The Diatribe * net

Click here for Photos from Day 2

Fully refreshed from a good night's sleep, we were able to take to the road by 945 AM. We gave the iPod another shot after checking out some helpful hints online and figured it out, right away. But that doesn't mean that it made our plan any easier, but I'll get to that later.

Heading out of Seattle, Mt. Ranier is visible from the skyline. Truly breath-taking. It's 14,488 feet high at the point and to put that in perspective Whiteface is 4,000 and Mt. Washington in NH is about 7,000 Ft. I'm not sure of the highest point in N. America, but this has to be up there. One of the Points in the Rockies might be higher, but I don't think it necessarily has the same impact. When you're already 5,280 feet above sea level on the ground another 10,000 doesn't really look _THAT_ high. The perspective from Seattle/Tacoma was unbelievable.

Before departing for our trip, we were told by a number of folks to check out some of the beautiful water falls between Seattle and Portland -- so we checked out our map for some of the areas that we might want to check out. We found "Rainbow Falls State Park" on the map, and felt this would be a great adventure. Just about an hour into our trip, we take the detour. Arriving at the park, we have to pay a $5 fee to a non-attended booth in order to "Keep the system working." Between the two of us, we only have $2.85 in change so we throw it into an envelope and pull up to park. It was at this point that we realized that there was free 15 minute parking. DAMNIT! It gets worse. We go check out the map, and realize we already passed the falls. So we walk back towards the entrance, and look down. Absolutely ridiculous. Check out the photos. TOTAL waste of our time. When it comes to valued purchases, the $2 to get into this friggin park was the most wasted money to date.

Click here for photos from Day 1

Despite waking up 15 minutes earlier than we needed to (645 vs. 700 PST), we ended up running late. We missed our shuttle bus back to the Airport by literally 60 seconds, and the hotel was nice enough to pay for a cab back there. The driver, though friendly, criticized the idea of our trip and called it stupid. What does he know?

We pick up our rental car, and upgrade to a mid-size from the recommendation from the great salesperson behind the Alamo counter. She did make a good point that with the hills, and potential bad weather, it would be beneficial to have a V6. Makes sense.

The music theory, however, started out with a bust. The Damn Griffin iTrip doesn't work.. it can't pick up a station to save it's life. While I own a Tape Adapter, the luxury automobile that we have isn't fitted with one of this ancient technology. We're forced to try to get it working with the Radio Adapter, but to no avail. WE've gotten nowhere on our list, and are very frustrated. Hopefully after we leave this major metropolitan area, we can get some better stations to tune into.

[Continued... ]

We’ve arrived in lovely Seattle. Touched down at Sea-Tac Airport last night around 9:00 PST. Just enough time to track down our luggage, take the wonderful shuttle from the Airport to the hotel where we’re staying. I guess when I had selected it, just because it said “Courtyard Airport” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s _that_ close [...]

Ok folks. I’m west-coast bound. Today has flown by (fortunately) and unlike yesterday, it wasn’t nearly as painful of a day here at Le Bureau (Hans and Jacques were acting up again yesterday). So.. Stay tuned for the first update from Seattle … Peace. ~LTJ

In order to get from Seattle to San Diego, and not struggle over what to listen to, Miss Possible and I have come up with a solution. Start a the first song, alphabetically in my iPod and go down the list from A to Z (to be more specific: From “!!!!!!!” by The Roots to [...]

In a little more than 48 hours, I'll be on my way to explore the Western Coast of this fine land. Just like the pioneers, or the vast number of people during the gold rush -- I, too -- will be heading west.

I think we've got it just about all figured out, with the minor exceptions of a hotel here, or an itinerary for this town.. but in all we'll be travelling more than 1,200 miles in just about 9 days. This map is a little off, as we'll be hugging the coast quite a bit more, but.. it's still a general guideline. VERY exciting.

My horoscope is actually fairly interesting, considering the upcoming trip:

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You're being called on to meet a higher standard. You're being asked to boost your output or take on more responsibility or show you can handle greater expectations. While it's understandable if that's unnerving, I urge you to keep it all in perspective. Remember what journeyman basketball player Jon Koncak said when assigned the task of replacing his team's departed all-star, Shaquille O'Neal. Reporters asked him if he felt a lot of pressure. "Not at all," he replied. "Pressure to me is being in an airplane and the pilot dies and they ask me to fly the plane." The challenge you face may be daunting, Taurus, but it's nothing like that.

I guess this means that I need to step it up with some of the planning. Usually I leave a lot of this stuff to Miss Possible, who does a fabulous job -- but as it says here, I really need to step it up a notch. Either way, it's a much-deserved vacation and hopefully will be a fantastic time.

I hope to have updated entries as we go.. with photos, and such using my new Photo Gallery Tool. So be sure to stay tuned.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out your own Horoscope, courtesy of FreeWillAstrology, by clicking on the "Full Article and Comments" link below:

~ LTJ

The long-awaited trailer for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy can now be found on Amazon’s Homepage! With the exception of the fact that Trillian is known as Tricia through the entire film, it looks fantastic. I love Marvin. ~ LTJ