Finicky Fish

After a few days of driving across the country, I finally landed in Boise. It was a long trip with great stretches of barren landscape between destinations. Wyoming looks a lot like southern Argentina with its dry grass and stubby bushes. Without a radio, I found myself singing out loud just to break up the monotony of the drive heading West on I80. I belted out old pixies, Weezer, and Red Hot Chili Peppers songs without fully knowing all the lyrics. It was enough to get me to Utah where the scenery quickly changed. I finally saw mountains and rolling farm land again. Friendly signs that I was close to civilization.

Alex and Suz had completed a remodel of their 1930's house and it looks phenomenal on the inside. It has all of the modern amenities (high end appliances) with the classic craftsman styling of that period. It has been a couple years since I've visited so it was all new to me. On the counter were fresh veggies from their garden which had done really well this year due to the composting and weather this summer. It reminded me of my weak and neglected garden in Dallas which yielded nothing but a few small watermelon. I was glad that this would be my home base for the next couple weeks.

Not wasting any time, Alex, Ian, and I met at the Owhyee river in Oregon that evening. The river is known for having some of the best trout fishing in the area. 20+ inch fish are common as long as you can get them to bite. Now I'm very experienced in catching 20+ inch browns in Arkansas, but out west it's a different story. Of the three anglers, only Alex was able to hook up once. It was a nice pumpkin of a fish coming in somewhere in the 22-24 inch range. Although the fishing was tough, the scenery and company more than made up for it. The plan while I'm here is to head north to Yellow Pine and fish some of the creeks. There is also some secret lake up there which is supposed to hold some huge rainbows. I can't wait to hook up with my first trout of the year.

Go West Young Man

Bags are packed and the car is loaded.

With most of my obligations complete in Dallas, I've decided to set my sights on the great western road trip through the United States. The thought of this trip has been brewing in my head for over a year. Every time I came back over seas, something whether it was timing or other obligations prevented me from embarking on this tour. Now I've seen many countries over the last two years, but there is something romantic about setting off on your own across the country not knowing where you are going to end up. As a precaution, I packed my new passport just in case I get close enough to reach Vancouver.

So the route. First draft... First stop will be Denver. I have many friends there who I haven't seen in years. It will also give me a good opportunity to warm up the legs since I've been sitting on the couch the entire time I've been back in Dallas. The fitness regiment is needed since I haven't carried a loaded back pack at altitude for 7 months. I'll work my way up to Boise to see Alex and the gang. Topping the list of activities is the backpacking trip to the Grand Tetons (or equivalent). From there, who knows. Just like the Salmon, I feel an instinctive draw towards my birthplace in the Pacific Northwest. However, California, especially San Francisco has a solid base of contacts. I'll play it be ear after Boise.

The anxiety still lingers although not as strong as the previous trips. Perhaps I not expecting as many surprises along the way this time.

America, Have You Seen It?

Although I have my new passport, I figure I'd cool it on the international travel for now. When this all started 20 months ago, I promised myself that I would take the great road trip out West. Well for now I had to settle for the great Midwest trip back to Indiana to see the family. It had been years since I returned to Elkhart. I don't hide that fact that I hate the town, for a number of reasons (none of which I'll get into). The purpose of this trip was to see family. None of my relatives have seen my nephew Teo, so this was an opportunity for everyone to see the kid for the first time.



Although the route was the same one I took back in December, the landscape looked far different. Summer has crested it's peak and the corn stood tall as if they were soldiers standing at attention in their rows waiting for the harvest in the fall. The acres of farmland look like a sea of gold tassels until you look at the correct angle revealing lines which seem to run in a perfectly straight line for what seems to be miles.



As you can guess, organizing a large multi-day gathering requires a lot of work. My brother, Jenn, and I were assigned the task of getting food from a local "gourmet" Italian deli. My mom seems to throw that term around liberally. Anything which isn't a chain and imports food is considered gourmet to her. Before picking up two giant tins of lasagna we sat down for lunch outside the deli. Jenn and Bill wanted to hear about my last trip to Spain and Italy, so we started to talk about travel and our experiences (Bill and Jenn had just returned from a film festival in Poland). Apparently, the old couple next to us was eavesdropping on our conversation. A few minutes later, the woman approached us and asked if we have seen America. At first, I wasn't sure how to take the question. Was she trying to make us feel guilty for not seeing ALL of the United States, before travelling abroad? I don't know. Now I feel that I have seen much of the US and definitely more than the average American. She then said that she felt no urge to travel abroad. I gave her my spiel about Americans who travel either for leisure or culture. If you travel for leisure, there really is no reason to leave the US. She sincerely accepted my answer which seemed to validate her reason for not travelling and my point for travelling abroad as the same time. This got me thinking about how middle class American perceives Europe and travelling abroad. I don't want this to get into a political rant, so I'll just leave it at this.

