My 2008 U.S. West Coast Winter Road Trip

I’ve been trying to take this US west coast road trip for seven weeks now and today I’m finally away.  I’ve been dealing with ASUS for several weeks now trying to get a working computer.  You may remember I bought an ASUS netbook computer for my European road trip and it actually performed well.  Upon return though, it’s been an absolute nightmare.  The computer failed, was replaced, it failed, was replaced, it failed…  And ASUS customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced.  So, when I finally got the third replacement (fourth computer), I just threw it up on eBay.  A couple of weeks ago, I bought another netbook, the g meso from Sylvania.  I like it way better than the ASUS.  It’s small and lightweight and comes with Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a linux OS, which was my preference anyway, and it cost $350 from Amazon.

I sure picked a cold day to leave though.  Last night a winter storm rolled through and dumped some snow on us.  As I packed the car this morning I was battling high winds and 22° F temps.

From Lynden, WA, I headed south to Whidby Island and stopped at Deception Pass State Park and did a little hiking.  I had to really bundle up with the gloves and scarf and the whole deal.  I could barely move.  After an exhilarating walk, I drove south of Coupeville and made a stop at Fort Casey State Park.  This is an old Army base, complete with barracks and officer’s quarters and WWI & II gun emplacements that protected part of Puget Sound. Read Full Article & Comments…

This web log is about all sorts of things, whatever I feel like writing about I reckon; travel journals, things I like, things I dislike, technology reviews, short stories, whatever.  Check out my latest posts below.  My recent two month European road trip journal and photographs are here as well as my recent winter west coast US road trip / hiking trip, just click the tabs above.

Click the Cool Things tab to see what else I find interesting or cool.  Enjoy your stay and please feel free to leave comments or questions.

Cheers,
Maggie

Not just for youths

Lately, when talking to friends about the hostels I’ve stayed in during my recent travels, they seem to have the idea that hostels are some sort of homeless shelters in the bad part of town, or just for school children, or for the dying or recently paroled.  So, I wanted to set the record straight and preach the word, so to speak.

Also known as youth hostels or backpacker’s hostels, they are not flop houses or short term hospice care or halfway houses.   Quite simply, hostels are clean and safe lodging for the family, group, solo, or w/ friends budget traveler.

It’s dorm living.  90% of the time, there are men’s dorms and women’s dorms, but occasionally, you’ll find co-ed dorms.  Typically, there are four to eight bunks or beds per room and the hostel provides comfortable indoor and outdoor common areas, bathrooms and showers, laundry, dinning area, etc.; everything you need really.

Many hostels even have private or family rooms available.  Other services provided by hostels include self service kitchens, TV rooms, bike and boat rentals, tourist help and planning, organized activities and tours, internet and wi-fi, luggage storage, in-room lockers, cafe’s and bars, meals, pools, rec rooms, games, free breakfast, etc.

Hostels can be found in brand new modern buildings, historic buildings and homes, ships, old jail houses, convents, castles, lighthouses, farms, WW I & II army barracks, and other interesting places.  They’re found in the big cities around the world as well as resort areas and picturesque remote sites on mountains, coasts, rivers, deserts, islands, world heritage sites, and national and state parks. Read Full Article & Comments…

A couple of nights ago, I was flipping through the channels and The Wizard of Oz was on, right at the beginning. I’ve seen it several times, but usually I miss the beginning. So, I watched it… and then wound up watching the whole thing. Yeah, no big deal.

After I watched it though, I got to thinking, no one has really done a remake of this story, except for one Michael Jackson and Diana Ross did called the Wiz, which was really horrible. So, I’m thinking this would be awesome as not a musical, and with a dark, twisted, gritty feel to it. Sort of a Narnia meets Indiana Jones and the worlds of Tim Burton (nightmare before Christmas and Batman).  The story would be based on the original, but I’d really develop the characters and expand the story and fill in the gaps of the original. Not a man made of tin, which I always thought was pretty stupid anyway, but a tin man character, and not a lion of course nor a scarecrow, but characters based on them, each dealing with their respective deficiencies of courage, a heart and marbles.

I pictured Dorothy as tough tomboy type, with street sense and wit and stuck in a dead end job at the beginning. Read Full Article & Comments…

Maggie’s awesome mid-life up and quit her job went to Europe for two months road trip

Last summer I up and quit my job, probably not the brightest thing I’ve ever done considering the current economic climate, but I really needed a break, so I’m taking the rest of ’08 off.

The first thing I did was take a solo two month road trip through Europe, something I’d wanted to do for a long time and I figured this is the time.

I flew into Paris, where I picked up my car and visited the places listed below. Staying mostly in hostels, I shared wonderful times with people I had just met, had some neat adventures, explored beautiful places, got exercise, and rejuvenated my soul.

Scroll down to see the links to each day’s post. I hope you enjoy, please feel free to leave comments or questions.

July 21, 2009 – I’ve just released the book version of this trip in hard copy or PDF formats:

Cheers, Maggie

My stops along the way:

Daily Journal entries and pictures:

Some places I stayed, some things I did, some places I saw:

Berggasthaus Äescher, the cliff house on Eben Alp near Appenzell Switzerland

Champ du Renard B & B in Vernon, France

Esther’s Guest House in Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Gasthof Simony in Hallstatt, Austria

Gästehaus Raidel (hotel) in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Hotel Marina Piccola in Manarola, Italy (Cinque Terre)

The Nightwatchman of Rothenburg

Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe

Vatican Museum

Chateau de Versailles

The Louvre

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Claude Monet’s House and gardens in Giverny, France

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria

Berggasthaus Aescher in the Swiss Alps

The Zugspitze in Bavaria

Ballenberg, a Swiss open air museum

The Shilthorn, above Mürren, Switzerland

Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman aqueduct in southern France

Hiking The Cinque Terre

American Cemetery at St. Mihiel, France

Disneyland Paris

Paris, France to Lynden, Washington, USA

On Monday, I had booked an appointment to return my car at Charles de Gaulle Airport for  9:00am.  I got up a little earlier than usual this morning, showered, ate and packed and got on the road for the airport.   I arrived exactly at 9:00am to my surprise.  It only took about 10 minutes to sign all the papers releasing the car back to Renault and they provided a driver to take me to my terminal at the airport.  Pretty darn good service from Renault Eurodrive I must say.  If you ever go to Europe for more than a month or so and need a car, this is the way to go.

I boarded my flight and was off at 12:50 local time.  My coach seat was surprisingly spacious and comfortable.  I spent the first hour or so just starring at nothing really, just dwelling on the adventure I’d just had.  Couldn’t sleep really.  I was feeling anxious to get home, back to the land of milk and honey.  I landed in Minneapolis where I’d get a connecting flight to Seattle.  Wow, I was definitely back in the USA.  I saw gobs of soldiers and marines in their fatigues, campaign workers and other travelers of all sorts.  I had a typical flight to Seattle and managed to catch an earlier shuttle bus by about 5 seconds.  The bus was pulling away and I yelled at someone next to the bus to signal the driver to stop and he did.  So, I was on the way home to Lynden at 7:00 instead of having to wait till 9:00.  Awesome. Read Full Article & Comments…