A Bellinghamster and His Travels

  So you arrive in Athens, and chances are you'll need some money. It's always good to carry some cash with you (in my opinion), although credit cards can be used everywhere. I have a debit and credit card from WECU (a local credit union), and have used those mostly. I use the debit card for cash withdrawals and the credit card for many other things. But I am a bit old-fashioned, and like using cash primarily. And it's fun to transact in euros versus dollars. But first, notify your bank that you are traveling to Greece, and include any layovers that you may have in London or wherever.  But now that you're in Greece, if you are using ATMs, avoid the Eurobank ATMs. There are ubiquitous through Greece, but they also charge high withdrawal fees and offer crummy forex fees (assuming you are withdrawing euros and your bank account back home is in US dollars). I've also heard to avoid the airports ATMs, as the fees are a bit higher, but I usually wait until I get into Athe...

(A picture from Skopelos taken June 2022) So I will be going on a yoga retreat this October to Lefkada, Greece with a group from Bellingham. I told the organizer that I had been to Greece many times and I would give her some pointers and ideas that I hav about Greece. The problem is, I have many, and it would be highly unlikely that s simple email would cover the many topics and suggestions and experiences that I have taken away from Greece.  I thought that I would revive this blog in hopes of starting to write about the many places I've been around this round world, but for now I will concentrate on Greece.  I also wanted to limit myself to fifteen minutes of typing, since Ispend much of my working life behind a computer, and consequently find little enjoyment in spending my free time  looking at a computer screen.  But on to Greece. People have their favorite travel destinations in the world, At this point in my life, I settle on Greece. And New Orleans (but that's...

The run from Lake Tahoe to Vegas was dramatic and harsh as one would expect the high dessert to be. I crossed too many passes to count, but US395 was a beautiful drive. I thought about stopping by Yosemite also. Of the almost twenty years on the west coast and innumerable trips up and down the coast, I never stopped by the jewel.SR120 had not yet opened this spring yet, so I needed to once again postpone this visit. (To go around to the east end would have added four hours to the trip.) I stayed in a small town called Independence, California. In an hotel built in the 1920's for Hollywood filmmakers. Evidently a lot of Westerns were filmed up here. The hotel was quite dated, but I loved this: The creaky hardwood floors and old furniture was so nice compared to the same homogenous places I stay at the other ninety percent of the times.  This picture was taken on the way to Death Valley.  Manzanar  was a WWII internment camp for the Japanese Americans. This was a sad way to...

Today was a day of transitioning from the Cascades to the Sierras, much of it driving through the Great Basin. I tried to stop off to visit to Crater Lake National Park , but the north entrance was closed, and heading to the other entrance would have added hours onto the trip. Oh well. Six other cars stopping, idling, turning around and departing (in the time I was sitting there transitioning to Plan B - mainly entering the new destination in the GPS) were also probably equally surprised.   Every time I do the I-5 run, I tell myself I should carve out time to visit Crater Lake. Maybe next time.  Although I had not set a destination, I though Lake Tahoe was desirable. I loved there for two ski seasons back in the 00's and have fond memories of the area.  So far, I've driven nine hundred miles. The sparse high dessert is beautiful and desolate. It is also comforting to leave the rush of the interstate. I arrived last night around 8:30pm and found a place on the north shore ...

 Not the most exciting  first night of departing Bellingham. Of course the anxiety if wondering if you completed everything necessary - turning off things, stopping the mail, locking up, and packing everything you need. For me, the key items are my laptop and related accoutrements. Everything else is not really critical or can be purchased tased en route.  And I had the oil changed on my 2003 Ford Ranger that has made plenty of cross country trips in the past. It just hit 150,000 miles, but I drive very little around town, so the bulk of those miles are highway mies. A basic truck that anyone can hopefully work on Ibn any podunk town in this grand country of ours.  So I made it to Roseburg, Oregon last night. I hit Seattle rush hour, which added an hour to the trip. But the rest was pretty uneventful, arriving at the interstate motel around midnight.  Morning conference calls and work until the eleven a.m. checkout, then an afternoon visiting Crater Lake, and ho...

The highway beckons, and I answer. Once again, I will begin my journey around the United States and reflect upon my travels here. Five weeks or so, starting from Bellingham, Washington the northwest corner of the U.S.  The entire trip should take me south to Las Vegas through the Sierras, then over to New Orleans, up to Raleigh-Durham area, up to Boston and then back to the West Coast via visits to family and friends in Philly, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Naperville and Minneapolis. I hope to spend a few days camping in Northern Minnesota in hopes of hearing the cry of the Common Loon.  I spend enough of my life in front of a computer, so I will limit writing my posts to fifteen miunutes. So if I disappear and the trail dries up, you can maybe track my last known whereabouts here.  Today is Monday, May 10th. I plan on departing this Thursday. first stop: Crater Lake. The excitement is building. More to come.