Long Beach

Hi 🇺🇸
Wir haben heute unsere Wohnung in Vancouver final verlassen und dann ging es ab zur Grenze.
Die Grenzkontrolle war ziemlich intensiv.. Elvis musste in einen Zwinger während wir eineRead more
Hi 🇺🇸
Wir haben heute unsere Wohnung in Vancouver final verlassen und dann ging es ab zur Grenze.
Die Grenzkontrolle war ziemlich intensiv.. Elvis musste in einen Zwinger während wir eine Dreiviertelstunde Rede und Antwort stehen mussten und das Auto bis ins kleinste Detail (die Innentaschen von den Innentaschen) durchsucht wurden. Ein paar Bananen und Mandarinen mussten da bleiben aber hey wir sind in den USA 🙏🏼
Wir sind durch Seattle gefahren und konnten Dank des guten Wetters Mt Rainier sehen 😍 Dann ging es nach Long Beach - der längste Strand in den USA. Dort sind wir erstmal eine Weile spazieren gegangen, bevor es weiter nach Portland ging. Hier waren wir nur kurz essen und liegen jetzt geschafft im Bett 😴Read more
War ein regnerischer Morgen. Aber wir stehen ja eh nur. Camper ist jetzt eingerichtet, Taschen verstaut, Fächer eingeräumt. WOHNLICH!!!
Die erste Nacht war auch gut, extra Laken im Walmart gekauft, so dass unser Schlafplatz im Alkoven gemütlich ist.
Heute soll’s dann durch das USA-Stück wieder zurück nach Kanada gehen.Read more
Traveler Bei uns soll’s die nächsten Tage mal richtig warm werden. Wir steuern ja wieder auf Kanada zu, zum Wochenende mit 36-39 Grad 🤔
Here is the rest of the game,you have to stand for their anthem local young school kids sang it was great.The rest are of the game and if you can get the video ones watch them and you will see the pitch and batting.All the pitchers are in mph and range from 94 mph for a sliding pitch tom 99.4mph for the 4seam fast ball.
After each pitch the speed is put up on the side screens along with type of pitch slider etc.
After they get 3rd base loaded close to a home run every body stands and cheers so loud and if they get a home run bedlam breaks loose with cheers,yelling and laughing at the other teams pitcher thanking him for the run.
The politics of baseball is unreal to say the least here is a smidgen,the pitcher gets 15 sec to pitch,batter has to get ready to face pitcher in that same time.When they get 3 out they get 2min to change and get on field.
When a ball is hit and fouled behind catcher they get it and write on it the batter,pitch number and the innings ie;3rd etc and who they played then these balls get sold in their team shop for upwards of 20 to 100 dollars.
Depending on who hits it the top batter is Rodrigueze he gets the higher price on the ball.
Most balls caught are all thrown into the crowd as with long hit fouled balls.
Very quick game average for game is 4 hrs max,started at 1.10 finished after 9 innings at approx 5pm with Mariners winning 7 home runs to Angel's 3.
We got there by cab easy but trying to get a cab home different story rang 5 times then waited 45 mins and finally hailed different cab company cab and got home to motel then.
For some reason cabs here do not use radio to base calling mostly done by I pad etc and the rigmarole you go through to explain where you are and destination well tell a 3 year old kid they would have a better understanding of the conversation.Very frustrating and to be in an area for where the cabs are likely to be good luck we haven't had that luck here or Washinton.
Over here nearly every one uses Uber etc for the same reason cabs are hard to get and if fare is under 10 dollars forget it they will say no not enough for me.
Give us good old Aussie cabs.Read more
Traveler We caught the highlights video. Very interesting facts regarding rules, balls etc. Did any foul balls come your way
Traveler Yeah 2 but they were that high you could hardly see them till the last sec,one fell just in front of us the next was to the right up on 3 floor and bounced around till it got caught.If you weren't watching and it hit you boy what a bruise or egg you would have.But what a game got 4 home in two hits and one hit was 3 home then the designated battery hit a home run.Game is so good to watch and quick and atmosphere was something else glad you twisted our arm to go thanks brother have got you a ball too from Mariners shop
Settled into our last hotel and evening before our flight home tomorrow.
We wandered along the shore of Lake Washington and saw the Boeing factory.
The Marriott didn’t offer dinner at the weekends so we went into dinner at the Hyatt hotel that was beside the factory and a bottle of Prosecco celebrating our trip.
