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.) 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

(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.) (Maker Allie Rivenbark (right) with client Sarah Toor) I learned a new word in Portland: maker. Not exactly a new word, but in L.A., people wouldn’t use the word "maker" unless maybe they were Christians and then they’d spell it with a capital M. Anyway, in Portland, maker is a thing – and a good thing at that. It’s used to describe what we in L.A. would call a designer and/or a craftsperson. I learned this word from a Portland maker – Allie Rivenbark who, with her wife MC (for Marie-Claude) Lemay, are leading metal-and-wood furniture creators in the Northwest. Their clients have included residential owners, hotels, retail stores and more. They are currently working on a big project for a Seattle sustainable restaurant. (MC welding at the LR Design Co

(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 Travels in British Columbia, Canada – & some thoughts & observations (Sumas border crossing from Washington state to British Columbia, Canada.) Maybe Not Sumas? I enter Canada through Sumas, east of Vancouver, B.C. I’m grilled by two Canadian border patrol agents. They take everything out of my car and do a thorough search. They confiscate several Asian pears and a Washington apple. I was expecting an easy-breezy-Canadian nice welcome. I hear later that the border patrol agents in Sumas tend to be particularly strict. Sierra’s Invaluable Guidance I meet up the next day with Sierra Treloar-Searing at the Tsawwassasen ferry landing outside Vancouver, B.C. for a 1 ½-hour sailing trip to Vancouver Island. Sierra and I were fellow volunteers at an Eng