Seattle Timeout

It was very nice to see everyone and spend time visiting.  Thanks to all who offered encouragement to keep the blog going.  I know it's been awhile but there hasn't been much blog worthy to share although I do have some catching up to do now.  Here it goes.

Flying west into the sunset.

Before I left on this journey I had previous work obligation scheduled for December in Seattle.  The obligation changed and while Seattle in December may not be the best time to visit I went anyway.  I had set aside the time and had expected the trip as a chance to check in.  As I have not burned the bridges to my old employment I was able to pick up some work.  It was almost as if I hadn't been gone.  I've done my 10,000 cases so the skills just seem to happen.

Through the generosity of friends I was able to house sit, bed hop and borrow spare cars and avoid staying in a hotel or renting a car.  All very much appreciated.  Thanks.

When I left in May it was hard for me to access how I felt about the city.  I was busy selling stuff and my house and preparing to go.  It wasn't so much that I was getting away from Seattle as I was going on a journey.  So going back for a visit this time all I had to do was be an observer.  No decisions. No hurry.  The RV was parked in North Carolina.  My observations are not meant to be judgmental but reflections of how I felt.

At times there was a "Zombie effect".  In the original "Dawn of the Dead" movie the Zombies returned to a shopping mall and walked around as that is what they did before.  Getting up and going through some old routines I felt a little like the Zombies going through the motions.

Golden Gardens on a winter day.  One of my favorite places to sit.

Morning in Seattle at 7am.

Same morning in Seattle at 11am.

Visiting during the Holiday's was nice.  Holiday parties.  Everything decorated with lights including the Space needle.

Space Needle from Seattle Center.

"Seattle people are closed in."  I'd heard this description before but noticed it more this trip.  Many places I've visited people (strangers!) would just say Hi as you walk by.  Perhaps it's a volume issue with so many people in the Seattle area (3 million?) and necessary for survival but it's nice being places you can talk to someone on the street. I looked up the data and from 1990 to 2010 the population increased by 20%.  One afternoon I took a walking tour around downtown.  I tried to make eye contact with people and the only ones that saw me were the street people and vendors at the market trying to sell stuff.  When I moved in 1989 from New York City I thought Seattle was a "small town".  After seeing 14,000 miles of the country, Seattle has become a "big city".

Walked the market.

For the two weeks of my visit I didn't see the sun.  I realize it's December in Seattle and they had 80 plus days without rain this summer but I'm not sure it makes up for it anymore?  Here is the same day's forecast in three places.  Just saying...

Waterfall at REI.

I took the picture below one morning.  One of the things I noticed during my time back was often you could not tell where the sky started.  Everything was one color: Grey.  Not being able to see the sky made everything feel crowed.  Like being in a room with a very low ceiling.

Fisherman's Memorial at Ballard Docks. (This is not a black and white photo.)

I did go by and see my old house.  The house looked untouched.  The garage was gone, the yard torn up, trees missing and the foundation in for the new structures in.  I knew when I sold it to a developer what was going to happen:  Two unit tall skinny in the back yard.  It wasn't  hard to see as it was what I expected.  I made the decision to sell and my feeling is still it was a right choice.  The home it was became just a house.  Even though it's changed my memories of it remain.  I got to live out my "This Old House" dream.  Now it's "This Old Winnebago".

What my old back yard looks like now.

LaMay Car Museum.  1923 Lincoln Touring car.  First car to go over both Tacoma Narrows Bridges.

Weyerhaeuser Bonsai Garden.  Strange to see the smallest trees next to the towering cedars.

Things that changed in Seattle since I left:
Legalized Marihuana.
Legalized Gay Marriage.
You can buy alcohol everywhere.
Plastic bags are illegal and paper ones cost 5 cents.
There is a big wheel on the waterfront.

Things that didn't change:
Lots of traffic and really bad drivers.
Rain.
Rain.
Rain.
Traffic.
37 million Starbucks.

When I got back from my trip I picked up a book I have been reading during my trip, "Travels With Charley" by John Steinbeck.  The first paragraph of where I had left off summed up my feelings.

"I find it difficult to write about my native place, northern California (insert any place, Seattle).  It should be the easiest, because I knew that strip angled against the Pacific better then any place in the world.  But I find it not one thing but many - one printed over another until the whole thing blurs.  What it is is warped with memory of what it was and that with what happened there to me, the whole bundle wracked until objectiveness is nigh impossible."

Conclusion:  I'm not ready to go back to work or buy in.  The Journey Continues.

November by the Numbers

November

I've crossed the 6 month mark on the road halfway in a "gap year" that I thought could last 3 months to 3 years. I've covered way more miles then I planned but reached two big goals. Kayaking on the coast of Maine and seeing the Florida Keys. Two destinations on the list for a long time.

