Phillip's Onesie Adventure - Part 8

Salt Lake City home of the 2002 Winter Olympics was to be my home for the next couple of nights. After a very smooth and comfortable flight on American Airlines from Albuquerque via Dallas I was in the state of Utah.. In the hills, and a the waters edge of the Salt Lake that Salt Lake City is named after. Weather is cool, snow on the nearby mountains and a storm that came over night. Lightening, thunder the works.. But I love a good storm, so I gazed by the hotel window at night and watched the lightening off in the distance. It was quite a show. My main objective here was to visit the Winter Olympics site of the 2002 games. The very games that Australia won its very first gold medal in the 1000m Speed Skating final. In the most extraordinary circumstances, Australia’s Steven Bradbury trailing the field for the race wins when a collision between the other competitors handed Bradbury the most unlikely of victories… Onesie weather was definitely in force in Salt Lake City. With nightly temperatures falling to zero and during the day only climbing as high as 10 celsius, it was time to get the onesies out and KEEP WARM!!! I had one experience though in Salt lake… Yep getting pulled over by a trooper on the highway for apparently “Not indicating when passing” and having my GPS “In my line of sight on the windscreen”…. Hmm I thought this was rather puzzling as I needed it in my line of sight to see where on earth I was going… The trooper, realising I wasn’t from around here, let me off. Good man is that Trooper!! So after a couple of nights in Salt Lake City is was on the road again, this time travelling to Boise, Idaho and then onto Portland, Oregon. Arriving safely into Portland Oregon albeit a little tired from the long drive from Boise, Idaho. I settle into my hotel. The Hilton Portland… A nice establishment indeed.. Certainly up to my standard of accommodation when on the road. Its wet and dreary in Portland, but… Its also MY BIRTHDAY!!! Yes 34 years. It was a lovely moment getting loads of birthday wishes from friends and family back home. Was lovely. Birthdays are a weird thing when your on the road… For me it was just like any other day. Today was no exception. Spending 2 nights in Portland, I had 1 full day to check out this place. There was one place I did want to visit and thats Voodoo Doughnut. Yes I demolished a frisbee sized doughnut… Oh man it was yum… And surprisingly, very light… I was expecting it to be really heavy, but I was pleasantly surprised. Over here on the West Coast its quite cold for this time of year. Onesies definitely needed to be worn overnight to keep the cold out. Always when I am in my onesies, I feel so safe and secure. This time is no exception Portland, a small city but reminded me of home. For those who don’t know, Melbourne is renowned for its trams and also the city being a grid pattern. Portland was just like this. What made me laugh most of all, is that at home we have a saying that “Trams are Free”… (Until you get caught by an inspector lol)… Well to my astonishment, its the same deal in Portland. No conductors on the trams… Happy Days!!! So after Portland it was off to Seattle up the road. However I took a detour out via the delightful and picturesque Cannon Beach. A small holiday town about 90 mins from Portland and 3hrs from Seattle. I did learn that Cannon Beach is the location for the film "The Goonies”. Those of us born in the 80’s will know about The Goonies. A freezing cold day with my hands going blue, but I didn’t care. ONESIES TO THE RESCUE!!!! After lunch it was up to Seattle. I only had 1 night here, but I stayed in one of the most delightful hotels on tour. The Fairmont Seattle. 5 Star with all the trimmings. Seattle’s Ritz Hotel. Oh man this place was good. I was pleased it was too, cause the traffic in Seattle was just disgusting and I was getting a little frustrated with things. But I made it, all in one piece. That night I was out to the Crab Pot on the harbour. Not being a real seafood buff, I thought I would give this place a go. Another Man V Food establishment, so another to tick off the list. I had THE MOST delicious feed of seafood known to man. The Crab I had was just insanely good tasting. Never having King Crab before, this just blew my mind and my taste buds away. Oh my God it was good. Needless to say I demolished the entire serving. I had to laugh at how they serve your dinner at this place.. My order had arrived and so had my utensils. A wooden board (similar to a bread board) was my plate and a small wooden mallet was my pliers. So I literally smashed to bits the shell and the meat appeared. All part of the experience. After dinner it was straight to bed. I was knackered. I slept like a proverbial log this night. Onesieswere on and they kept me happy, warm and comfortable. The next morning it was up reasonably early as I had a big day ahead. Not so much in the length of driving I had, but I had to cram in Seattle before heading up to Vancouver and of course my first entry into The Commonwealth of Canada on this trip. So, it was up the Seattle Space Needle for some awesome views of the Seattle area, then out to the Boeing Factory for a guided tour. This joint is mental. Aircraft being manufactured for airlines all over the world. Boeing being most happy about their new Dreamliner and don’t dare mention the “A word”… (Airbus)… So, after the Boeing factory it was onto the Interstate 5 freeway and north to the Canadian border and Vancouver. Nice Canadians at the border saw my Australian passport and let me through. Another stamp for the collection!! A short 45 min drive from the border into downtown Vancouver and I was soon checked in to the very plush Fairmont Vancouver for the next 3 nights.