California Progress
Since Salem and Eugene are both apparently as boring as the rest of Oregon I figured split the difference and spend one night in each, find out the true story about each that way.
On the way down Salem makes sense because it’s still closer to our destination than Portland was in 2002 and by staying in Vallejo the end of that day of travel is closer as well. In 2002 the journey from Portland to San Francisco was too long to be sure but not by a large order of magnitude so this should work nicely. It also adds a little more flexibility in case we encounter significant border or other delays trying to leave home.
After checking out photos of the property I decided on yesterday for Vallejo I think we should spend two nights there for both convenience and economy.
I’m still working on finding a hotel to stay at in San Francisco; I want to strike a balance between slight indulgence and convenience. There are a couple places on my radar at the moment – one is a quaint older location the pictures of which remind me of the place I stayed at in Paris but the Trip Advisor user pictures of the rooms show cramped bathrooms, things we don’t need like large closets and a kitchen, and a mix of excellent and poor quality. There’s another property that has a dodgy name but is very favorably reviewed online. Do we want to go for classic or modern? Personally I think modern suit my personality better and would like be more enjoyable. The jury’s still out on this.
On the way back Eugene is the only logical choice and so it shall be.
So I still need to figure out 3 more hotels but I think I’ve come up with a pretty good dinner plan…
Friday September 18th: Red Lobster
Saturday September 19th: Togo’s
Sunday September 20th: Six Flags
Monday September 21st: Hard Rock Café
Tuesday September 22nd: Mindi’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives place
Wednesday September 23rd: Izzy’s
This is of course just a rough idea, I don’t want to over-plan to the point of killing spontaneity but it’s also nice to have something to fall back on so you don’t waste time on the I-dunno-what-do-you-want back-and-forth.
Oh, that Diners, Drive-ins and Dives thing? It’s a show Mindi watches, one of those that keep BOTF alive and well on my computer. She wants to go to a place she saw on that show. I tried to find the place online today but apparently they’ve showcased 5 different dining locations in San Francisco so I’ll have to get her to point out which one specifically to me.
If anyone has any recommendations for Hotels in Salem, San Francisco, and Eugene I’m all ears.
So as plans are starting to come together and begin to gel the next steps would be to:
1) Find babysitting
2) Get the car checked out
3) Book time off work
4) Make reservations
If this is going to happen we’ve got 3.5 months to take care of this list.
