This page has entries for random experiences - some travel related, some not. I'll just keep adding to it until it gets too long. Most recent entry is at the top.

10/24/22 Another overnight trip to LA before I take off for Iceland tomorrow. Following up on the 9/20 post below, I decided to try camping this time, at Malibu Beach RV Park. Brought the tent.

The rentacar place I use, Midway, is odd. Very hit-and-miss. Sometimes totally smooth and super cheap, other times pricey (but still cheapest) and problematic. Last visit I ended up waiting 2.5 hours for the car. But got a blacked out Suburban for $50/day. This time, about half hour and I ended up with a Mustang Ecoboost for $30/day. To be honest, I preferred the generic Huyndai I got previously - gets me where I want to go, easy to park, and doesn't stand out unnecessarily. But it is what it is, all are experiences.

The campground is only a couple miles away from the Airstream trailer I rented a month ago. The place is expensive - $120 for a tent site for the night - but still a quarter of what the Airstream cost and an eighth of what some hotels are nearby. The place is clean, well maintained, and at night well lit. Views are cool.

It's a 5 minute walk down to the beach so I do that to watch the sunset.

Sunset completed, I walk back up and do some work. I've had worse office settings.

It gets dark at 7 and I go to sleep early, around 8:30. Just because. Good thing - at 4 am the wind starts picking up, and by 6 am it's literally folding the tent on top of me. I crawl out and pack up the tent the best I can. It's a challenge, and my sleeping bag cover blows away. The sleeping pad tries to but gets caught on a bench and I manage to retrieve it.

I move to the car and watch the sunrise. It's still pretty cool. Checking the weather online, the wind is 15-25 mph gusting to 40. More like 40 constantly but who's counting. I walk back to the site to take one last pic.

Another cool experience, and more learned. The rest of the day is all business and now I'm sitting in the airport lounge sipping champagne. Tomorrow, Iceland. That'll be a thing.

10/15/22 Unseasonably warm weather, have to enjoy it while it lasts. Spent some time at the beach in the Columbia Gorge. Travel is great, but home is not too bad either...

09/20/22 It's been a busy few days. All the trips below are within the span of a week and a half. Not included in the blogs is a trackday at ORP on the 17th, and a two-hour photo shoot with a model at Rooster Rock, right before getting on the plane for this trip. Just for the experience.

This one is another day trip to LA, but this time I'm flying down the evening before and staying overnight, then taking the evening flight back.

In keeping with my alternative lodging goals, I decide to try an off-grid Airstream camper AirBnB in the Malibu hills. It is about a 20 minute drive from Malibu city center. There is not much around and no cell service. This last part proves a challenge since I neglected to fully read the arrival instructions, and the GPS only takes you to the mailbox by the side of the twisty canyon road. In the dark.

Walking around with a flashlight in darkness, looking for where I'm supposed to go, is starting to become a pattern. Eventually I do locate the camper, walk back to the car, and drive up the rutted dirt road to where I'm supposed to be. The setup is very cool. I get settled in, sit for a couple hours contemplating the stars, then go to sleep. No owls this time, but there are mosquitoes.

Yes the camper setup is cool. But honestly, I end up using only the bed, the toilet, and the outdoor couch. Would have been fine with a tent, which likely would have done a better job of keeping mosquitoes out. This is all good data and important steps in my quest to discover what is essential. And what is not.

Business once again takes me to the beach house. This time I have some time to put toes on the sand and take a few more pictures. The houses are varied, from old 'legacy' beach shacks to ultra-modern concrete and glass mansions.

It is interesting how much more I seek out and appreciate the experiences when I deliberately make that a goal. Definitely plan to keep with this theme. In eight days I'm off to Australia. Then, in a month, to Iceland. Never been to either. Should be fun.

09/16/22 A one-day trip to Los Angeles, flying in early in the morning and flying back in the afternoon (at least that's the original plan). Yes, this is only one day after the San Francisco trip below on this page. Six AM flight out of Portland offers some cool views.

It's a business trip with many meetings, and a visit to a beach house in Malibu.

The meetings extend past my original return flight, so I change to a 9:20 PM departure. With business concluded I have an extra hour so I stop by Santa Monica to walk around and hopefully catch the sunset.

Despite this being a friday night, the promenade is surprisingly uncrowded. I eventually walk down to the pier, where there are some people.

For the sunset I walk all the way down to the water. Glad I did, the sights are spectacular.

