Oh, Oregon!

Portland, Oregon
Temperature: 86 F

We have had a fantastic time in Oregon. Here are some memories we will take home with us:

Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock: The sun is shining through the mist as we land on the beach at about noon. We throw off our clothes and run around in our swimsuits. We walk up and down the beach. I notice that I am the only individual over 10 years of age wearing a swimsuit. No, it was not a nudist beach, they all had clothes on! I was told that Oregonians don't wear swimsuits on the beach. That was weird. We had a wonderful time though. My family used to come to this beach on vacations so it brought back memories...

Multnomah Falls: One of the highest freefalling falls in the U.S. We climbed up to the top of Horsetail Falls and bathed in the water. The falls start from a mountain spring and not from melted snow as we thought. The view over the Columbia was awe-inspiring. One of the most beautiful places we have visited.

Portland: Powells Bookstore, the largest bookstore in the world! And tandem biking on the greenway along the Willamette River. Portland is the most bike-friendly city in the world!

Our next stop is Grand Lake, CO for a family reunion.

Oh, Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean!

Skamokawa, Washington (population 400)
Air temperature: 85 F.
Water temperature: 68 F.

We are staying with old friends from college (Polo Reunion!) on this bucolic farm in the Columbia River Basin. The Columbia River is the 4th largest river in the U.S. It starts in Canada and ends about 34 miles from here in the Pacific Ocean. Alcyon Farm is about 3 miles from the river situated in a beautiful valley. In the first 24 hours on the farm and kayaking on the river we saw the following wildlife:

Great Blue heron
Osprey
Double-crested Cormorant
Big Brown Bats
Barn Swallows
Violet Green Swallows
Tree Swallows
Purple Martins
Pacific Jumping Mouse
Various farm animals such as chickens, dog, cat, and sheep.

Kayaking on the river (Fredrika and I shared a kayak) was an amazing experience. There was apparently a seal in the water near us but I didn't see him.

Some history: From Skamokowa, Lewis and Clark looked over the Columbia (which they thought was the ocean) and said "Ocean in view, oh the joy!" But since they had 34 miles to go it was just wishful thinking.

Forty percent of wheat produced in the country is transported along the river and it produces the most hydroelectricity in the U.S. Unfortunately, the dams have decimated the salmon population.

Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe
Air temperature: 82 F.
Water temperature: 64 F.

The second deepest lake in the U.S. (Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest). Beautifully deep, blue and clear, it is a joy to see and swim in. We visited friends who rent a cabin on the water. Kicking back on the deck, drinking a rum runner, one can easily think one was in heaven...and because of the altitude (over 6,000 feet, or 2,000 meters), the air feels about as thin as heaven. I swam out to some rocks just about 500 meters away and when I swam back the waves had picked up and I started feeling short of breath because of the altitude. Scary...

California Dreamin'

July 20, 2010
Santa Cruz, CA
75 F

Being back in the Bay Area is always a trip down memory lane. When I get on the 8-lane highways my brain goes into autopilot and I feel as comfortable as a farmer driving her combine. This time, though I was disappointed because my old favorite radio stations (classic rock of course), KSJO and KOME, were gone. What is happening to this world?

For the 4 days we were there (staying in Campbell) I just went around with a big grin on my face. I was so happy to be back where everyone says hi when they pass you on the street, and no one is afraid to look you in the eye even if they don't know you.

There are a lot of things I like about California but there are a few that are simply tragic: like the state of the real estate market (disastrous) and the proliferation of drugs for example. Crystal methamphetamine ("meth") has completely taken over and destroyed countless families. Santa Cruz was always a fairly nutty beach bum town when I was growing up but now meth is accountable for 30% of all crime in the county and 35% of all child custody cases. It really feels like the country is losing the war on drugs here.

Wisconsin Dells - Waterparkmania

Weather report at noon today: 82F (27C) and 69% humidity.

