Waxing Philosophic

Carpe diem. Sieze the day. At 70 years of age, there may not be a whole lot of opportunities ahead of me to make a journey of this length again. I have heard it said that you seldom regret the things you did but you often regret the things you didn't do. If this blog can light a fire somewhere and encourage someone to just go out and do it(whatever it may be)I will be so happy. I didn't want to sit around on my 75th or 80th birthday and regret that I didn't make the trip.

In a way, the destinations were incidental. It was the journey that mattered. And what a journey it was - 2,501 miles through some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. I have so many great memories and so many people to be thankful to. Someday I will not be able to contemplate a 2,501 mile trip.

I'm so glad I did it now.

California, My Dream Destination

California is the complete state. It has everything - desert and seaside, tidal marshes and mountains, flat plains and rolling hills. I was amazed at the variety of trees and flowers and the landscaping in some areas was truly inspired. And some of the landscaping was done by nature- explosions of ornage and purple at the roadside showed off poppies and lupine. The pines on the mountainsides seemed never-ending. The Avenue of the Giants inspired absolute awe and the silence in which to contemplate it. I would love to come back to do a more detailed study of all that I have seen.

The climate, for the most part, was excellent. Coming from the Philippines where the weather is hot, hotter and raining torrentially, it was so refreshing. The rolling fog covered the landscape with mystery.

We were also impressed with the friendliness and courtesy extended by just about everybody that we dealt with (except for 1 or 2 motel owners). Service was given cheerfully. How refreshing! The roads and streams were not filled with garbage. Drivers yielded the right of way, sort of unthinkable back home where nobody wants to give way and every square inch of road is occupied. My son Rob asked me if people back home yielded to ambulances. I said usually not as there is absolutely no place to pull over.

California is so blessed with natural beauty. We drove many miles without seeing evidence of human habitation except for the road we were driving on. Such luxury!

Our trip took 21 days. We drove 2,501 miles in our Prius and averaged 46.6 mpg. If I had it to do over again, I would try to spend double the time so that I could stop and enjoy the sights and views longer; do a few sketches for future paintings.

If the Buddhists are correct, I wish to spend my next life in California.

Motel Review

We stayed several days at 5 motel chains. They were Best Western at Grass Valley, Mt. Shasta, Anderson, Marina and Solvang. This chain, along with Holiday Inn Express(Lake Tahoe) was consistently the best. We had the best free continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn Lake Tahoe. (They provided sausages!) This Lake Tahoe motel also was conveniently situated with a Carrow's restaurant just across the parking lot.

As far as ambience goes, the winner is the Best Western Tree House Motor Inn at Mt. Shasta. This property differed from the cookie cutter pattern where all motels look alike. The extensive use of wood panelling and trim made this place stand out.

The Comfort Inns at Redding and Fortuna were adequate with no glaring defects. Just about what you would expect. Clean and good value for money.

The Discovery Inn at Napa was a real disappointment. We referred to the towels as grey sandpaper. We were only able to identify the cleaning staff because they were accompanied by their cleaning cart(which will probably last forever) as they were in jeans and a t-shirt. Dead spiders and their webs adorned the inside frames of the windows. When we told the manager that we wanted to take the charge off the credit card he said, "You can't do that! I will lose money." Thankfully his wife took him in hand and fixed things. The only good thing about this motel was its location on the Silverado Trail and its proximity to the wineries.

The Day's Inn at San Simeon had a strange manager who told us the Day's Inn did not have the software to issue a printed receipt for cash. I hope that charge does not show up on my credit card.

The Day's Inn at Ontario was rather scarey. It's located right next to a liquor store and is the only place on our 21 day tour that did not provide free continental breakfast.

All in all winners are Holiday Inn Express and Best Western! I would always book one of those.

California Motels/Hotel Review

During our tour of California we stayed in many categories of accomoations ranging from unique one-of-a-kind to well-known franchises.

The first in the unique category would be the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Here we were impressed by the use of wood inlays along the walls, especially in the public areas. But this old fashioned, elegant hotel failed to update its' facilities to include Wi-fi, something found in the cheaper motels. I had to pay additional charges to access the Internet and I had to pay for 24 hour acces. (Give me a break!)

The second in the unique category was the Yosemite View Lodge, a sprawling motel just outside the entrance to the Park. Located right alongside the Merced River, the sound of the rushing water was heard as soon as you opened your door. Our room came with a completely equipped kitchenette. (What a joy!) Wi-fi was only available in the main lobby.

Our next oddity was the Gold Lodge in Sonora. It looks like a throwback to some of the motels my family travelled to when I was a child in the 50's. It was in this motel where we needed the night manager to operate the shower. Yet, for all its' antiquity, it provided Wi-fi in every room.

Also in this category was the Hotel Beresford in San Francisco. Located just a short walk from Union Square, this was the only hotel that gave us an actual metal KEY! Wi-fi was available off the lobby. The rooms were small with a ref but no microwave; the hotel is excellent value for money.

On my next blog I will deal with our experiences with the motel chains such as Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, Comfort Inn, Day's Inn and Discovery Inn.

Journey to Sapporo

Saporro? What the ...am I doing in Sapporo? We left Los Angeles (My son drove me to the irport whhiich can be an iffy thing driving to LAX from San Diego in rush hour) Our flight to Tokyo's Narita airport on NWA #1 was scheduled to take 11 hours. At about the tenth hour, the pilot came on and said that due to headwinds we didn't have the fuel onboard to safely continue to Tokyo and we'd have to land at Sapporo to refuel. I was a little apprehensive that I might miss my connecting flight to Manila but after a bit less than an hour, we took off for Narita. I was able to make the connection and got into Manila around 11PM. It was mayhem. Another 747 had landed and the facilities were over taxed. I was unable to get a cart for my suitcases and had to wrestle the two through customs and down the long downhill ramp tp the pickup point. I knew I was back in Manila as my hair started to curl from the humidity.

I look back at my time in California. That state has everything. I would love to do a book on the flora and landscaping of the different regions. In my son's backyard are beautiful bird of paradise that really look like birds.

In future blogs, I will deal with motels, food and trip planning for seniors.

Leaving on a jet plane

Tomorrow I leave San Diego for Manila. The flight to Tokyo will take 12 hours. I really am not looking forward to this part of the trip. I will really miss staying with my son Rob and Matt. Their home is so comfortable and the weather here is San Diego is great. I,ll be posting a summary of the trip when I get back to Manila.

The Mystifying World of Showers

Remember the good old days when shower fixtures were basic. You had your hot, your cold. When the mix was right you turned on the shower portion. Done!
During our trip we encountered many confusing shower challenges. On our first stop, the Queen Mary, the shower came with 4 inputs - hot and cold fresh water and hot and cold sea water. Of course the sea water taps were now non-functioning but must have been amusing during ocean travel.
Our second stop was an old motel in Sonora. When Loly went to take a shower she tried pulling out the knob that usually opens the shower portion to no avail. As it was a rather old motel, she was afraid that pulling too hard would bring the entire plumbing out of the wall. She went to get the night manager, who came and gave it a mighty heave and voila! Water.
During our stop at San Francisco, we stayed in an aging hotel. When I went to take a shower, for the life of me I couldn't get the water to come out of the shower head and so had a very uncomfortable chore of trying to wedge myself under the lower tap!
By and large all motels use the uni-ball system for the shower. Under this system, there is no such thing as a gentle warm stream. If you want gentle, it's cold. You want warmer, the volume increases. You want warmer, it's like Niagara Falls. How much water is wasted!! This time, I think progress and modernity should rethink how things were managed previously.