Leaving Las Vegas And Bypassing That Damn Dam

Approaching Arizona after crossing the Hoover Dam bypass bridge. 

Commercial trucks are not allowed to cross Hoover Dam, so this bridge - which was constructed a quarter of a mile downstream from the dam - allows us to cross the Colorado River without having to go thirty miles out of route to get to Kingman.

Unfortunately, you can't really see the dam from the bridge because of the high barriers.  If you're in a car, make sure to take the damn route.  It's quite an interesting sight.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: A Difference As Big As The Grand Canyon
2011: Not Even Technology Can Fix Stone Cold Stupid
2010: Three
2009: Not Exactly “Daily” By Definition
2008: I Almost Married This Man
2007: Greeting Fair Lovers For Over Fifty Years
2006: The Infinite Wisdom Of A Grandfather
2005: Swingin’ Good Times

Eddie Sandwich

This photo op - on the Las Vegas strip, with fake showgirls not associated with any particular show or hotel that we could ascertain - set me back five dollars.  This one, only one dollar. 

But Ed, in his floppy fisherman's hat, looked like a first-time tourist even though we've been to Vegas more times than anyone ever needs to go to Vegas.

For me, once a year (if that) is enough.  I'm not very interested in what they have to offer.  But we were on our way home and passed through and the weather was nice (not hot) so we walked around, went for lunch, people watched, and spent the rest of the night at the Bellagio.

I have to say, I really love the Bellagio.  It's beautiful.  We get so many free night stays - like the Wynn, and the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, and the Orleans - we've yet to use them all. We just got another one in the mail this week.

So I guess we'll be making more trips to use up our free nights and taking more pictures with people who hawk their wares on the street.

If nothing else, it's entertaining.

If you like that kind of thing.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Scenes From An Italian Kitchen
2011: Living Deliberately But Not Without Scars
2010: Maybe They Just Don’t Like Oklahomans
2009: Mexico? Derecho.
2008: Juxtaposition
2007: Eddie Sports Pigtails Friday
2006: Gambling Under The Big Sky
2005: Sleeping Beauty

Fast Food Of The Civilized

You know you're close to California when you find an In-N-Out burger that's so packed you have this many people working the line.  Ed took this photo while he was waiting. 

People wait in insanely long lines for these burgers.  Truth be told, I'm not a fan.  It's been a very long time since we've last had one so I sorta forgot I didn't like them so much. 

I think my top burger place is Smashburger, followed closely by Five Guys.  In-N-Out doesn't even make my list. 

But after being stuck in the middle of nowhere Nevada for the past week, I probably would've eaten cardboard on a bun.

Happy to be back to civilization.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Giving Everyone A Head’s Up
2011: A Big, Delicious Mess
2010: Race To The Finish
2009: The Way To A Man’s Heart Isn’t Only Through His Stomach
2008: The Monarch Of Style
2007: I Walked Around The Building For An Hour Looking For That Door
2006: Home On The Range: It’s Not Just The Place Where The Deer And Antelope Play
2005: Mina Clarkson

The Sun Also Sets

Since not much happens here between sunrise and sunset, I thought I'd show you the best part of the day.  This is the prettiest Hawthorne, Nevada will ever look.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Summoning The Mountains
2011: The Power Of Gold
2010: Where’s The Beef?
2009: If One Could Love A Convenience Store
2008: Eddie Home On The Alien Range Friday
2007: N Is For Nanny. Oh, And Negligent.
2006: The Answer Will Be Revealed In Nine Months
2005: Lipgloss And Cocoa Puffs

I Was Searching For Leather Goods And Found Something To Dream About

I was surfing online when I came across and article about the Peter Nappi leather studio in Nashville.

I went to their website and saw these pictures.

I want to LIVE here. 

This is one of my favorite styles of housing - old factories or warehouses.

I love the exposed brick, the concrete columns, the floor to ceiling windows.

Look at the space.  It's just gorgeous.

The furniture is great and although the idea isn't unique, it's really hard to come across something affordable in a great area.  Oh, you can find tons of abandoned properties in Detroit, but as my friend Marlaina pointed out - you have to live there with no police, fire protection or grocery stores.  Guess those things would come in handy. 

A lot of these types of properties are already snatched up and have been turned into lofts or retail stores, but a lot of them are located in still crappy areas where one wouldn't want to live.