My daughter loves water and naturally begged me to take her to a waterpark. I hate waterparks, especially indoor ones, so naturally I decided if we were going to do it, we were going to do it right. We went to the Wisconsin Dells (about a 2 hour drive from Milwaukee) and spent 8 hours at Noah's Ark: "The LARGEST WATERPARK IN AMERICA!!!" I was afraid the name of the park would be prophetic and it would rain or I would end up wishing it would rain but it actually was really fun. Luckily it was hot because we ran around an amusement park in our swimsuits and bare feet all day. Most rides were totally fine for a middle-aged mom and a 9 year old child. On only one of them (a rubber saucer that they stick you in and then push you over what feels like a cliff onto a giant skateboard ramp that you slide down one side and up the other, hanging on for dear life) did my bloodcurling screams make a whole line of teenagers mock me in laughter. But it was okay! My favorite part was actually seeing a Sponge Bob Squarepants movie in "4-D" - in our bathing suits of course! I have an unexplainable love of Sponge Bob and my guffaws were surely the loudest of anyone in the theater.

My ex-colleague Dave in North Carolina asked me what one should do with a few days in Milwaukee in August. Well Dave, here are some suggestions of "typical" Milwaukeean things go do (mostly foody things since I guess you are working in the daytime):

1. Vist a Polish restaurant, like Polonez
2. Eat beer n brats at a pub in the third ward
3. Buy some brats to take home from Usinger's
4. Got to the Milwaukee Public Market downtown
5. Go to any restaurant or pub on a Friday for a Milwaukee Fish Fry (or The Comet Cafe on Farwell on any day of the week)
6. See a Brewer's game if they are in town
7. Take a walk/jog on the lake (you can also rent bikes/rollerblades/kites) there
8. Go to a festival (like Irishfest Aug 19-22)
9. Visit the Milwaukee Art Museum. If you don't like art, just go look at the building (Quadracci Pavillion), designed by Santiago Calatrava.
10. Go to a German restaurant, like Karl Ratzsch's Restaurant

If you have a couple of days off and have the kids with you then, of course, go to a waterpark!

Milwaukee: Home of beer 'n brats

Weather report: 75 F (23 C) and thundershowers

Fredrika and I are in the U.S. for a month now and I thought I would write down some impressions from the "motherland" for friends back in Sweden. Maybe some friends in the States might also find impressions from other parts of the country interesting too.

First day in Milwaukee yesterday. Started off by jogging down to the lake (Lake Michigan). Was a glorious morning. Felt like about 80 degrees at 6:30 am...There were a bunch of guys fishing. One had just pulled up a 3 ft (1 m.) Brown Trout. He got his picture taken with it and then threw it back in. The trout shook himself off and swam away. Said they had saved one that didn't make it to "throw in the smoker." I asked them if the fish from the lake were safe to eat and he said they were just as safe as the stuff in the stores. I was sceptical so I checked out the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website (see fact sheet here). According to them, Lake Michigan has overly high levels of PCBs and therefore one (who is not pregnant, lactating or under 15) may eat 8 ounces of Brown Trout from the lake every 2 months. Needless to say, that information would not entice me to eat fish from Lake Michigan...

One of the things I miss about the States is the parades. Everyone loves a parade. The only parade that Fredrika has seen is when the former communist party, the socialists, and the trade unions march on May 1 in Sweden. Now this is quite interesting and colorful but, as Fredrika noticed, people watching are unnaturally quiet (if someone knows why, please let me know). Yesterday, we happened upon a local parade in a suburb of Milwaukee so I plopped Fredrika down on the curb and let her run into the street after the fistfuls of candy that were being thrown at the kids along the parade route. There were all the components a parade should have: tricycle-riding shriners, sweaty clowns, bagpiping Irishmen (???), local beauty queens, radio personalities, marching bands playing Summertime, dancing hot dogs, local motorcyle gang members on loud motorcycles, and (my favorite) the Schlitz bike pedal-driven beer bar. All the while, the audience cheered their approval of the people marching or driving by, often by first name since they are all from the same suburb. Now that is something she won't forget!