Well, here it is...

After months of thinking about it, reviewing it and generally procrastinating, I have finally decided to sit down and tell the epic story of Art & Cindy's Honeymoon. This is the special web-version for those of you who aren't lucky enough to see the special two hour video. For any of the pictures on this page, just click on them if you want to see a larger image.

In the beginning, there was 'the plan'. It was a simple enough plan, we decided that for our honeymoon, we would drive up to Canada and retrieve my 'stuff' and bring it back to Las Vegas. Sounds easy enough, eh?

The Preparation

For those reading this who may not be aware of such things, I (Art) am Canadian. Moving to Vegas to be with Cindy was one of the easiest decisions that I've ever made. The logistics of it weren't even that difficult. Once I was down here it was just a matter of heading north, stopping in Canada and heading south again. We had already talked to INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) and were told that it would be OK to leave the country after the wedding. So we spent a few days getting my work permit and residence paperwork in order. Due to an oversight on my part, we kinda forgot that I had to be fingerprinted, photographed and checked out by a doctor. So we ran around town getting all of this stuff done and soon me and my 'beaten' wife were on our way!

On the Road

So we loaded up the van (which thankfully had a recently rebuilt engine) and headed off to California. We left fairly late in the day, so we planned on driving for about 6-7 hours and spending the night at Cindy's Mom's in Fresno. We figured out where they lived and dropped in for the 'surprise visit' and to use thier bathroom. They seemed SO happy to see us arrive at 10:00pm. So the first night of our honeymoon was spent there.

We got up fairly early the next morning and were on the road by about 8:00, heading to San Francisco. I drove while Cindy played Tetris on the Gameboy. Her playing was interrupted when the front left tire blew out and convinced the van that it should veer off the road. We were very fortunate to have a decent spare tire (once we figured out how to get at it). After a short delay, we headed not to San Francisco, but to Los Banos for a new tire. $76.00 later we were on the road again. Along the way we decided (at Cindy's suggestion) that we stop by San Jose and check out the 'Winchester Mystery House'...oh-oh sounds pretty scary!

Finally Sightseeing

So we stopped by Historical Landmark #868 and bought our tickets for the tour. We visited a house that used to belong to a crazy old lady who had to keep adding on to her house or the spirits of the victims of the Winchester rifles would 'get her' in some way. There was also a small gun museum and a garden around the house. The house itself was like something designed by an acid-freak. There were stairs that went nowhere, doors that open into walls and the whole thing designed for a lady that was about 4-11! Most of the house was in a state of 1/2 repair and all of the work had a really cheap look to it. Some of the house was actually quite nice, that was the part that the crazy old lady sealed off after the earthquake.

From San Jose, we made our way up to San Francisco. Cindy's old home town was waitin' for her! We drove through the city to get to the Seal Rocks/Cliff House area on the west coast. So we wandered

around the area and looked at the ocean, the rocks and the ruins of the Sutro baths (the ones in the picture). There's also a camera obscura there that Cindy said was never open, but it was that day. Very cool and worth the $1.00 admission fee. There is also a Mechanical Museum there with all kinds of old-time games, movie viewers and fortune tellers and stuff. They all work (if you have enough quarters!). So after spending an hour or so wandering around we stopped in the Cliff house bar for some good ol' Anchor Steam beer. Feeling refreshed, we decided to see if we could find a place to stay for the night. We checked out a couple of places by the wharf, and found that they were either booked solid or outrageously priced (and not including parking, either!). We were finally directed to the Lombard Street area of affordable Hotels and soon found the wonderful Buena Vista hotel (ph: 415-923-9600 for reservations). We checked in and were soon checking out the sights and sounds of the City by the Bay. And as everyone well knows, there are too many sights in San Francisco to see in one day. We headed from the hotel to the water down by the maritime museum and then along Fisherman's Wharf to Pier 39. Along the way we HAD to stop by for Heineken and crab cocktails, oh and some sourdough pizza, and a seafood sandwich ...oh yeah and some more pizza. We wandered around some more at Pier 39 and went by where Cindy used to work and then saw the Sea Lions that have taken over some of the wharves there. We slowly made our way back and stopped at a few places for liquid refreshments. All in all, it was a quiet night for the most part. We got up the next morning and drove down Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world) and drove down to the wharf for some more sourdough pizza and cheese bread. From there, we cruised over the Golden Gate Bridge and made our way up Highway #1.