I want to get one big enough to park the truck in one side and live in the other. 

I'm still hunting.


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2012: Tomatoes Under Glass
2011: The Best Seat In The House
2010: Countdown To Pisa
2009: Eddie Goes Waaaay South Friday
2008: Port Of Long Beach
2007: Layers Of History
2006: Would I Be Cheesy If I Said I Wanted To Drive THIS Rig??
2005: Paper Glow

Only In The Summertime



Their website claims it's THE hot spot between Reno and Las Vegas.

 I don't even know what to say about that.

The only time this place is hot, is in the middle of summer. 

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2012: Craving Italy
2011: A Perfect Way To Start A Month
2010: Old School
2009: Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
2008: The Clubhouse Girls
2007: Morning On The Air Train
2006: The Other Side Of The Tracks
2005: Vicki Bin Laden  

Pick A Patch Of Dirt And Park Yourself On It

From the lush, wet, temperate rainforest climate of the Pacific Northwest, to the middle of the dry, arid desert of western Nevada.  Two hours from Reno, five from Las Vegas.  It's a hideous place.  Although my aunt saw a picture of Walker Lake I sent her and said "It looks pretty." 

I suppose it has a certain appeal to people who like dirt.  And trailer parks.  Not that she likes either, I just think she was just able to see the beauty in something different.  She's that kind of person.

This is Hawthorne, Nevada.  It's one of those blink-and-you-miss-it towns.  Seriously. 

 

It's mostly motels from the 1940s in varying stages of disrepair, typical roadside motels and vintage motor courts.  Back in the forties, the population of this town was around 13,000.  Now it's more like 3,000. 

I don't know why anyone would want to stay here, but for a town of its size, it does have a lot of motels and RV parks.  This is the main drag, E Street.

These places are all located on or adjacent to the main strip.  The Frontier Trailer Park and liquor store.

The Holiday Lodge. which offers color TV, coffee, phones and king size beds.  I actually like the old signs.

The Wright Motel.  Where there is no vacancy, because it's no longer open. 

The Hawthorne Motel - one of many small hotels that all have ten or fifteen rooms and a little office in a one level complex.

Some even have kitchenettes. 

We've been here several times before and passed through many times more.

Hopefully we won't get stranded for six days, because sitting in a truck stop with a dirt lot in a town whose shopping consists of Dollar General and Goodwill is not my idea of a good time.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: The Heat Of The Road
2011: My Super Handsome Man
2010: It All Started With Betty
2009: Traffic Stopping Skyline
2008: When You Are Proud To Be Told Your Roots Are Showing
2007: Engulfed In Color
2006: Fish And Loaves Of Bread Are Not The Only Things He Is Generous With
2005: 23 Things

I Walked In The Footsteps Of Richard Gere

Not only was Port Townsend a great little town to walk around in, it was a great town to film in too.  This ring any bells?

No?

Perhaps if you saw the whole place?  This what did it for me.  The named seemed familiar, but it wasn't this part of the hotel...

It was this part, the old section. This is the hotel where the love scenes between Richarde Gere and Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman were filmed. 

The room where David Keith's character (Sid Worley) hung himself is also in this section.

There are other locations in town that were seen on the film, and the local paper mill (currently a real, working paper mill) was where the girls in the film worked. 

I guess it's time to re-watch the film!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Flower Bar
2011: A Sign For Sore Eyes
2010: A Primm Landscape
2009: I Am A Kandee Addict
2008: The Tiny Intersection Where The Colors Collide
2007: Loved Shack
2006: Holy Mother Of Pearl
2005: The Starfish Effect

In The Shadow Of Mount Olympus

We just spent six days parked on the shores of the Olympic Peninsula. 

We had full water and electric hookups so we didn't have to run the generator, and the best part - other than the location - is that it was provided by the facility we delivered to!  Can you believe they give truckers this gorgeous location to wait on their next load??

We were almost on the water's edge.  This angle doesn't make it look so steep, but it was enough of a drop-off that we couldn't climb down from the grass to the beach area.

We had to walk to the edge of the parking area and take the little path behind the Ramada  to get down to the water.  Once there, we found lots of driftwood, smooth stones, shells, seaweed, and seagulls squawking into the wind.

This was the view from the front window of the cab.  Excuse the dirty windows - I hit them with a little Windex the day after this picture revealed their filth.

