Travels With Luca

(This blog is part travelogue, part advice on traveling with a dog, part discovery of what’s on the minds of Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, part commentary, and other musings.) I’m back in Pine Mountain Club from my awesome road trip with my wonderful dog Luca. Here are some stats and major lingering memories. (I hope in this blog I have also provided good advice on traveling with a dog, on great campgrounds, and on places you might want to visit, or revisit.) • Miles covered: 4,000 (from Pine Mountain Club to Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada and back). • Number of days of the journey: 35 (5 weeks) • Number of days/nights tent camping: 16 (nightly rates ranging from $7.50 to $40) • Number of days/nights in Oregon campground yurts: 2 (average rate about $55) • Number of days/nights in motels/hotels: 17 (average rate with taxes about $100. Some charge a pet fee while others, including La Quinta and Motel 6, do not. One be

(This blog is part travelogue, part advice on traveling with a dog, part discovery of what’s on the minds of Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, part commentary, and other musings.) My one regret is that I didn’t interview more people I met on my travels with Luca (other than people I knew who were originally from L.A. or, in one case, from a Canadian I met in Spain in 2016). But here are some memories: • The manager of the charming, beach-themed Deane’s Oceanfront Lodge in Yachats , Oregon (pronounced Ya-HOTS), who told me he didn’t hire anyone who didn’t have a dog. (The beach in front of Deane's Oceanfront Lodge in Yachats, Oregon) • The man who engaged me in conversation at a Shell gas station not far from Victoria, B.C., Canada who told me about the difficult time he was going through because his wife was dying from cancer. • The artistic director and a director at Theatre Inconnu , who told me about the thriving theater scene

(This blog is part travelogue, part advice on traveling with a dog, part discovery of what’s on the minds of Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, part commentary, and other musings.) If you’re not a camper, you can skip this blog entry. If you are a camper – anywhere in California, Oregon or Washington – I highly recommend you purchase these campground guides by Tom Stienstra: “California Camping” and “Pacific Northwest Camping.” They are terrific guides. But if author Tom gives the campground a “7” or less, I would avoid that campground. One caveat, however: I did stay two nights at Tree of Heaven campground on the Klamath River, way up north in California not far from I-5 and the Oregon border, which had a “7” rating. And I loved the campground, particularly because it was almost empty. It was beautiful, although the campsites did not have much privacy. And there is a trail there that takes you along the river.

(This blog is part travelogue, part advice on traveling with a dog, part discovery of what’s on the minds of Americans, Canadians and other nationalities, part commentary, and other musings.) (Camping at the Klamath River) After taking the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, spending an uneventful night in a Super 8 motel, Luca and I head south to a Motel 6 in Vancouver, WA, just north across the mighty Columbia River from Portland. (NOTE TO DOG OWNERS: Most of the chain motels now allow dogs. Motel 6 and La Quinta don’t add a pet fee. Some others do, usually about $15.) (The leaf changing throughout Washington, Oregon and Northern California matches New England.) The drive is beautiful, often punctuated with heavy rain. The next day I arrange for Luca to stay with a Rover pet sitter in Vancouver, so I could have some pet-free time in Portland. I meet the engaging Allie Rivenbark, a furniture maker in Portland, and enjoyed our time talking about the m