Hitting the Coast

So there we are...cruising in the mini-van along Highway #1, looking at some spectacular scenery and trying not to drive over the cliffs. After about an hour of this, Cindy was getting a little nauseous from trying to play Tetris in the contrasting lights and we decided to cross over to Hwy 101. Now that we were on 101, the temperature was a little warmer and road was a little straighter and we started making up some mileage. We cruised along nicely and got to Myers Flat where I knew there was a decent campground (Giant Redwoods RV & Camp - call 707-943-3198 for reservations). We pulled in and got a spot just above the creek and then went into town to get some supplies. Since we didn't bother with any 'real' camping supplies, (ie: Coleman Stove) we picked up some cold cuts, bread and Coke. The locals were all gathered outside the general store, what with it being Friday night and all. They cautiously eyed us as they leaned up against their pickups and swilled their Buds. I think that Cindy's black eye gave them something to think about. So we went back to the campground and walked down to the creek for some serious rock-hunting. I found several pieces of what I called jade, and some other interesting rocks. Content with our finds, we returned to the van, got our dinner and cocktails and walked over to the communal campfire. Now this wasn't just ANY campfire, this was movietime! We settled in and watched 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'. It seemed much funnier as the night went on and the cocktail level diminished. Needing more entertainment, we asked for a private showing inside of 'Independence Day'. This we watched with a German tourist who was cycling the coast and a family that had nothing better to do, either. I kinda remember leaving the movie when it was over. We got back to the van and 'made camp'. This consisted of blowing up the air mattress and making room for it in the back of the van. The most memorable thing about this time was the vast number of stars that were visible out in the country sky! (You'll have to see the honeymoon video to see the full effect.) We eventually got settled in and found that the mattress was too big for the van and made for a very uneven bed. After a good night's sleep, we got up and headed for the wonderful city of Eureka, California.

Further On Up the Road

We reached Eureka, hit up some used book stores and then had some breakfast. Eureka is the spot where 101 hits the coast and is about 100 miles short of the Oregon border. So after filling up with gas (we'd gone 916.2 miles by this point) we were heading for Oregon! For anyone who hasn't been there, the Oregon coast is one of the nicest places on Earth. Not only is it a scenic wonderland, there is all kinds of touristy stuff to do (which doesn't impede your enjoyment of the natural beauty). We really took it easy and didn't make many miles this day. In fact we got as far Reedsport before we decided to find a spot. We camped in a plain campground (call Surfwood Campground @ 541-271-4020 for more info). It was a nice enough place, but we just needed a place to sleep. We went into Winchester Bay for dinner and had some decent seafood at some place I don't remember the name of. We were going to watch the sunset, but it was cancelled due to grey skies.

We got up the next morning ready for adventure. We found it at 'Sandland Adventures' family fun center. (call 541-997-8087 for more info) We were now in the Oregon dunes and KNEW that we had to rent a couple of quad ATV's and have some serious fun! We bypassed the go-carts, mini-golf, bumperboats and other distractions and went straight for the ATV's. We took them out for an hour and it took me about 10-15 minutes to get used to it. There were other people out there, but it wasn't crowded at all and there was always some place to go. A lot of fun! Cindy's seem to keep getting stuck in the sand for some reason.

After leaving the fun place, we cruised up the coast until we got to the Sea Lion Caves. The caves are one of those must see tourist things. Its not a lot a lot money and you get to see something that you can't see anywhere else. You go down an elevator (that's inside a mountain) and get to see a whole swak of sea lions in their natural habitat. Sure it smells a little weird, but once you're down there a little while ya get used to it. You can also see a good bit of coastline on a nice day (not the day we were there though). They also have a neat gift shop where we were able to add to our stretched penny collection!

Winos & Dingbats & Riff-Raff... oh my!

No visit to the Oregon coast would be complete without a stop at the wonderful city of Newport. And no visit to Newport would be complete without a stop at the Historic Barge Inn Tavern (home of the Winos, Dingbat's and Riff-Raff). Newport is about in the middle of the Oregon coast. It is a quaint fishing town, where you can still smell the fish processing plants on the wharf. If you go, you have to go to the 'old town' or else it'll look like every town that you've flown through. But after passing under the Yaquina Bay Bridge (a very cool bridge), you'll find that Newport is a fun little town. We went in and actually found a decent (free) parking spot and headed down to the main drag. A person would not feel out of place there smelling like fish and wearing rubber boots. But we checked out some of the art shops and then headed to Mo's. Mo's has the best clam chowder in the world. It's been an institution on the Newport waterfront for about 50 years or so. After 'chowing' down, we headed over to the Barge Inn for a quick refresher. We then decided to do some more window hopping and checked out the Rogue Brewery while we were at it (free samples). Some more hopping and then back to the Barge Inn. When ya go to Barge Inn, you're almost always guaranteed to meet some interesting people and this day was no exception. We were soon in the company of three local characters (I wish we could remember their names, but we'll just refer to them as 'the Captain, the Felon, and the 1^st mate'). The felon was an older guy that was just working his around the states and happened to be in Newport for now. We heard most of his life story, but never did find what WHY he was a felon. When we arrived, he was in the process of trying to wrangle a fish out of the captain so he could go back to his trailer and have some dinner. The 1^st mate was pretty quiet and not a particularly good pool player. We shot some pool and heard some jokes and tried some 'bar tricks' and generally had a good time (once they believed that I was not a wife-beater). After a good while, we left and headed out to get a place to camp. When you're in the Newport area, ya have to stay at the Beverly Beach Campground. (Call 541-265-9278 for more info) This would now be our third night of camping and we were starting to feel the effects of roughing it. We found a nice pizza place near the campground and then went to Safeway for refreshments while they were making it. We picked up our pizza and were ready for some camping. We got back to the campground and saw that our neighbours were fighting with their 'fire' and the lack of cooking utensils for their hotdogs. We offered them some piping hot pizza served under electrical light, but they declined kept muttering to themselves. After dinner, we walked to the beach to hear the surf and smell the salt breeze. We built a small fire with some embers that others had left and we were able to have some light for a while. We had a good night's sleep and then got up and walked along the beach for an hour or so the next morning. We packed up and continued our trek north.

