the arugala could have used a balsamic olive oil vinaigrette.
"Jackpot" Filet Mignon - Petite Cut - $24.50 - with roasted garlic, shallots, and artichoke, red wine demi-glaze - meat excellent & done to perfection, veggies colourful, mashed potatoes pedestrian and demi-glaze forgettable. A minute piece of artichoke heart, a miniscule piece of garlic ?, shallots???
Had to remind about fresh black pepper! Kinda strange, they appear to give the appearance of stuffy French service, but it's totally wrong for here and they can't even deliver a basic French service! You know, casual western wear and friendly service would probably do better!
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Thursday - June 9, 2005
Layover in Reno
Breakfast at Farm House Coffee Shop had a Big Bertha $4.50, coffee extra $1.80 -
Drove around looking for shopping stuff. Got some great pics of the Virginia St downtown gambling section; but there's sure a contrast between the apparent richness of the casino area and the seediness, poverty and homeless just outside the area. Why is it that these areas have Money Mart type operations, XXX shows & gentlemen's clubs and adult stores? Is it only the poor & downtrodden who enjoy or can afford sex?
Interesting that most of the service staffs are older and a significant # are Hispanic. Noticed that all the "bus" staff appeared to be Hispanic; would there be a problem shouting INS! At best, general service is pedestrian! Either they're too well paid and don't need the tips or they're too lazy!
Now, in the hills of Sparks, there is a fair amount of new housing with terrific view of the Reno basin.
Cheapest gas is 2.259 at Arco.
In Gabe's Pub had the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - OK almost like Okanagan, Ruby Mountain Ale - great body & taste with a hint of fruit, Alaska Amber - good, Anchor Steam - OK
Buddy at the bar, after a couple of hours at $1 video poker, hit the royal flush for $4,000 or so; so close but so far.
God, there's a lot of fat Americans!! Must be all those heaping platters of nourishing "fat" food!
Smoking sure isn't a problem in the casinos, but at $6 / pack of 20's that's steep. And here's the ultimate sign in a Walgren's " If you look under 40, photo I'd is required to purchase tobacco products" It's OK to drink, but heaven forbid that you should have to buy cigs! There obviously must be an age identification problem in this state, or everyone maintains their youthful complexion well past their prime in the refreshing desert climate. Have I accidentally stumbled upon the location of Ponce de Leon's lost Fountain of Youth; there certainly were some blanks in his recorded journeys. Could he have actually made it to the silver state? There now appears to be some empirical evidence that he may have.
Rosie's Café - (Peggy from Ottawa, IL) Bealieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Napa, Prime Rib rock-salt roasted, junior cut ($15) 1/2" vs 1" for full - what hell of a taste cut actually almost 1" thick, wonder what the full is. This was by a better deal than yesterday's filet. Came with Southwest chicken soup - awesome, tasty, nothing but chicken, could probably indicate that their roast chicken specialty is good. Overall, sure is hell of deal for food served without pretences!
If you must know, any adventures into the realms of the perfidy of mathematical games of chance have been limited to just cursory exchanges with these sentient machines. Overall, probably about down $20; just missed that $2.4 mil spin! Again!
Once again it comes to me that if you're reading this minuty, you've got way too much time on your hands; it's OK for me, as I'm on the road.
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Friday - June 10, 2005
Reno to Olympia, WA - 1,114 km
Left at 4:56 AM arrived at 3:30 PM
Best Western - Aladdin Motor Inn
900 Capitol Way S, Olympia, Washington, United States, 98501-1276
Phone: (360)352-7200 Toll Free Reservations: 800-367-7771 Fax: 360-352-0846
Room with 1 Queen Beds 72.90 USD
Quite uneventful, just easy driving and beautiful scenery. Part through Lassen & Shasta National Forests were terrific. Weather was generally sunny and around the 60°'s but got overcast & drizzly the further I got up the coast.
Although I was in the seat for 11 hours, I didn't have any epiphanies. Just felt tired and couldn't really focus on any single issues.
Oh yeah! Almost forgot, got screwed with the funny American money, happens at least once / trip to me. Had a $20 Jackson & a $1 Washington in my pocket, so I tipped the Nugget car valet a bill. A long, long time later, paying for my breakfast, tossed her the bill I thought I had left. Oops, to my embarrassment it was a $1 bill! Valet sure must've thought I was high roller!