When we first arrived, it rained and was overcast (which I really don't mind), but then we got several sunny days which made for much better picture taking. 

Right behind the truck was a Ramada with picnic tables, a gas BBQ, a covered area containing garbage bins, and restrooms if needed.

Black tailed deer were everywhere and they weren't the least bit skittish.  In fact, they were all over Port Townsend; in the streets, on the lawns.  The noise of the truck didn't even scare them.  They barely lifted their heads from the grass they were munching.

We threw a few apples out to these guys, which were near our parking area.  There were about six more hiding behind the tree to the left.

The sunsets weren't spectacular in color, but the shadows through the trees as we drove along the shoreline were beautiful.   

We eventually got a load and had to leave, but the location was a perfect base for exploring the area and I can't wait to come back! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Toni And Her Sisters
2011: Paper Boy…And Girl
2010: Breakfast Of Champions (And Truck Drivers)
2009: Vegetarianism Brings On Extinction
2008: It’s Beauty Is Just The Beginning
2007: Eddie Relaxes In Style Friday
2006: How To Tell Your Parents You Don’t Have A Roommate
2005: Mangia! and You Just Know When You’ve Met “The One”

The City Of Dreams Is A Dreamy City

My friend said to me, "You're better than rich.  You're in a place very few people, Americans, Canadians, anyone, will EVER see, and you got paid to go there.  Can you beat that?" 

No, I don't think I can.  Well, unless I was obscenely rich.  Then I wouldn't get paid to go to all these places, I would just be going.  And if I were rich rich, I might not even be here, I might be in St. Anton, or the Amalfi Coast, or Saint Petersburg, Russia.

But I'm here.  In Port Townsend, Washington, and it's beautiful.  And chock full of beautiful buildings.  Old buildings.  This is a place known for its abundance of Victorian-era homes and  historical buildings.  It's one of three Victorian seaports listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

The Hastings Building, 1889.  Constructed by the Hastings Estate Company, owned by Lucinda Hastings.  She was the first non-native woman to settle in Port Townsend.  It cost $35,000 - $45,000 to build and was said to be the "handsomest building in Port Townsend". 

The James & Hastings Building, 1889.  Built by Francis W. James (1832-1920) and Lucinda Hastings, the widow of Loren B. Hastings.

The N.D. Hill building, 1889.  Cost to build - $25,000.  Nathaniel D. Hill ran a drugstore from the building.

The interior of the Clapp Building, 1885.  Built for $13,000, four bricks thick.  It was a dry goods store, saloon, grocery and bank.  In the right rear of the building is a small brick room that housed the vault.  The steel doors still remain.  I wanted to live in this room, it was gorgeous.

The Catherine McCurdy Building, 1887.  Catherine McCurdy spent $10,000 to build this building in 1887. 

The Fowler-Caines Building, known as the Fred Lewis Building, 1889.  The building was erected for $25,000.

 



Top of the Fred Lewis building.

The Mount Baker Block Building, 1890.

The Starrett House.  "Built by George Starrett, one of Port Townsend's most prolific home builders, this is a Victorian residence of national stature. Its architecture is unique, and the free-hung circular stairway, a "two-tier free-floating staircase," is believed by the Smithsonian Institute to be the last of its kind in America. The domed ceiling in the staircase tower has a fresco that depicts the four seasons and the four virtues, in eight panels. The house was built at a cost of $6,000 as a wedding gift for Starrett's wife Ann".

Get more information on some of the buildings here. 

And learn more about what's going on in Port Townsend here. 

And if you get the chance to go, do.  It's really a great little town.

Next time, we're bringing our bikes!

They don't call it "one of the coolest small towns in America" for nothing!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Five Fantastic Finds
2011: Hand Dipping Tastes Better
2010: The Skies Were So Dark, Even GE Couldn’t Brighten Things Up
2009: Not So Deep Impact
2008: My America. Your America. OUR America.
2007: Frozen In Time
2006: Ohhh, Paaablo
2005: Apparently, Aliens Tell Time With Their Ass

We Are Family! I Got My Brother And Me!

I saw this little gem - a mosaic set in a driftwood frame - outside an antique shop in Port Townsend.  It's certainly a conversation piece.

I considered buying this funky little mosaic for my baby brother's birthday, but I think I learned my lesson with the Zebra painting. 