So, business trips can be memorable even when I don't stay overnight. Cool.

Landing after midnight, in the morning I drive out to ORP for another track day.

09/14/22 A one-day business trip to San Francisco. The meeting is in late afternoon, making it unlikely that I would make the last nonstop flight back to Portland, so I decide to stay overnight. But rather than booking a boring hotel I reserve a site at the Rob Hill campground, and bring my tent and sleeping bag.

On the way to the meeting from the airport I have an extra hour so I stop by Half Moon Bay, just to see it. Cool.

After the meeting, I navigate to the campground as the sun sets and dusk fades to darkness. I miss a left turn and end up at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. A fortunate detour, as it provides an opportunity to walk around with no crowds, take in the sights, and make more memories. It is cold, foggy and windy. The double layer Merino wool base, which I'm wearing as a shirt, does a decent job, but it's a reminder to carry a windproof/waterproof outer shell. Which I normally do, but not today.

The Rob Hill campground is unique in many ways. It is the only campground in San Francisco city itself, and only has four sites. One just happened to be available.

It is rather expensive at $87 but once I see it, it's clear why. The sites are large and can easily accommodate 4 families each. They are well separated and well maintained. Campers get four parking permits and access codes to the bathrooms, which are clean.

Of course I'm discovering all this in the dark, with nobody around, and no lighting other than around the bathrooms. Even though all the sites are booked, there are no people and the parking lot is empty. It's a bit eerie and takes me a fair bit of walking around with a flashlight to find what's what and where my site is.

I set up the tent in the dark, by feel mostly, and go walking around. You have to look closely in the picture below to see the tent, but it accurately conveys the scene.

There are paved and unpaved trails leading into the surrounding park and to the streets below.

A memorial is along the way. I suppose I should learn what it is, but I only pause to take in the view and take some photos, then move on.

From the streets, there is a great view of Golden Gate. The fog intermittently hides and reveals the bridge. I experiment with pro and night modes on the phone camera for a while.

Success varies. When I use the long exposure and try it hand held, the result is interesting but not super useful. Had to figure out how to make the phone stationary to get useful images.

I try to minimize the use of the flashlight and mostly walk around in the dark. There is nobody around, which is odd in the middle of a busy city. It's not quite wilderness - faraway lights make it clear - but feels remote just the same.

With the walk completed I get in the tent and try to sleep. Which goes well for a while, as the traffic disappears and things get quiet. Then, screeching. It's familiar - just like at ORP on a previous trip. A screech owl? Yep. I guess they like tormenting me. This one, just like the one in Oregon, screeches every 30 seconds or so. For many hours starting at about 2 AM. At some point I get up to look for it in the dark - yep, there it is. Chasing it away is temporary and it returns almost immediately to screech some more.

Eventually I adapt and fall asleep anyway. Waking up at 7 AM, the owl is still there and still screeching.

Good opportunity to get better pix of it. This bird is not small.

It is damp and foggy, but the sights are spectacular. I walk around some more then head to the airport for a mid-morning flight home.

Driving out of the park there is an overlook where I stop to get a few more photos. A memorable day and sure beats staying in a faceless motel somewhere.

Going forward, I will make an effort to make my trips more memorable by arranging 'alternative' lodging whenever possible.

09/10/22 I often visit the Columbia Gorge (drive through it every time I go to ORP) and I am always reminded - the Gorge is gorgeous! A favorite spot is Rooster Rock state park. I kayak here often, or sometimes just hang out on the beach. I've been here when river was at 12' above sea level, and when it was 0'. Today it's at about 2', and the 25 mph wind blows the sand around and makes it sting like needles. All part of the experience. Didn't bring the kayak this time so just walking around.

The smoke from faraway wildfires dims the sun and casts an orange glow over everything. It's not as severe as two years ago, when the wildfires were a few miles away, but still lends a mildly apocalyptic feel to everything. Four pictures from 2020 are below.

And, for contrast, a couple of the same spot when the river is higher and the air is clear.

Nature goes through its cycles. Due to the conditions today it's pretty deserted and I don't have to edit people out of the pictures. They edit themselves out by not being here in the first place.

Walking back to the parking lot, along the path there is a large bees' nest. You can see it in the picture if you look closely. It's about 10" in diameter. The wind knocked another one down to the ground, and the inhabitants were not happy about that. Understandably.

Not many warm days left in the season. Have to make it a point to enjoy as many of them as I can.