The big part of his trip was traveling up Highway 1 from LA to Legget, OR. It’s something that he’s wanted to do for years. The drive took about four days. He camped a couple of nights along the way. Drove through the Giant Sequoias in California, Big Sur, San Francisco. It finally arrived in Seattle late Tuesday September 9th.

We did the usual tourist things – The Space Needle, rode the Ducks and Mono Rail, the Underground tour, and the Smith Building. So he got a bit of Seattle city flavor. One night, we took in the SinnerSaint Burlesque [link]. I made an extra $120 bucks at the ATM. I never realized that the machines are part slots. And we were comped seats by the MC. All in all, a great night.

The only rough patch of the whole visit was our aborted trip to Mt. Rainier. We wanted to take his motorcycle for a ride through Mt. Rainier park. In Puyallup, we missed a turn. A block later we made a u-turn and dumped the motorcycle. Neither of us were hurt, but his motorcycle’s clutch handle was broken. We gerry-rigged it with a shoestring and rode back home. Dad has been riding motorcycles since before I was born. In all the years that I have ridden bitch this was our first accident.

Dad left this week on Wednesday morning and made it home this afternoon. It wasn’t a spectacular vacation full of adventures, I know. This visit is just about family. My family does great job of hanging out together. We BS, kid, and catch up. If the narrative wasn’t exciting for you, then check out the pics below.

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Mom and I took the guided audio tour. I would have had more interior photos, but a docent told me that interior photos would infringe copyright (wtf?). We saw 62 rooms from the Billards Parlor to the staffs’ quarters. Art from Renoir and John Singer Sargent hung on the walls. Fabrics and wallpaper patterns were restored to their original state. The images you do have from me are of the exterior and grounds. Still, that was more than enough. The only real unpleasantness was getting caught in a downpour while in the greenhouse. It made the walk back to the car…uncomfortable. After the Estate tour, we stopped at a coffeeshop. By this time the rain subsided. Mom, however, brought the umbrellas with us into the shop. You know, just in case, we got caught in another downpour.

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I am actually tuckered out. The next vacation I take will be in some place with beaches and no technology (okay, the second part is a stretch). Visiting with the family is good. It reconnects me to them and grounds me. I remember where I came from. With a rested mind, I can get a clearer sense of where I am going. With the free time, I was able to work on my website, add a lot of images, and see new things. The last is especially important for the visual mind. This last two weeks may get me motivated again to create some new works. If nothing else, it has gotten me a lot closer to family again.

I spend so much time away from them that I forget their mannerisms and tastes. Dad and I can sit in silence for hours and miles. We enjoy the same shows and have many of the same habits. Mom and I…well we are decidedly different animals. A little idle conversation always travels around the room. When I am in my introspective mind, I have a hard time wanting to come back out. A long drive with Mom reminds that not all the world can sit in silence like I can. She re-socializes me. Instead of sniping at her for a little quiet, I worked my way out of my “brood”. This was the time I wanted to spend with her. She just wanted to engage me.All said and done, I go home today a little tired, refreshed, and ready to see what is next.

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Like most modern airports, DTW has a mall in it’s central terminal. DTW’s is well appointed with chi-chi stores, sushi restaurants (I had my dinner there. Too expensive and not much better than my fave teriyaki hangouts), and newsstands. Along and above this indoor strip mall was DTW’s inter-terminal tram. Bright red and modern, several trams cruised an elevated track that runs the length of concourse A. Quite entertaining, as I watched trams enter and exit the concourse through the Land of Make Believe entrances along the line. Ding-Ding.

What caught my eye the most was a subterranean passage between concourses. I entered via the usual escalators. What I saw on the floor caused my head to pitch to the right. Colors danced on the polished stone floor. As the noise of Concourse A faded, I began to hear environmental techno music. The lights changed color to the music. Finally, at the bottom of the escalator I saw the full picture. For about fifty yards, colors danced on the walls. The passage is about 10 yards wide and was shaped like a gently flattened cylinder. Moving walkways travelled from end to end. From end to end beautiful colored lights back lit fine art glass panels curved to the shape of the passage

While in the tube (a three-hour layover gave me a lot of time) I heard several songs. The flashing lights and the otherworldly tones reminded me of Close Encounters. I was even more surprised that no one but me was taking pictures of this art piece. I did see a father and son videotaping, but they spent no more time than it took to get from one end to another. I (proudly) must have at least 24 exposures of this wonder in Detroit.

The first week of the tour was spent with Dad. Alexandria, MN doesn’t offer much in entertainment or unique scenery. I do miss the open fields and rolling hills. The big event for us was participating in escorting the the Traveling Wall from St. Cloud, MN to Long Prairie, MN. We rode with a group of forty bikers from the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of veterans. The ride was about eighty miles total and lead by local highway patrol, sheriff, and fire department. Riding bitch offered me a perch to capture images of the countryside.

Seattle is a deceptive city. Full of trees. Access to open water. Lots of parks and nature friendly pathways. It’s still a city cluttered with concrete and glass. Sure everything I want is a walk away. However, I scuff my knuckles on facades when I try to spread my arms wide. Minnesota is a prairie state. Once away from the Cities, the landscape opens up. It’s cornfields, lakes, ponds, and the occasional farmsteads a’la Rockwell. From the back of a motorcycle (“ridin’ bitch” if you didn’t already know) affords the traveler an unobstructed perch like no other. No vertical roof supports to dice the horizon. No glass blocking the Sun and wind. It might have been only a day in a life, but the seven hours on the back of Dad’s bike is worth seven in the sun anywhere else.

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