December will bring a "time out" from my time out with a short trip to Seattle. A chance to work and visit and check in.

Miles Driven: 2,587
Gallons of gas: 335
Cost of Gas: $1,220
Camping Fees: $739
RV: Things are working (knock on wood).
RV repairs: Windshield cracked by road stone in Florida. Awaiting replacement but covered by insurance. Might be a coincidence but Guardian Glass that makes the windshields has warehouses based in Florida.
Food: $757
New toys purchased: 0

Trip to Date ( May -Nov)
Miles driven: 14,191
Gallons of gas: 1931
Cost of gas: $6,156
Camping fees: $2,553

States
Overnighted: 24
Driven through: 28
Days worked: 0
Days missing work: 0

Florida Keys

Going to the Florida Keys was on the list for a long time like kayaking on the coast of Maine. The trip wouldn't have been complete if I hadn't made it.

Key Activities:
Airboat ride in the Everglades (think Wild Kingdom)
Paddle through the mangroves.
Snorkel in the keys.
Walk Duvall Street.
Longboard on Key West.
Camp with the RV on the beach.
Watch the sunset and sunrise on the water.
Paddle board on the ocean.

Key Food:
Conch chowder
Cuban shredded beef
Key lime pie (frozen and chocolate covered)
Lobster salad
Blackened grouper
Fried plantains
Guacamole
Ceviche
Grilled Cuban steak
Cuban coffee

Key Thoughts:

The Keys are good for those who want tropical but not have to fly.

To many ex-New Yorkers who still drive like they are in NY. Bad tailgaters.  Turn signals optional or better left on all the time.  Why waste energy tuning them off when you have a 50% chance of being correct when you make a turn.

What can be developed has been. Driving on parts of the road you couldn't tell where you were with it looking like any other small town. Shopping malls and connivence stores. Sometimes it's hard to find the quiet spots.  The state parks where the place to be or out on the water.

From mile zero in Key West the southern most spot on the continental US  it's 3,500 miles to Seattle. It was a strange and interesting feeling sitting on the beach in Key West knowing that it was time to turn around. Like making the turn south from Maine. Not the end of the journey but it's time to go a different direction. Depending on which way the wind blows I'll be back here sometime, maybe soon. Stay tuned.

Paddle through mangrove at John Pennekamp SP, Key Largo

Sunset paddle from Long Key

Sunrise from camp site on Long Key

Air boat ride in the Everglades

Land paddle along the beach in Key West

Mangroves everywhere

Nurse shark on the bottom off Key West

Nice ray off Key West

Camp site at Long Key State Park

A nice place to put my feet up.  (New Teva's)

Sunset on old Bahia Honda Bridge

Camp site at Bahia Honda State Park

End of the road

Sunset and Moonset from Bahia Honda

The bridge to and from the keys.

Myakka River SP, FL

It's easy to see Florida as only beaches and people and retirement developments and shopping malls if you don't get away from the coast. I drove west across the state through farm lands and horse ranches. The state park is only eight miles inland from Sarasota but another world. It is a forest and wild place filled with wildlife. 58 square acres of wetland prairies, hammocks, and pinelands. In the short time I was there here is a list: to many birds I don't know the name of but including two bald eagles, a family of wild pigs, vultures like crows in the trees, I can hear owls and other crazy bird noises at night, turtles, deer, and alligators!

They have a canopy walk that's 25 feet above ground and 100 feet long through the trees with 75 foot tower climb at one end.

Some pictures of the sights. I barely scratched the surface.

Rainbow Springs, FL

Florida is truly a strange place.  Maybe unique is better.  Maybe just new to me.  They have rivers that start from nowhere.  A pool in the woods that water flows up from underground. And a lot of water!  I guess that's why it's called a "spring" but this is instant river.

The camp ground was about a mile and a half down stream from the head waters.  Definitely a good current maybe 3 knots but not to bad paddling.  Lots of people in kayaks and canoes.  Also pontoon boats bringing up scuba divers.  Since all the water is filtered up through the limestone it's very clear.

Head waters of the Rainbow River.

Sunset on the river.

Paddling up stream.

Forest along the river banks.

Scuba divers in the river!

I decided to give the water a try myself.

A forest below the water.

Lots of grass and sandy bottom.

Lots of turtles in the water too.

Underwater self portrait.

Video in the river.


All of the photos and video were taken with my iPhone 4 in a LifeProof case.  I've had the case for awhile but this was the first time I tried it out in and under the water.  Happy to report the phone is dry and still works.  Great case.
Lifeproof iPhone Case for the iPhone 4S/4 - Black (Google Affiliate Ad)

And to end the day an armadillo walked through my camp site.