The Redwoods 2025 – Pea Soup Andersen’s

Posted on June 25, 2025 by JimG

Wedenesday, June 25th, 2025

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.   We headed back to Visalia to visit Sophon’s aunt and then back home. Unfortunately, we ran into construction and the traffic around San Francisco was horrible.

I couldn’t help but notice that when we were up in Oregon and Northern CA, people were considerate when it came to driving and generally, used the left lane for passing.  One we were south of Eureka, CA, there were a lot of self-entitled fast lane campers with passing done in the right-hand lane.  It says a lot about CA.

If you have ever driven up the 101 or the I-5 you would have seen signs for Pea Soup Andersen’s which were roadside icons with a Windmill and Danish cookies in the gift shop.  They are known for their split pea soup which isn’t high on my list of things that sound good, but I have to admit, their pea soup is good!

I enjoy going to Pea Soup, it reminds me of when I was young and my parents would pile us into the back of the station wagon to take us on a road trip.   We loved a good road stop and you can tell, Pea Soup Andersen’s is from that era.   am not sure if my parents ever stopped at Pea Soup Andersen’s when they drove through California, but they would have loved it.

Sophon always gets fried chicken, I always debate if I should get the classic club or the soup and salad.  This time, I went with the pea soup and salad.

After a long day, we finally arrived in Visalia.

Pea Soup Andersen’s
Hap-pea and Pea-wee
Pea Soup and Salad
Fried Chicken
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Redwoods 2025 – Fern Canyon

Posted on June 24, 2025 by JimG

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

After my previous trip, I learned that there was an area called “Fern Canyon”, it is where they filmed scenes from Jurassic Park II in it. It was on my list of places I wanted to see.  Unfortunately, I should have done my homework.  I learned that you needed a special parking permit and when I checked the website, there were no passes available for months.  The only other way of seeing the area was to hike to it, an 8-mile hike.

However, I read that they released additional parking passes the day before.   The morning before, I checked the website right at 9:00 AM and sure enough, I scored a parking pass for the following day.  I lucked out!

I finally did a bit of homework, and I began to get concerned.  There were various message boards that talked about how the rough drive and how you had to pass through two streams.   Was it worth risking my car?

They also talked about having water shoes and I wondered, what exactly are water shoes?  I debated if we should go or not and finally decided that at any point, if I felt like I was putting my car at risk, we could always turn back.

It was a long bumpy drive and there were a few streams but it wasn’t a raging river.  I have seen more rain rushing down the street than I did in those streams.  We arrived and headed to Fern Valley.  It was worth the trip. This was a highlight and you don’t have to be a Jurassic Park fan to appreciate the gully lined with ferns.

And no, we were able to walk across the streams on planks and my shoes got a little wet but not soaked.

It was gorgeous and it was the highlight of the day.  As we left the park, we saw elk!

For dinner we at the Irish pub close to the hotel.  We really like that place.

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Redwoods 2025 – The Redwoods

Posted on June 24, 2025 by JimG

Tuesday, June 24th, 2025

It wouldn’t be a trip to the redwoods without seeing the redwoods.  After breakfast we headed to the CA redwoods and my first thought was, it doesn’t matter if the last hike looked just like the hike I was on, there is something about the redwoods which takes your breath away.    These trees were around when Caeser was ruling Rome.  There is a woodsy smell, a dampness to the coastal air and the size of the trees are amazing.

We didn’t have the Guide Along app on our last trip to the redwoods, a lot of the places we were headed to we saw before but we enjoyed seeing it all again.   Along the way we learned a lot about the area and the conservation of the redwoods.  It is sad that only a small percentage of the original redwood forests still exist.  The area that the Ewok village along with the area where the final shots of ET were filmed are gone, the areas were logged.

The last time I was here, knowing that the trees date back to biblical times, I felt as if I was in an area that was timeless.  If my grandparents had driven through the park, they would have seen the same trees and it wouldn’t have looked much different.

At one stop, after we parked, two classic 50s cars pulled up and I thought, yes, we are in an area that is timeless! Not too long after that, we saw a car that was even older.

We were also lucky enough to spot a Bannana slug – a slug that is bright yellow, thus the name!

