The West Coast

The west coast occupied the majority of our travels. It's the only part of the trip where we stopped to stay and visit with friends, which is how it took up 17 days (I think). Both my brain and the internet are working slow this morning, so I'll see what I can do. We are in Wallace, Idaho, which is an historical silver mining town. We stopped here last night by chance. The original plan was to camp last night, but the weather was inclimate, to say the least. The rain was real bad, but more importantly, it's been as cold as October or November since Seattle. I'm going to start calling this first leg of the return trip "In Search of Summer". I saw a girl in Moses Lake wearing a WINTER coat. And she looked SMART! It's AUGUST, PEOPLE!!!!! What the?!?! When Mummy and I went to Roslyn, we thought we'd just freeze to death. And I kept remembering how the thought had crossed my mind back in Pittsburgh to pack my down vest because it wouldn't take up too much space. But then I thought, "Who needs a down vest in AUGUST?" So, here goes, let's get to some very cool (but warm!) stuff in California!
Hey Fish Market Westin people........here's the Westin Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego. That's where we stayed!


It was luxurious. A welcome break from camping and motel-ing. Another thing my mom does everywhere she goes is recognize fabrics from her company. They had some of the best accounts in the corporate interior design business. She planned on visiting her friends at the showroom in L.A., but Friday rush hour traffic prevented us from getting there in time. The point is, she knew the wallpapers used in our room at the Westin. I loved the bathroom and would like one just like it at home!
I'm still trying to gather photographs of things everywhere that remind me of people. Of course, there are some that were missed because I was driving and no one was able to grab the camera quickly enough. Like for the sign that said "Standish Hickey". That would have been for my sister-in-law. She used to be a Hickey. Right, Love?
So, I know I already got Aaron twice, but things just kept popping up. Mycol and I were strolling in downtown San Diego looking for a place to get some breakfast. I saw this place and asked him if he'd like to have his fortune told. Then I saw the address.

Here's a shot of downtown that I like:

It was taken on our second day. The night before, when we were coming back to the hotel from Coronado, this street was bustling with nightlife. There were lots of pretty, pretty girls. Mycol said, "Man, I wish I was 25 right now." He says that San Diego has more "hot" women than Pittsburgh has average AND above-average women. He said he's seen at least 6 or 7 boob jobs, he THINKS. Clearly, Mycol has girls on the brain.

Note that those are the only mountains we were able to find in the area.
Time on the road must be well organized. I was too tired last night to blog anything. After we ate at the 1313 Club in Wallace we returned to our room at the Stardust Motel. (Photo to follow). It's a real '50's joint. Anyhow, I was content to trim and file my nails, which had been growing since we left the 'Burgh, while watching "History Detectives" on, you guessed it, PBS! So this morning I got up early and was able to put this short intro to our trek up the west coast for you. Hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for more.......