Sleepless in Seattle

Our goal for the day was to make it to Seattle for the night. This wasn't a big challenge and we were able to get there by late afternoon. We found a Best Western (call 1-800-351-9444 for reservations) right near the Space Needle and checked in. After a few days of wilderness, we were ready for some city life. We took the monorail from Seattle Center to the downtown core. We walked about and eventually Cindy spotted a Mexican restaurant (Las Margaritas). We had some good food there and then continued on our merry way. We eventually made it back to Seattle Center and were ready for some fun. Luckily, the carnival was open and we were able to play some games. Well, actually we played the 'dart -throwing-to-hit-the-balloon' game and won due to the fact that the darts took out more balloons on the way down than when they hit the wall. In the end we ended up with a good sized 'Speedy Gonzalez' who was soon to become our mascot. After the fun, we decided to celebrate our good fortune with a visit to Zak's Bar, just across from our hotel. We grabbed a couple of cold ones and sat out on the patio for a while. It was just perfect. We talked to a couple of locals and after a while, headed back to our hotel. We got up the next morning with a new goal. Our mission was to take the 'Underground Tour' of Seattle. For those of you who don't know this, Seattle is actually built up on the remains of the old city. In the older parts, what seems like street level is actually a second story level with the rest under the sidewalk. It’s a long story....take the tour and find out for yourselves. We did some more sightseeing and got back to hotel, fired up the van and jumped into the Seattle rush hour! Eventually, we made it to Canada!

Oh Canada!

So we finally made to Canada! We crossed the border with no trouble and stopped to call Brian & Sylvia. We arranged to meet for dinner at the Mongolie Grill restaurant in Vancouver. We drove in to the big city and wandered around Broadway for a bit and them met up with Brian & Sylvia for a great Mongolian meal, and then headed down to the Cambie for some cheap beer (well, cheap by Canadian standards). After a few, we went back to their house in Richmond (they were kind enough to take pity on us homeless people). We sat around and had a few more, Cindy went to bed, and then Brian and I sat around and had a few more. We got up the next morning and had some of Brian's great waffles and after the 'good-byes' we headed off to go talk to the US Immigration people.

Mr.Washburn and the I-131

So we get to US border (from Canada) and went in to see what was required to get my stuff into the US. It was at this time that we were told that I shouldn't have left the country. (OH NO!!) But if we were to fill out I-131 form for an 'advance parole', I could possibly get back in. So we filled out the form and were told that it would take a day or two. This being a Thursday, we hoped that maybe we could be gone by the weekend, but figured that we would be there til next week. The full immigration story will be told on a separate web page, but lets just say that it took more than 1-2 days. Most of the next week was spent phoning the INS people to find out what was happening.

Tourists in Vancouver

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Resigned to the fact that we were 'stuck' in Vancouver for the weekend and possibly more, we tried to make the best of it. We were fortunate to have great weather. We headed out to Mission to visit with Steve, Zack and Jen. We spent a day out there and just kind of hung out. Zack (my nephew) took a few rounds out of me before we left. Mission was not as hot as Vegas, but much more humid. Cindy couldn't really handle it much, but we didn't have to stay there very long. From there we headed out to the Beautiful Metropolis City of New Westminster. When we were there we visited with my friend Leah, and then met up with Craig, Moe, Paul & Lena. We hung out around the Westminster Quay. Then we went out to Langley and visited with Colin & Rhonda. They didn't pick up on the hint that we needed somewhere to stay, so we checked into the Snuggle Inn in Langley (call for reservations @ 604-532-8847). Other stuff we did included a visit with Eric & Fern in Vancouver and a walk around the West End of Vancouver. We also went to the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). It the annual agricultural fair in Vancouver. We went and saw things like the horse races, the pig races, the duck races and the demolition derby. We walked around and looked at the various displays and games and stuff and then decided to stop by the beer garden. While there, we met a few interesting Canadians and had beer til we weren't allowed any more. So we went back to Leah's for the night, but she wasn't awake and didn't hear the buzzer ringing. We tried to sleep in the van, but it was VERY uncomfortable. We couldn't find any rooms in New West (it was now about 2am) so we decided to try Surrey. Unknown to us at the time, the PGA golf tournament was in town and most rooms were booked. We got the last room in the Sheraton Guildford Hotel. (for reservations call 604-582-9288) We stayed the night and had a wonderful champagne brunch the next morning.

