JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

The first few hours I spent in Seattle made me wish I had stayed longer in Portland—call it a combination of fatigue and bad luck. After whizzing up I-5 and dropping my belongings off at the hotel, I drove into the city in search of dinner. I hadn't looked at guidebooks beforehand, figuring I'd stumble upon a secret treasure. Not much caught my eye on the roads between Seatac Airport and downtown. I wound in Belltown, where parking was non-existant. Next try was Pioneer Square, where barely anything appeared to be open and a homeless guy dogged pursued me for spare change. Frustrated (and tired), I picked up some mediocre Mexican takeout on the way back to the hotel. My disposition towards the city improved the next morning, thanks to time Pike Place Market .

Source: National Geographic , March 1955 While I didn't wave at the Cascades like Mr. Jefferson... ...I was able to greet a giant inflatible bear and its catch of the morning as I left Coos Bay to begin my lone full day in Oregon. It was Memorial Day, so I kept my eyes peeled for any potential traffic tie-ups due to parades and related festivies. Luckily most towns kept their marching routes off US 101. Decorated home, Florence, Oregon While in Florence, I passed by a ceremony that saluted the efforts of dogs in foreign wars. The crowd made it difficult to tell if any of the honoured pooches were decorated with medals for their service in Iraq. North of Florence were several spots to observe sea lions. There was one tourist trap that offered a close-up view for a steep admission fee. I ended up at a park called Strawberry Hill , which made up for its lack of fruit with a scenic, craggy landscape and an occasional glimpse of sea lions in the distance. Bo...

My last day in California proved to be the only one during the trip where I made a major miscalculation in terms of distance. The goal was to drive from Ukiah to Coos Bay, Oregon, where I prebooked a room at a casino (it seemed the best option when scouting hotels online). All I had to do was drive back to the coast and be on my merry way northward. Miscalculation #1: the amount of time required to drive to the coast. The highways between Ukiah and Mendocino are scenic (see above for a shot from California 128), but their winding nature took longer than anticipated—just over an hour to the ocean. Once I arrived, I wandered into Mendocino, which was in the midst of Heritage Days . Despite hordes of people, I couldn’t resist the lure of the landscape, even as I couldn’t shake Talk to Me of Mendocino out of my head. It's always important to know where you won't find yogurt in an unfamiliar town. Mendocino was a magnet for unusual vehicles adornments that day... ...

Once across the Golden Gate Bridge, I had a decision to make: head west to return to the Pacific Coast, or head inland and take a leisurely drive through Sonoma County? Figuring I had enough time to dawdle before spending the night in Ukiah, I took the wine country option, via the Valley of the Moon scenic route. The town hall in Sonoma. One of the most postcard-worthy shots from the entire trip. I decided to limit myself to one round of wine tasting, so that I could continue to operate a boat-sized motor vehicle the rest of the day. Having done little background reading, and faced with no shortage of choices, I decided I would stop at the first winery with a significant number of cars in its parking lot. The winner: B.R. Cohn . Sampling was straightforward—$10 for any four wines, with the price waived if you bought a bottle. After trying both ends of the price scale, I settled upon a chardonnay. Since there were as many olive oils, vinegars, and other food prod...