 

Bannana Slug
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Redwoods 2025 – The Oregon Coast

Posted on June 23, 2025 by JimG

Monday, June 23, 2025

We woke up early and went down to have breakfast at the hotel. As we walked to to the main building, I was suprrised at how cold it was.  Along the coast, it rarely gets hot and at night, the temps drop downinto the 50s.  Although it is summer, the highs for the day were in the 60s.   That doesn’t stop vacationers from dressing as if it were summer, we walked by a family in shorts and bathing suits headed towards teh pool.

After breakfast, we decided to head North to see more of the Oregon Coast. Our Guide Along Audio or the Oregon Coastline started further north.   We made stops along the way to view the coast.   We had lunch in Florence, Oregon, a very picturesque old town.

As we headed north, our Guide Along tour kicked in and the tour guide started talking about how that Florence was the home of the first viral video and it happened long before the internet came about.

The story goes, in 1970, a whale washed up ashore at the beach.  The people of Florence weren’t quite sure on how to take care of the problem.  They decided they would blow up the whale into small pieces and then let the scavengers and seagulls take care of the cleanup.

They had invited the media from Portland to cover the event, and things didn’t go as planned.   Nobody was hurt but they had miscalculated a few things and the residents along with the reporters were showered with bits and pieces of whale.

Yes, you can still find the video on YouTube, and I laughed hard the first time I watched it and even harder the second time I watched it.  Just search for blowing up a whale in Florence OR.

As we headed north, we stopped just north of North Bend where we got to view an area filled with Pitcher plants.   Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap flies and bugs.   I used to collect carnivorous plants as a child.  I couldn’t believe I was looking at such a huge area filled with them.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get as far as we wanted to. Most of the time, the 101 was a single lane and there were some slow drivers.  There were a lot of towns where the speed limit was 20 MPH. But, what was saw was gorgeous.

Pitcher Plants
Glasgow, OR
Florence, OR
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Redwoods 2025 – Another trip up the West Coast!

Posted on June 21, 2025 by JimG

Lady Bird Johnson Grove

Saturday, June 21, 2025

We left around 8:00 AM in the morning.  I wasn’t going to attempt the entire drive; the plan was to visit Sophon’s Aunt in Visalia for lunch and then continue to Ukiah where we would spend the night.  We would then venture into Eureka, CA and into Redwood Tree territory.

Everything went as planned.  It was nice to Sophon’s Aunt, and she was excited to see us.  We are planning on spending more time with her on our way back.  Visalia is close to the Sequoia National Park which we also wanted to see.

Visalia is in Central CA and it isn’t close to a big city.  We made it appoint to bring Thai specialties from the Thai market along with some baked goods we picked up from our favorite bakery.

After lunch we headed to an REI in Frenso to pick up an Annual National Park pass. As I purchased it, I found myself thinking that this is the first time I have purchased an annual park pass and I plan on using it!

We arrived in Ukiah, found a place to eat, filled the car up with gas and turned in for the day.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

The following morning, we headed north. Our first stop was “The Legends of Bigfoot” a gift shop located off of highway 101 in Humboldt County selling souvenirs and handcrafted items.  It is a fun stop that we had disccovered on our previous trip.  It reminded me of when I was a kid; every year we took road trips and there were always gift shops at almost every stop filled with fun souvenirs.  We decided to add another coffee mug to our mug collection.  I always think that there is nothing better than starting the day with a cup of coffee in a mug that reminds me of a fun trip to a fun place!

We had lunch in Eureka and checked out some of the Victorian Mansions.  We continued to head North where our “Guide Along Audio” tour kicked in.   Our first stop was the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.  We decided to hike the loop, and I immediately noticed the rhododendrons were in bloom

The Guide Along app talked a lot about how that the Redwoods only grow in a certain area and how that of the original old growth redwoods, less than 5% exist today.   In the old days, it would take days to take down a tree, in modern times with modern equipment, they could clear acres in a day and yet, when they started establishing the parks, the logging industry protested.   I wonder if it weren’t for the national parks, if there the redwoods would exist today.

We continued heading north on the 101 but on the recommendation of our Guide Along app, took a scenic route.  We were glad we did; we saw a lot of great views of the coast!  It was getting late in the afternoon so we headed to our hotel in Brookings, Oregon, just north of the border, and checked in.

Rhododendron
Categories: California, Del Norte County | Leave a comment

Montreal – Final Day!