We’d made it!Read more
Well, I'm not sure about green eggs and ham, but I do like Sam, yes Sam I am up for it. Yesterday, we did a tour of the Seattle Art Museum, or SAM. It is big and feels capacious with lowith lofty ceilings and has a lovely heterogenereity to it. Not specialising in antiquities, or renaissance art, or glassware or impressionists. But it has all those things.
A gentle stroll though the galleries with no-one looking over your shoulder while you read the legend about each piece. People about, but not too many. I was taken by a painting called Blessing Christ by Andrea Previtali 1517 which for all its centuries-old age has a modern looking guy who's about to say "dude". I think Christ would have been cool with that 😃
Home in the afternoon for some downtime. We ate in last night and watched a movie and read our stuff on our phones before an early night around ten. My symptoms have now morphed essentially into a cough, a productive one at that. It is unpleasant and tiring but I remain of good cheer. But somehow, I know not the mechanism, I have managed to sleep both the last two nights without keeping us both awake all night. It does make a difference.
Today, we went shopping. We bought some nice reasonably priced up-market gear in Zara and both felt happy with our purchases. Home again this afternoon for more downtime. Trying to give my body the rest it requires to get on top of this bug.
I have been following assiduously world affairs, reading everything I can to stay abreast of what is happening here in America, the world, and at home. The streets of the two American cities which we've visited this time display the obvious chasm between great wealth and great poverty. You only have to walk out your front door. For such a smart and wealthy nation, America has gone wrong somewhere. Its historic exceptionalism has now devolved into being exceptionally broken. I suspect that it was from the beginning and the inequity and the inequality has just grown exponentially.
Under the econd Trump administration, the US seems to have gone into some kind of existential spasm where the foundations of its democracy are being undermined daily and it doesn't know whether to try to ride it it out or intubate itself lest it become fatal.
It's a concern and at this point, I have to say I will happy to leave this strange place and return home, which, with all its problems, is a better life by far.
Tonight, cocktails at Hatch Cantina and dinner at La Via è Bella. Yum, home- cooked Italian in a cool place. Downstairs in fact and next door 😃Read more
Sorry to learn you haven’t been well on your holiday. However, looks like you are both still enjoying your time and finding the US a very interesting place. Stay safe, Di and Dave [Dianne Edser]
Today, after a good night's sleep for a change, we woke with a little more energy. Our plan was to walk down to the ferry terminal and take one of the Washington State ferries across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. We did do this, but we woke to the city thickly shrouded in a heavy fog, the clouds deciding that that they didn't want to be up there, they wanted to be down with us.
The ferry terminal is large and purpose built. We waited inside with a couple of hundred others to board once the passengers, bikes and cars had disembarked from the previous vogage back over from the Island.
We boarded the MV Puyallup, a 460 feet Jumbo Class vessel built right here in Seattle. It has multiple decks and can carry 2500 passengers and 202 cars, so it's not little in any way.
The entire ship was covered in fog as was the terminal as was Puget Sound. As we set off, we headed outside to stand against the bracing winds. And bracing they were. It was fffffreeezing standing directly in the wind so we didn't do that for too long understandably. The crossing was as smooth as silk, punctuated only by the vessel's stupendoulsy loud foghorn which was sounded at regular intervals over the whole crossing. As we neared the destination, we could hear the horn echo back to us.
It was other-worldly and felt surreal for both of us. Visibility on the way over was mere metres. And there were other eqaully large ferries and almost as large crusie vessels, not to mention any cargo ships that might happen to be entering the port; not that you'd see them.
I was reminded of the extraordinary feats of nautical derring-do that I read about in David Grann's book The Wager which gave me fresh admiration for sailing skills of yesteryear in challenging waters. I assumed today's radar was up to the task. I won't forget today's crosssing. It was very special.
The little island of Bainbridge hosts tourists coming off the ferries all day long. There was plenty of accommodation there, but most of the folk I think were day-trippers like us. We found a nice cafe and actually enjoyed a decent latte for a change.
We then took a comfortable stroll around the waterfront on timber walkways in and around and through the various marinas. That was nice. The marinas at home are all locked up and the public can't really walk them. Not so here. It was a lovely feeling to be out and about on the water on a freezing day looking at the mountains, the hills, the island architecture, the boats, and occasionally tinly little glimpses of the tops of skyscrapers poking out of the fog back in Seattle across the water.
