Posted by Sierra

Best Meal: Sean Paxton’s house, Sonoma, CA

Best Brewpub: Pelican Pub, Pacific City, OR

Best Ice Cream: Cowlicks, Fort Bragg, CA

Best Candy: Lillie Belle Farms Chocolates, Medford, OR

Best Sausage: Roundman’s Smokehouse (Motto: We Smoke Anything!), Fort Bragg, CA

Best Cheese: Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue for Mom and Dad, WAY too many to decide for Sierra

Best Pie: Sour Cream Lemon Pie from Frontier Pies, Rexburg, ID

Best RV-cooked Meal: Dad’s Father’s Day Ribeye

Best Beer: Lost Abbey Veritas 004 (Dad), Russian RIver Consecration (Mom)

Best Sandwich: Pear & Blue Cheese Sandwiches (in the RV)

Best Breakfast: Breakfast Buffet, Yosemite National Park, CA

Best Pizza: Stuffed Pizza, Chicago Fire, Sacramento, CA

Best Hamburger: Kobe Burger, Rogue Brewpub, Newport, OR

Best Factory Tour: Harry & David,  Medford, OR

Best Farmer’s Market: Marin County, CA

Best Campground with Service: KOA in Willets, CA

Best Campground without Service: Signal Mountain Campground, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Best Pool: Corvallis Community Pool, Corvallis, OR

Best Bathrooms: Hi-Valley RV Park, Boise, ID

Worst Bathrooms: KOA in Devil’s Tower, WY (no hot water in shower)

Best National Park: Yellowstone National Park, WY, ID, and MT

Best Historic Site: Hearst Castle, San Simeon, CA

Best Memorial: Mount Rushmore, SD

Best Hike: Vernal/Nevada Falls hike, Yosemite National Park, CA

Best Bike Trail: John Dellenbeck Trail, Diamond Lake, OR

Best Drive: San Diego-Pacific City, CA & OR

Best Visitor Center: Craig Thomas Visitor Center, Grand Teton National Park, WY

Best Park Rangers: Yellowstone National Park, MT, WY, and ID

Best Animal Moment: When the mountain goat and baby trotted along the trail next to us in Glacier National Park,  MT

Best State Park: Prairie Creek Redwoods, CA

Noisiest State Park: Memaloose Campground, OR

Worst Mosquitoes: Diamond Lake RV Park, OR

Best Bookstore: Powell’s City of Books, Portland, OR

Best Museum: Musée Mechanique, San Francisco, CA

Best Small Town: Nevada City, CA

Best Small City: Santa Cruz, CA

Best Medium City: Portland, OR

Best Large City: San Francisco, CA

Best Parting Gifts: Toiletries and more from Bill and Liping’s house

Best Sweatshirt Message: “Tsunami Plan – Run Like Hell” in a store in Newport, OR

Best Party: Aunt Gretchen’s Dinner Party in Longmont, CO

Posted by Stan

Taken a bit north of Carhenge, which itself is quite cool. Photos from there will have to wait until we have a good Flickr connection. Like next month at home.

Posted by Stan

Yes, Sierra was happy to be entering Montana — even if the sun made it hard for her to smile.

Montana became the 46th state we’ve visited on our journey, and was quickly followed by No. 47, Wyoming.

But the real reason to post this photo is that Sierra has now been in all 50 states at least once. She’d kick everybody’s butt on that Facebook list going around . . . were she on Facebook.

* Alcatraz: Featured in books such as Al Capone Does My Shirts and movies such as The Rock and Escape From Alcatraz, this island prison was for the worst of the worst. It was pretty hard to be innocent in Alcatraz, since you had to be convicted of a crime more than once. Some famous inmates were Al “Scarface” Capone, “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert “The Birdman” Stroud. There is a really good tour of the Cell House that I very highly recommend. It is narrated by former inmates and guards.

* Earthquake: Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it) we did not have a chance to experience this attraction. It is most famous for causing a good deal of damage in 1906.

* Cable Cars: Personally, I think these should be called streetcars, because if you pay attention, you’ll notice THEY DO NOT RUN ON CABLES! There are actually streetcars, which DO run on cables! What a confusing world this is.

* Exploratorium: A hands-on museum of science, this is a good place to learn things like about how magnetic black sand has iron in it. One of the highlights of the Exploratorium is the Tactile Dome. This is like a fun house with all the lights turned off. It’s completely dark as you climb, crawl, slide, and occasionally walk through a maze of pots, pans, and pillows. There are objects in there from spoons to sponges and from bundt cake molds to mattresses. In other words, the Tactile Dome is awesome.