Happy Birthday, Mikey!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: The Highlight Of My Life
2011: Dream Big. Live Bigger.
2010: Always Merry When Around My Brother
2009: Living Outside The Touch Of Time
2008: Girls And Their Boys
2007: Living History
2006: Company On The Prairie
2005: Rack Eyes

Port Townsend Honor System

Walking down the main street in Port Townsend, Washington, I passed this display of old bottles for sale. 

There was quite a collection - dirty, clear, red, amber, blue, big, small.  Two bucks, your choice.  Even for the old glass insolators.   

'Ol Russ is obviously very trustworthy, because he places a bright orange, hand-lettered metal box on the table next to them.  Slot in the top, padlock on the front. 

I didn't buy anything.  I wanted to, but I couldn't think of where I'd make use of a glass bottle in the truck, and although I loved the blue glass insolators which I'd use as a paperweight, I realized I didn't really have any paper to weight down.  

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: This I Love
2011: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, And Now This?
2010: Universal AND Contagious
2009: Ed Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday
2008: Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2007: Phone Calls And Fellatio
2006: Color Ring
2005: We Go All Out!

An Extremely Fishy Climate

As we were leaving Port Townsend Sunday I was talking to Ed about the climate of the area, something I read about on Wikipedia. 

This is the blurb I was intending to tell him about:

"Port Townsend has a moderate Mediterranean climate with chilly, though not severe, and damp winters and warm, dry summers."

So I'm babbling on about the area and the weather and how it's not so bad, and although it's 60 degrees it doesn't feel too cold because there is moisture in the air, blah blah blah.

"I was reading that the climate up here is Mediterranean...chilly and...oh, what was it?  Hold on, let me look it up."  I couldn't remember what I had read earlier in the day, so I got on the iPad to look it up.

In the moment it took me to pause and look it up, Ed said, "Mediterranean chili has fish in it, right?"

He was serious.

I abruptly stopped what I was doing.  Took a deep breath.  Found my calmest voice (because I really wanted to scream) and said, "Baby.  I'm going to point something out right now, and I'm not doing it to start a fight, but I want to show you exactly how much you don't listen to what I'm saying.  I don't even think I can come up with a better example than the one that just took place."

"What?" he said.

"You just asked me if Mediterranean chili has fish in it." I said. 

I waited, thinking he was going to realize his mistake.

"Yeah, so?" he said. "Does it?"

"Oh.  My.  GOD.  I wasn't even talking about fucking chili!  Is that what you thought I was talking about?  What exactly did you hear??" I said.

"I don't know, something about chili.  Mediterranean chili," he said.  "I was listening."

"Ed." I said.  "You were not listening.  I was not ever, nor am I now talking about chili.  I was talking about the climate here in Port Townsend.  I was trying to remember what Wikipedia said about it, which was that it was Mediterranean....then I paused, to say chilly, and...and then I couldn't remember what the rest of it was so I was looking it up.  That's when you asked me if Mediterranean chili had fish in it."
 
"Well, you said Mediterranean chili." he said.

"I said, Mediterranean, then chilly.  There was a pause in there.  I was describing the climate as Mediterranean....chilly and damp is where I was going next.  Like saying, 'The climate in Arizona is desert-like....'  pause  'hot and arid'.  There was more coming after the chilly part.  Chilly as in weather, not chili as in the food."  I said.

His eyes crinkled up and he started to laugh at himself.

"And I'm supposed to think you listen to me?" I said.

"Well, I do most of the time."  he said.

Most of the time.  This reminded me of when he told me that I talk too much and it's hard to remember everything I say.

Classic Ed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: This I Love
2011: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, And Now This?
2010: Universal AND Contagious
2009: Ed Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday
2008: Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2007: Phone Calls And Fellatio
2006: Color Ring
2005: We Go All Out!

Once, An Angel

Here I am just a few months shy of my third birthday.  No doubt an angel.  And I still have many angelic qualities.

If anyone tells you otherwise, just remind them that today is my birthday. 

Everyone is an angel on their birthday.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Halfway To Ninety
2011: Aging In Soft Light
2010: Why The Crying?
2009: From Swings To Eighteen Wheels
2008: Fishing Expedition
2007: Eggs Of Wisdom Apparently Start Hatching At Forty
2006: The Birthday Wagon Train Takes Off Today
2005: 38 Special