The Turning Point

From there, we spent the rest of that day at Stanley Park in Vancouver and then headed back to Leah's for the evening. We now had a place to stay until we were allowed back. While at Leah's, we phoned the kennels where the dogs were boarded and were told that Kimo had passed away a couple of days earlier. After little discussion, we decided that it would be best for Cindy to fly back to Vegas and get Shi-ma out of the kennel and start dealing with some work stuff as we were now a couple of days over our schedule. So on the 19^th, Cindy headed south and I was left in Canada to deal the INS people. Not exactly part of the plan. I tried to keep phoning the INS, but their phones were down for two days and it was impossible to get a hold of them. After a day of this, I went down to talk to them directly, but there was nothing that they could tell me except that I should just keep waiting. Eventually, the word came and it was decided that my case would be deferred to Las Vegas and that I had to 'check in' with them down there. So I went back to Langley and loaded up the van and drove to the border. After two hours of waiting there, I was FINALLY allowed back into the states with all of my stuff.

The Long, Lonely Road

In contrast to the drive up, the ride back was very unevental. I've done a fair amount of driving in my day, but always with someone in the passenger seat. I now had a Vancouver-Vegas trip ahead of me without my best gal by my side. I left Canada about 4:00 down I-5 and made it as far as Salem, Oregon that night. I decided that there was no reason to rush as an extra day on the road would not be a problem. So I got a room at the Salem Inn (call 503-588-1426 for reservations). It was a decent room and I got a good night's sleep there. The next day I got as far as Stockton, California. I picked it as stopping spot (not knowing if it was big or not) and found that it had about 250,000 people there. I noticed that once I was in town, they didn't mark any of the hotels at the exit, so I passed a couple of exits that had lots of hotels and decided that if they weren't going to tell me where the hotels were, I'd just take the next exit. Good choice. I pulled off and was greeted by the wonderful glow of an In-n-Out Burger sign. I pulled into the Motel 6, checked in and walked over to the In-n-Out for a double-double with fries. I stopped by the gas station after dinner for a six pack of Anchor Steam beer headed back to my lonely room. I flicked on the TV and found that the Blues Brothers movie was on. So I got comfortable and had a nice relaxing evening. I got up the next morning and headed off to Vegas.

The Homecoming

Well, it was now the 3^rd day on the road and I was looking forward to seeing my wife and getting home. The only exciting part of the drive was climbing up the last mountain before getting into Nevada and the van decided that it was just a little too hot for that kind of work. We crawled up the hill at about 20 MPH for what seemed like forever. There was a 'hilltop' gas station that we made it to and pulled off to let the engine cool off. After about 1/2 hour, I decided to get going again and we kept crawling up the hills and finally made it to the top. The van and I were very happy! From there it was smooth sailing into Vegas. On the way past Stateline, I saw the sign for the Blue's Festival that I had to miss, (thanks to INS), but Cindy did get to go see.

I got home and saw that we had company. Cindy had invited a few friends over for a 'bar-b-que/ unloading the van' party. I found Gene, Mark, Jack and Arlene lounging around the pool. Cindy brought me a beer and cool custom t-shirt commemorating my INS struggles. We had some food and cocktails and then unloaded the van. It was over.....or was it?

The honeymoon - part 2

We got up the next morning and decided that we weren't going to end our honeymoon on a bad note, so we picked out a touristy thing to do and headed off to the Hoover Dam. We went on the dam tour and took some dam photos and bought some dam souvenirs. That was cool, and from there we headed downtown and went to go see Steve Wyrick's Sexy Magic show. This was a show that we had made one of the props for, so it seemed like the thing to do. It was a good low budget magic show. We had a great day and it made up for the INS interruptions.

You made it this far...

Well, if you read this far and didn't just skip to the bottom of the page, you're either really interested in what we did, or REALLY bored. Except for the obvious problems, it was a lot of fun and great way to begin our life together. If we can survive a road-trip like this, we can get through anything! I'd like to thank all of the friends who helped make this trip possible and also everyone who came to celebrate our wedding. Our door is always open and we look forward to seeing you all again!