Originally posted on MySpace on April 14, 2007.I spent a very pleasant night at the Travelodge in Grants Pass, OR. Unlike John, who tends to stay in fancier digs, I selected my accomodations by price and comfort. I can depend on AAA to pre-screen the accommodations they list in their TourBooks, so I concentrated on selecting the cheapest available....with the free internet, of course! I was taken by how friendly the people of Grants Pass are, at least the few I encountered...the desk clerk at the motel, the waiter at the Mexican restaurant last night, and the counter guy at Carl's Jr this morning. Carl's Jr???
I know what you're thinking...you thought I said I wasn't going to eat fast food. Well, I made an exception here because I wanted to try their breakfast burger. What's a breakfast burger? A hamburger patty, fried egg, cheese, bacon, fried potatoes and ketchup on a bun. You're right...UGH! It tasted OK, but it was a bit much for me...I only ate about 2/3 of it and chucked the rest. It's not something I would ever want again...I prefer to keep the breakfast and lunch separate.
Hwy 199/101, also known as the Redwood Hwy starts in Grants Pass and goes south into California. I was very impressed with the redwood trees. They put my hometown red cedars to shame. While I was searching for fun stuff to do during my road trip, I came across several places where you can drive your car through a redwood tree. Cheesy, tourist stuff...I wanted to do it! I found one such tree conveniently along my road trip route. There was a $4 charge, but I thought it was well worth it...I got an inexpensive memento of my visit to the redwoods!
It was raining when I left Grants Pass, and it continued as I traveled south. It finally cleared up when I reached Eureka, CA...I bought my sushi lunch there. Because of the storm front, the surf was just pounding the coastline. I stopped several times to take photos...I don't get to see waves like that back home! Compared to yesterday, today's driving was like night and day. Whereas the previous day was pretty much all boring interstate freeway, today was picturesque scenery and winding roads. Oh, those winding roads of Hwy 1! Both myself and my Blazer were sorely tested on those roads! All the skills I could muster from years of driving real and imaginary cars (you know, the arcade games?) were invaluable. It took all my concentration to negotiate the sharp twists and turns, even while trying to ignore the distraction of my lit "low fuel" light...I gotta quit letting that happen!
Now, the disappointing part of my day. Although my plan was to drive part of the California coast and see the redwoods, I made the little side trip down Hwy 1 for one sole purpose...to see the studio where John recorded The Battle For Everything. Even though John mentions Mendocino, the studio was actually located just north of there in the tiny town of Caspar. Well, I found the building...but it looked like it was no longer a recording studio. There was no sign, and it looked like just some private office building...in other words, nothing like the photos and videos I've seen of it. I went ahead and took a few photos of the building anyway...John WAS there once, after all. I just hope the other things I have planned don't fall on the wayside.
Tomorrow, I'm doing more touristy things...San Francisco is on the agenda! The weather report says sunny and cool...just the way I like it!
3 days to Bakersfield...
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