The median income in the US is 50K. Knowing what I do about the American way of life, there is no way average Americans can support a middle class lifestyle with this income. Forget about travelling abroad. For me, I'm going to take that road trip across the US. I do want to see more of America and the world , but not necessarily in that order.

Home Stretch

The trip is turning out much differently that I had originally planned. That is what happens when you just go where you feel like it. Originally, I had planned to go back to Switzerland for some summer snowboarding. I had packed enough winter gear for a day or two in the mountains. Well, I never made it to Switzerland, but I do not regret it. As my friend Jon says, I go to Switzerland more often than Jon sees his parents in Wisconsin. It was nice to see a few new places which I would have skipped if traveling alone. The only down side, is that some place we wanted to go required advanced bookings. June and I were a bit cursed with the San Fermin festival in Pamplona (AKA running of the bulls).

It was not my intention to even go to northern Spain, so we didn't plan ahead initially. This became a bit of a problem since trains and accommodations were somewhat limited due to all of the people attending San Fermin. We arrived in San Sebastian and found that our accommodation for the pension was already filled. I didn't check for the confirmation of the reservation before arriving , so we ended up scrambling for a place to stay during the weekend. Lucky for us, we did find a place not too far out of town. San Sebastian is small so everything you need to see is within walking distance (for June and I, that meant beaches and tapas bars).

Now I know the beaches in Europe are a little different than those in the US, but I never thought I would see so many naked people in my life. Even though I expected this, it was still a shock. The most shocking thing I saw was this 50-60 year old lady who was so dark and wrinkled, she looked like a walking raisin. She was the most disgusting body on that beach that day. For the most part, the beaches were the best here. The sand was soft and clean, the temperature was mild, and the water was fantastic. Similarly to the trip in Thailand and Australia, I closed out my Europe trip relaxing on the beach. We had been bouncing around from town to town that it was just nice to spend a day relaxing in the sun. June and I would pack up and spend the last couple days in Madrid before heading back to the states.

Basque Country

Well there are some events in my life I will never forget. The past year and a half has yielded a few major worldy milestones and events close to home. At the top of the list is seeing Obama giving his acceptance speech while I was downing a bowl of noodles in Hong Kong. Second on the list had got to be Michael Jackson's passing. We were just discussing the dates he was going to play in London with a guy in our hostel who had tickets. The next day, he was all over the news. Today, in Bilbao, June and I were treated to MJ songs in every bar and restaurant.

My experience with Spain had been great. In fact, I must say that I prefer Spain over Italy (more if this I will talk about later). The only thing I'm having to adjust to is the languages spoken in each corner of the country. Although my travel Spanish is decent, it is still tough to understand what people are saying in northern Spain. The Basque signs are also screwing me up too. It seems that none of the food terms are recognizable except for a few. Bilbao is a nice place so far. 9 o'clock is drinking time and everyone vacates the shopping squares for the bars. Rightly so, since there is still daylight at around 10 PM here. June and I are checking out the Guggenheim tomorrow, then off to San Sebastian.

Tapas with Picasso

Spain! What a relief! June and I had a ton of delays trying to get to Barcelona from Milan. Once here, we had sort of a relaxed feeling. The city (or at least where we are staying) seems very lively. There is also the added sense of security which comes with speaking the language. Our first dabble with the language came at the tapas place recommended in the guide book near our hostel. The food which is so different than what we had in Italy seemed just as good if not better.

Barcelona itself has such a lively feel. I already prefer the mix in architecture and art compared to Italy. Spain has a better mix of old and more contemporary art compared to what I saw in Italy. June is doing a little bit more shopping than me on this trip. I think she is picking up a new pair of shoes in each town we visit. I may pick up a few things in Madrid before going home.

June has found a few special freebies for museum entries, so we are saving a few bucks here and there. It is also nice that she has had a lot of knowledge about aart history, so she can enlighten me about specific styles for each artist we see. For example, everyone is familiar with Picasso's cubist style, but remember that he was a classicaly trained artists, so his earlier works include standard portraits and and landscapes. Some of his sketches were a bit out there and sexually charged, but all in all you see the progression until the work he is best known for today.

Zig Zagging

Man! we are really flying through Italy. The last two stops in our journey have been the best so far. We arrived in Lake Como a few days ago and was able to spen some time away from the crowds of Florence and Venice. I dragged June up a hike with a 759 m ascent. The broken toe slowed me down, so it helped keep me in check. The views from the top of the hike were just as pretty as those from my previous hikes in Patagonia and New Zealand. The hostel in Menagio was a great place to meet fellow travellers. I met a couple folk from Chicago, one of whom teaches school across from my old house in Willmette. Crazy!

Yesterday we zipped down to Cinque Terre for a day of sun and surf. It was June's first dip in the Med since her arrival. The beaches are all pebbles and somewhat tough on our office cured feet. However, the water was a blue as it could be and refreshing. I will definitely return since I feel that our time there was cut short. Overall, we havce seen a ton of Italy during this trip. Spain should be a bit slower and more relaxed. I'm looking forward to some good tapas and wines next week.