When I went to the bar in the hotel, found that it wouldn't open 'til 5 o'clock, so I decided to walk through downtown in search of a watering hole. What a disappointment! For a state capital, Olympia generally has a decrepit downtown and has a panhandler and homeless problems and no bars. Here I chose the BW location because I thought that a government & university town would be vibrant.
All of a sudden the bar & sushi place got filled with younger people. Must be the only place around for graduation. Had a bunch of Hefeweisen and plate of mixed sushi.
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Saturday - June 11, 2005
Olympia to 5527 Lost Lake 345 km (315 km to Tsawwassen Ferry)
Leave at 6:30 AM
Rather uneventful slow ride to the ferry; note that I5 speed, from Olympia to Everett, is 60 mph and highway patrol is aggressive in persecuting miscreants.
Wait at the border was about 10 minutes as they used a sniffer dog to check most vehicles; who would bring drugs or bombs into Canada, it generally goes the other way. No problem crossing as I declared about $300 of toothpaste & western souvenirs.
Caught the 10:15 AM Duke Point ferry was about 15 minutes late in leaving and it was the ancient, 1962, Empress of Vancouver which takes 20 minutes more for the sailing.
Arrived home at 1:12 PM which was 35 minute of my predicted mark of 12:37 and entire difference due to ferry.
5,370 km
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Monday - June 13, 2005
Good to be back, flowers & new plants doing well; ag crop down to one very healthy plant. New flowers bed put in between patio & rear door. Will can the extensions of garden areas!
Had my senior's coffee at McD's with Ray, my acolyte, and he filled me in totally on the Party goings on or lack of significant action there of.
Purchased a new queen bedroom set from John's Bedroom Barn, again.
Win & I of course then went to the Quarterway for my first here. Janel on and training a brand new rookie, Sarah, we actually were her first customer. Felt good to be back at my local. Interesting, here the golf tournament is $50 whilst at the Fossil, it's $110 for pretty well the same thing.
Went back home to relax and probably got too relaxed and had a few too many getting caught up.
Weather still sucks here, stuck in the 17's with the occasional sun & shower.
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Tuesday - June 14, 2005
Dentist to get that chipped tooth fixed. What I realized was that it wasn't a tooth but the lower right front implant which had chipped and caused an irritating burr. Could have got sandpaper from Home Depot & sanded it down, but I think that Dr. Larry Lewis probably did a significantly better job.
Quarterway for late lunch, good to see Sherry. BTW, the potato skins are terrific.
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Thursday - June 16, 2005
Early morning root canal job! Notwithstanding my breathing problem trepidation, Dr Heather Chisholm did a great job going through the crown and doing the root scrape, had only one very large nerve canal as opposed to the normal 3! As soon as she had blasted through the new crown, I knew by the stench that I had been right all along; the old tooth had been improperly prepared by Dr Melamed prior to putting on the crown. So I suffered for 6 months because of him; was justified in
firing him.
Since no pain, went to Quarterway to have lunch with Win, of course after picking up some decorative features for the house.
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Friday - June 17, 2005
Loaded up the truck with all the CPOC stuff for movement to the storage in Parksville with Ray. Helper didn't show & Villier wasn't home for the rest of the stuff. Got to meet more of Ray's family, the even have a street named after them, Medd Ave just off of Dover, and was part of their development.
Went to Farmer's Market to see what was new this year. Drizzly, so got few things and didn't stay long and went to Muddy's.
Gas goes back up to 97.9 from the 95.9 in the last 3 weeks. Even diesel went up 1 to 86.9.
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Tuesday - June 21, 2005
Went to Vancouver with Win to pickup his Bose 901's, $1,600; irony of ironies, it was in the Pacific Mall Dunhill store which I sold & closed out for Rothman's. Had spent a fair amount of time in that Dunhill store!
Then went to Longwood & Quade at Granville & 7th to look at the Bose Tower PAS, about $6,200 for a pair. Awesome sound, then again you could power a group at the Queen's!
After some local lunch & shopping headed back to Horseshoe Bay for the 3 o'clock ferry, downtown W Georgia traffic was brutal and we only got to the docks at 2:35 so it was questionable whether we'd get on; luck was with us and we made home just in time for a severe thunderstorm.
Ironically we had the newly refurbished Queen of Oak Bay both ways; of course this is the one that in 10 days would crash into Sewell's at Horseshoe Bay.
Gas goes back down to 95.9, diesel excepted.
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Friday - June 24, 2005
With Win, went to Piper's to see the US Band, actually just 2, Kathy Stacey on cello and Craig Kambeitz on guitar. Makes for a very interesting sound. As usual, the group joined us and we closed the place.