All this wandering left us thirsty so we found a nice little diner/bar/pub perched on the side of a hill overlooking the whole wonderful vista where we had a beer and a plate of fries served in a rectangular metal 'bowl'. Cute huh. A bit of check-in with each other here too was a good thing.
Back to the ferry terminal just in time to catch a departing ferry, the same one we came over on. Only this time, there was some blue sky and we got to see the majesty of Mt Rainier overlooking the city as well as the city scape itself, which looked pretty amazing. A nice day indeed.Read more
Yesterday 4 March, Chris and I took a trip to MoPOP, the Seattle Museum of Popular Culture. To our surprise, we discovered it was a Frank Gehry building with lots of twists and turns and curves just like the Bilbao Guggenheim. A lovely thing to behold form the outside, and the inside, varied and interesting.
The tours were all fun and I found them nostalgic too. I especailly liked the Fantasy and Sci Fi exhibitions and seeing costumes and props from famous shows that I grew up with.
After so long standing looking at the exhibitions, we were ready to sit down in the bar for a bite and a prosecco for him, a cherry cider for me and charcuterie board of meats and cheeses with a warmed yummy pretzel. That's a bread stick drawn into various shapes, not one of those Aussie cracker things we call pretzels. Delish!!
Some rain after we left and had a coffee in a nearby garage/cafe and a walk home since we had our umbrellas and it wasn't too heavy. Relaxation followed at home with leftover pasta from our night out before, and we finished a movie.
Today, 5 March is our last day in the States if you don't count tomorrow's travelling day. We walked back down in the warm sunshine to the Seattle ferries and caught one back out to Bainbridge Island, this time on a nice sunny crossing, the water as smooth as glass. A trot around the main street, some touristy purchases in one of the gift shops, and a leisurely ride back over the Sound to home and a relax. We'll head for a drink before dinner, and then we'll kickk back for the evening.Read more
It's been along time since I have been to an aquarium. There was one in San Fran which we hesitated over, but this one on the Sound at Seattle is refurbished and has been added onto with a shiny new building hosting extraordinary architecture that complements the curves and sinews of the ocean and all things marine. We had to go.
Despite my health, we plunged into the marine world of the aquarium with vigour and interest. We spend a lot of time at the ocean so we have an affinity for this type of thing.
Lovely exhibits, the pics of which did not really come out all that well, what with moving fields of vision, it ain't easy. Your seal is just there one second and the next he's gone. There's that cute otter looking right at you adorably, you prepare the shot, and he's gone.
The staff were all busy looking after thier charges. I enjoyed the tactile experience upon entry where you wash your hands and you get to touch with one finger all the anemones and spiky sea urchins. The former were so soft, softer than velvet. And the latter's spines gather around your finger to encircle it.
On one of the outdoor walkways between buildings I took some pics of a giant carrier ship emerging from the clouds that had descended in front of the Cascade mountains across the Sound. It looked like a ghost ship.
After almost two hours, I was done. Today was my first day after a straight seven of mbeing medicated, without pseudoephedrine to keep me dry. So, I was couging a lot as my body turned back to do what it normally does when you are viral: have nasal congestion, a runny nose and you cough a lot. Still, I had to go through today to give everything a break from the drugs and can re-start the pseudoephedrine again tomorrow.
We had another quick walk though PIke Markets on the way home and stopped at a cafe for a coffee. I say coffee, but honest to God, getting a decent coffee in this country is well nigh impossible. I sipped four times and threw it in the bin.
We relaxed this afternooon, took a nap and went out for dinner tonight to The Black Bottle where we feasted on some share plates and some beer, looked after by a cute and very frriendly waiter from Venezuela.
I didn't want to talk about the orange one in these posts, but today, Trump and that creep Vance ganged up on President Zelensky in the Oval Office in front of the cameras, mocked him and shouted him down before ensuring he left the White House. Americans are in shock and declaring embarrassment. Trump only ever wants a winning hand and he doesn't like to play unless he's got one. But I feel sure, if he hasn't already, he will overplay his hand one day and be done over. Can't come soon enough. Today was another disgrace from this soulless narcissist.