* Musée Mechanique: I know what you’re thinking: How can a mechanical museum be considered “fun?” But this isn’t your typical museum. It’s a collection of old arcade games: fortune tellers, pinball machines, Skee-Ball, even an old “Laughing Sal,” a delightful/utterly terrifying figure. Those of you who have seen The Princess Diaries should recognize the arm-wrestling guy. You can watch a little band of monkeys (25 cents) or have the Bocca Della Verita tell your fortune (50 cents). The Musée Mechanique gets my vote for “Best San Francisco Attraction.”

So those are most of the attractions we went to in San Francisco. Next time, you’re there, remember to smile and scream “EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!”

Best Meal: Cochon, New Orleans, LA

Best Soup: Tomato soup at Bay Street Deli, Charleston, SC (Sierra), Crabapple pumpkin soup, Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC (Mom)

Worst Dish: The pig’s feet that Dad had at Bertha’s Kitchen, Charleston, SC (Dad explains in How We Chow)

Best Ice Cream: In Key West at Flamingo Crossing (Mom and Dad), Blue Bell Ice Cream (Sierra)

Number of Key Lime Pies Eaten: 5

Number of Time Zone Crossings: 7

Best Candy: Chaser’s Bourbon balls, Cave City, KY (Mom and Dad), Fudge from Rustler Bob’s, Fredricksburg,TX (Sierra)

Best Dessert: For Sierra, the chocolaty dessert she had at St. Louis Brewery and Bottleworks, St. Louis, MO, see above for Mom and Dad’s

Best Grits: Dad’s garlic grits at Cochon

Best RV-cooked Meal: Mom’s “victory” cheese fondue (prepared by Sierra)

Best Beer: Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout, Foothills Brewing (Mom), Boulevard Smokestack Two Jokers (Dad)

Best Breakfast: Blue & White, Tunica, MS

Best Sandwich: Po-Boy, Parran’s Po-Boys, Metairie, LA (Dad), Oyster Bacon Sandwich at Cochon (Mom), too many for Sierra

Best Pizza: Rustico, Alexandria, VA

Best Campground with Service: Fort Wilderness at Disney World, Orlando, FL (Sierra), Long Key State Park, Long Key, FL (Mom and Dad)

Best Campground without Service: Cottonwood Campground, Big Bend, TX

Best Campground Moment: When we saw the large pack of 14 or so Javelinas at Cottonwood Campground in Big Bend. (See Close Encounters)

Best Bathrooms: Campground at Hollywood Casino, Robinsonville, MS (Sierra), the ones in Waynesboro, NC (Mom)

Worst Bathrooms: The ones that were locked in Lee-Hi Campground, Lexington, VA

Best Shower: Toby & Amy’s, Alexandria, VA

Best Campground Pool: The big pool at Fort Wilderness

Best National Park: Big Bend

Best Historic Site: Capitol, Washington, DC

Best Monument: Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MO

Best Walking Tour: Savannah, GA

Best Bookstore: Williamsburg Book Exchange, Williamsburg, VA (Sierra), The Book Escape, Baltimore, MD (Mom and Dad)

Best Museum: International Spy Museum, Washington, DC

Best Hike/Walk: Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, FL

Best Drive: Outer Banks, NC

Best Small Town: Key West, FL

Best Small City: Savannah, GA (Mom and Dad), Lake Buena Vista, FL (Sierra)

Best Medium City: New Orleans, LA

Best Large City: Washington, DC

Best Beach: Sanibel Island Beach(es), Sanibel, FL

Best State Park: Hillsborough River State Park, FL

Best Crosswalks: Savannah, GA (They say “Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait,” and then “Crossing King Street. 21 more seconds. 20. 19. 18,” and so on.)

Best Highway Overpasses: New Mexico

Most Bicycle-Friendly State: Florida

We only had to drive a few minutes to visit both Sierraville and Sierra City and look out over the Sierra Valley.

Amargosa Valley, Nevada. The sign above the door reads “Madam Butterfly 3.”

Posted by Stan

How many times have we driven by the Cadillac Ranch west of Amarillo, Texas, without stopping?

Today we stopped. Nobody had this one on their list. And the early morning temperature was below freezing. But we parked and hurried out to the curious monument. Perhaps that’s the point of our adventure.

The cars are located a little bit west of where we first saw them in 1992 (blame urban creep). By then they’d been around for 18 years, but the first place we stopped for directions we got blank stares.

In subsequent trips along Interstate 40 we’ve usually seen several cars parked along the frontage road that parallels the interstate, with tourists headed out toward the cars. Surprisingly we’ve never noticed cattle, but today saw plenty of cow pies waiting to punish those not paying attention where they walked.

We’re sleeping in Alabama tonight, which means that Sierra has now set foot in 49 states. What’s left? Montana. She suggested we go there next, but it will be in July, after they clear the roads at Glacier National Park.

Quick aside: If you happen to be in Mobile head for the Brick Pit. Great barbecue, slow cooked with a mix of pecan (75 percent) and hickory (25 percent).

Still not getting strong enough signals to add photos to Flickr so will add a few as blog posts from time to time.