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Saturday - June 25, 2005
Did the farmer's markets at Qualicum Beach and for the first time, the one in Errington. Errington's is by far the biggest in this region with lots of choices between produce & arts 'n crafts.
Ironically, had a function that evening just down the road at our MP's, Dr. James Lunney. As usual, had a great time, met a lot more of our Board, taking lots of pictures and became the paparazzi and finally with Monica's help we killed the opposition in bocce. Helen, James' wife, was a terrific host.
Had the phone in the car and didn't check it when coming home around 9:45, too bad as Win was just down the road at the Rod n Gun for Iris. Oh well, I'll catch them at the Queen's on Thursday!
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Thursday - June 30, 2005
To the Queen's for Iris. Great time getting re-acquainted with Deb, Dave, Brian & Todd. Win shot some great pics & movies with his new Pentax Si, awesome mini camera. A fun time was had by all.
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Friday, July 1, 2005
Late afternoon, saw a deer out back, got camera to shoot some pics and when I got a better vantage, saw that it was a small herd on the construction site behind, 3 bucks and 2 does. Went see how close I could get for some good shots. I was able to walk all around them within about 15 yards and they didn't really seem to care.
Later that night, between midnight and 4 AM, 2 bucks & a doe were resting under my front trees chewing their cud or sleeping.
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Saturday, July 2, 2005
Queen's again for Iris. Terrific time again. Glad that Win was driving me as usual as there was a spot check on Terminal near Manzavino's.
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Tuesday July 5, 2005
John's Bedroom Barn delivered my bedroom set for that newly painted guest room. Looks terrific in there as colour scheme is well coordinated.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Had an afternoon meeting with Michael Bortolotto, a fascinating motivational speaker. We discussed certain strategies to expand his business horizon. Some interesting ideas were exchanged. More work will be done next week.
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Friday, July 8, 2005
Davey Tree came to cut down the 2 fir trees. Had to remind them that the stumps had to be ground below surface; he had to check with Carlin for OK. Interesting how the trees came down, the one with the dangerous overhangs came down without any wires being hit; after the branches, was basically 2 large chunks which he cut into about 18" chunks. The big one, after being de-branched, he let the rookie take it down in chunks from the bucket. The large pieces sure made a mess of the lawn from dropping so high. Found out that taking away the wood was not part of their deal. What a mess the front yard is in!
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Saturday, July 9, 2005
Lighthouse Pub for the last of the Songwriters in The Round. Bartender, Cheryl Cootes, winner of the bartender's competition for "Tubbin Tonic", a great bartender with a great martini. This was the last of the Round with Michael Patrick, Jordan Stringer & Fiona Stuart returning from Montreal. Great entertainment with good food; try the fried oysters as they appear to be the best around.
Check for comedy night on Thursdays!
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Sunday, July 10, 2005
Had discussion with Carlin that wood had to go this week. Later that day, had idea to phone sellers of firewood; second one interested and said would come on Tuesday.
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Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Dave came for the firewood; amazed how he was able to split those huge hunks with the maul. Trick is to go around edges chewing off smaller pieces 'til the round was about 24" across and the with 2 well placed whacks, the log split. Green wood apparently is the best to split.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Everyone almost came at once. Steve, the driveway guy came first & started to dig things up. Then the Davey stumpgrinder came, about $520. What an awesome remote controlled machine; took him about 20 minutes per tree. He the did a terrific cleanup, including all the previous tree cutting mess, had help from Steve's bobcat to remove it.
Dave the wood guy came next to finish taking the remaining 13 chunks.
Once all gone, Steve had his guys, Mitch, take the overburden from the patio expansion work and fill in the mess in the front yard. Looked terrific and I didn't have to lift a finger to get things smoothed out front; all I have to do is seed & plant! You almost wouldn't know there ever were trees there; there's something to be said for clear cutting! The deer herd still shows up at night.
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Thursday, July 14, 2005
Steve's crew doing the patio stone work and final grade & compacting. Looking good
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Deer roadkill count, my personal wildlife scorekeeper:
Going West:
ON - 2, MI - 4, IA - 4, NE - 5, WY - 1, UT - 2 OR - 1
Going East:
WY - , SD - , WI -
In all my times, although pronghorn antelopes are more prolific than deer, I've never seen one of them as roadkill; must be a smart one!
Usually on the run in the early mornings I see deer, live ones, somewhere or coyotes and range country antelopes.