But I did like the otters and the puffins.Read more
It's been a few days since I posted a FP. That's because I have been very unwell. The lurgy that Chris had, I caught, and it has knocked me for six. I don't know if it is COVID 19 or not, but it certainly is a breathing type virus. I have struggled, as did Chris, in this regard, each breath an effort. Fevers, a chest cough, post nasal drip, muscle aches, tiredness and sleeplessness due to constant overheating and sweats. Hence the title of my piece. And a new understanding that illness, if it is significant enough, can interrupt the flow of an exciting voyage substantially.
We flew here on Monday just as my version of the virus was really taking hold. It's never fun to fly when sick. Thank goodness it was only a two hour flight.
Our apartment here is beautiful. It could not be more different than our little dog box of a thing in San Fran and it was just what we needed; some space to move around, space to be in different rooms, more than one chair to sit in, a table to eat at. I could go on.
We are situated not far from the water, Puget Sound, a working port, just like our own back home, and thus having all the attendant infrastructure that goes with a working port. The Sound is very pretty. It has islands and on its far coast, is a mountain range called the Cascades.
The city has been doing up the port this side for better public access and have spent a mozza on walkways, viewing platforms and grand architectural staircases. It's not finished, but it's a work in progress and shows what can be done around such ports and harbours.
We took a walk around the famous Pike Place Market which I expected to be outdoors but which was indoors in long rambling halls. Not many people there. Not many people in the streets either, we've both noticed. Neither of us bought anything.
We watched an episode, a first for Chris, of Columbo on tv last night. It really was very good and it brought back memories of Peter Falk's famous role. We've been eating in thus far.
Today, we walked down to the Space Needle, Seattle's most famous landmark, and had a lovely time up top. Coffee, some wandering, and I even braved standing on the see-through glass revolving floor without too much consternation, although I held on to Chris grimly.
We bought a few odds and ends in the gift shop at the bottom and headed into the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. I honestly did not know what to expect but I found myself enchanted by the colour, the shapes, the twists, the sheer imagination of this artist. It was stunning and I am so glad we bought a ticket. I have never seen glass like this before!
We'll stay in again tonight to conserve energy and to help with healing. Chris is still not 100% and I am far from it. Sadly, we have been forced to miss our two organised and pre-paid events here: last night's performance of The Magic Flute by the Seattle Opera Company, and tomorrow's day trip to the snow-covered slopes of Mt Rainier which you can see in the pics. I am disappointed but even-minded about this turn of events. We still love each other and Chris is looking after me thoughfully. Life is good.Read more
Traveler Lovely to have your post Stu. This virus sounds horrible - and probably is COVID by the sound of it. You have both been so strong - troopers as Chris would say. I always think that travel is about meeting the self in all kinds of amazing, often challenging circumstances. We learn and learn and that’s the nub of it.
Hello hello 🇺🇸
Am Donnerstag waren die drei ohne mich unterwegs, weil ich arbeiten musste und am Freitag waren wir im Lighthouse Park und in Gastown. Aber es hat so sehr geregnet, dass wir wirklich komplett durchnässt waren. Ich war abends noch arbeiten und am nächsten Morgen ging es früh los nach Seattle.
Direkt nach der Grenze ging es erstmal ganz amerikanisch frühstücken. Pünktlich als wir in Seattle aus dem Auto gestiegen sind, hat es angefangen zu hageln 🙌🏼 also sind wir erstmal zum (in den) Pike Market gegangen und dann hatten wir super viel Glück, dass es sogar sonnig wurde.
Wir haben den beiden die Stadt gezeigt, sind viel gelaufen und waren ein bisschen bummeln und shoppen. Wir alle sind ganz begeistert von Seattle 😇
Jetzt sind wir wieder in Vancouver und sind mit Schnee auf der Terrasse aufgewacht 😍Read more
Traveler Schön, dass es so gut klappt mit Arbeiten, Besuch und gemeinsamen Ausflügen. Bei blauem Himmel und Sonnenschein macht eben alles mehr Spaß. Es sieht so aus, dass es in Seattle ziemlich kalt war, oder?
Traveler Glückwunsch, ihr habt es gepackt. Egal mit dem Obst, hauptsache ihr konntet das Hundefutter für Elvis mitnehmen. Ach ja, den Blick auf den Mount Rainier habe ich auch gerade wieder vor Augen und die Erinnerung an diese großen leeren Strände. Gute Reise für euch und weiterhin schöne Entdeckungen wünsche ich euch.
Traveler Super freut mich sehr das alles geklappt hat viel Spaß euch 4
Eine tolle Zeit für euch 👍🏻 [Moni]