Posted on June 3, 2025 by JimG

Mary, Queen of the world Cathedral

Tuesday June 3rd, 2025

All good things must come to an end and it was time to return home.   The good thing about flights heading west is the time change;  we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to get home at a reasonable time.  We got up, had breakfast at the hotel.  Unfortuatenately, breakfast at the hotel was a disaster.   They were seriously understaffed and they told us they ran out of coffee.

It was another beautiful spring day so we went walking.   On our walk we saw the Marie Reine Du Monde Basilque or the Mary, Queen of the world Cathedral. The building was beautiful, so we went in.  Upon walking in, I had no doubt that it was modelled after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome but on a much smaller scale.  I also couldn’t help but notice that the paintings which depicted Montreal’s history.  Typically, artwork in churches and cathedrals depict biblical scenes. Continue reading →

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Montreal – The Waterfront

Posted on June 2, 2025 by JimG

La Grande roue de Montréal

June 2, 2025 

After we finished with the botanical gardens, we took the metro back and we had lunch in a food court and then we stopped at McDonalds just to see what the menu looked like.   I loved seeing the Canadian Maple leaf on the McDonald’s arches.  I enjoy seeing how McDonald’s localizes their menus in other countries.   The entire menu was in French, as far as I could tell from the pictures, it pretty much looked like what we would get her in the USA.

We headed back to the Old Town to see the waterfront.   We walked along the waterfront and bought a few souvenirs, including Maple Syrup, and then continued to the La Grande roue de Montréal, or Montreal’s Ferris wheel.  The views were amazing, and I was so glad we had nice clear weather!

All in all a very busy day with a lot of walking!  When I checked my phone app, I had tripled the number of steps that I normally take! Continue reading →

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Montreal – The Botanical Gardens

Posted on June 2, 2025 by JimG

Monday, June 2, 2025

I love visiting botanical gardens. I was watching the weather forecast and wondered if we were going to have a sunny day.  I was so glad when I saw that the day before we left was going to be sunny but cool.

The botanical garden is located next to the Olympic stadium.  We bought a Metro day pass and took the Metro to the botanical gardens.   We got there as it was just opening.  We started with the greenhouses and then headed to the gardens.

As we walked through the gardens, I couldn’t help but wish I could come back every week.  Winters are long in the northeast; when it finally gives way to spring, summer and fall, different things bloom on a regular basis. Continue reading →

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Montreal – The Biodome

Posted on June 1, 2025 by JimG

Sunday, June 1, 2025

We headed to Tim Hortons to get a quick cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.  Tim Hortons is a fast food chain and they are everywhere in Canada and are a part of the Canadian culture.  I try to stop by one every time I go to Canada.  Although it is the first day of June, it was a cold, windy and wet morning.

We decided that we were going to try to navigate the Metro. The tour guides had mentioned that the same people who designed the Metro in Paris helped in the design of Montreal’s Metro.  I looked at a map and thought I could navigate my way to the Biodome.  I also learned that google maps gives step by step instructions.

The Metro was clean, safe and smooth; our previous tour guide mentioned that it uses Michelin rubber tires as opposed to the rails making it smoother and quieter.  We had no problem getting to the Biodome.

The Biodome is housed in one of the Olympic Stadiums in the Olympic Park.  Montreal hosted the Olympics in 1976.  It was the year that Nadia Comaneci scored a perfect 10.  At any rate, the velodrome was converted into a Biodome that houses 5 different habitats in North America – including the habitats of the gulf of St. Lawrence habitat, a tropical rainforest, a maple forest and a sub-polar region – complete with trees and animals. Continue reading →

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Montreal – The Underground City

Posted on May 31, 2025 by JimG

The Ring

Saturday, May 31, 2025

We went back to Universal Dejeuners et Grillades for breakfast. As much as I loved their breakfast poutine, I opted for a somewhat lighter and healthier breakfast.  It was supposed to be a cold and rainy day; I decided to book a walking tour Montreal’s Underground city with MTL Detours. After breakfast, we walked over the meeting point.  We arrived early and decided to check out the lobby of the Reina Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth) Fairmount Hotel.

When the tour started, the guide explained that the Underground City, which is officially named RESO, is a bit of a misnomer, it was more of an underground network.  It started in one place to allow people to get from one building to another without having to go outside and it grew.   Today, it consists of 20 miles of underground tunnels that connect buildings, shopping centers, metro and train stations. Continue reading →

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