November 30, 2004
Finally!
Okay! It has taken too long, but I am finally done with posting my vacation pictures.
Go... Look... Fawn...
All the pictures from the trip are under the SamerFest link. You can also see all the pictures for each city (San Francisco, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver), each state (California, Oregon, Washington) or each country (USA, Canada). We slice, you decide.
Posted by Samer at 11:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 23, 2004
Cascades Service
I've completed the train part of my trip. I've travelled on the Starlight Express from San Francisco to Eugene, and from there on the Cascades to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. I'm pretty impressed.
The Starlight Express starts off in Southern California and goes right up the coast. It is a slow, lumbering train, that often gains a lot of delays on the way up. LVH and AB both warned me that it would likely be late and just get later. But the train left Emmeryville just about 10 mins late and, almost 15 hours later, arrived in Eugene.
Yeah, 15 hours is a long time to be sitting in a seat. But that's just one of the great things when you compare Amtrak to flying. For one thing, you don't have to sit in your seat: you can get up, walk around, go to the dining car or the lounge. The views are spectacular, even in the fog. Your seat mates are sometimes a fun bunch, and sometimes just crazy. Oh, and there's no long security lines or annoyances that make flying a pain in the ass.
Here's a shocker for those used to dealing with Amtrak's NE Corridor and big city staff: the staff on the west coast are just amazingly nice people. They were all helpful, even to the annoying people on the Starlight Express.
There's decent food at not too high a price, the seats are comfortable, and did I mention that there are no body cavity searches? If time is on your side, what's there not to love?
Posted by Samer at 07:12 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 22, 2004
Portland Rocks
Portland is great town. I want to move there. It is a nice small town, with all the amenities of the big places. It does not feel like it is missing anything.
I met up with AB and we went out to McCormick and Schmick's. where they have a special after 9.30 bar menu. $2 gets you hummus or a cheese burger. Apparently they do these deals depending on the location, so I'm going to have to check the local M&S...
One of the most beautiful things about this city is its closeness to amazing natural things. AB took me to Multnomah Falls and then for a drive around Mt. Hood. What a spectacular view. It really is amazing. Pictures are forthcoming, trust me.
It was cool to hang out with her, though she says I should come up there in between semesters when she can spend more time hanging out. Perhaps I will.
Posted by Samer at 01:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack