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Roadtrip 2012: Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, Part 3

Monday, 2012-10-01: Picking up the RV


We rented a 31 ft motorhome suitable for 8 passengers from El Monte. I wouldn't recommend to occupy it with 7 adults like we do, unless everyone involved can cope with the limited space and privacy. So far (after one day, I have to admit) it works out very smoothly and with way less hassle than with coordinating two RVs.

Roadtrip 2012: Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, Part 2

Thursday, 2012-09-27: Wolfhaven


Located South of Olympia, Wolfhaven is one of the oldest wolf sanctuaries in the US. Their tour mainly features some of their rescues from irresponsible owners. The enclosures are large and and they only keep two wolves in each. I guess trying to compose packs of individuals who didn't grow up with each other or aren't even properly socialized wouldn't work anyway. They are also part of a breeding program for highly endangered Red Wolves. They are quite shy though, and I didn't get any pictures of them. Unfortunately, due to the fences it is quite hard to photograph the wolves anyway.

Roadtrip 2012: Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, Part 1

Having skipped Further Confusion this year allows us to visit a different furry convention in the US. We are: Kayjay, Lynard and me spending a couple of days in Seattle, joined by Furvan, Tioh, Mendra and Zefiro at Rainfurrest.

Saturday, 2012-09-22: Missing Connection


I took the first tram of the day to get from my flat to the station hopped on ICE 822 to Frankfurt Airport. Lynard arrived shortly after me, followed by Kayjay. We got aboard LH402 to Newark and took off in time. The Boeing 747 was quite new, but the seat distance in cattle class got even smaller. I was able to live with the fact that my in-seat entertainment system offered only one Bollywood movie, as I refuse to watch movies on the tiny screen anyway. Everyone else hat a large collection of movies to choose from. The flight itself was calm, we landed almost on time in Newark, but it took the usual 15 minutes to get to the gate. Immigration was crowded, partly due to some technical problems with the fingerprint database. Even though we were offered to jump the line due to our short layover time, I arrived at the baggage claim three minutes after boarding of our connection started. Kayjay arrived shortly after me, but Lynard had to wait what seemed to be an eternity in Second Inspection. Not much of a problem as we missed our connection anyway. We got rebooked to the first flight to Seattle for the next day and checked in at the Best Western Newark West. At least the bar had Yuengling Lager, which made the evening acceptable.

Sunday, 2012-09-23: Seattle, At Last


After getting up at an ungodly hour we went to the airport, checked in and got aboard a United flight to Seattle. A six hour flight that required extra payment for the entertainment system (WTF?), and the cabin crew going through only twice with beverages... At least it was a mostly calm flight. We arrived in Seattle on time, got our luggage and picked up the rental car. Since we were way too early to check in we started with some shopping. Best Buy have reduced both their selection and stock even more, Fry's has a lot of empty shelves and none of what I wanted to purchase. We eventually made it to the hotel, after swearing at the GPS and the large amount of construction work in Seattle.

California Vacation 2011 - Day 15: Back to Germany

Finally caught up on vacation reports. This entry is about Saturday, January 22nd.

California Vacation 2011 - Day 14: Pacific Coast

Still catching up on vacation reports. This entry is about Friday, January 21st.

California Vacation 2011 - Day 14: Cartoon Museum

Still catching up on vacation reports. This entry is about Thursday, January 20th.

Califorina Vacation 2011 - Day 13: Exploratorium

It's been a couple of years since I visited the Exploratorium, and Kayjay and Lynard didn't know it at all, so this is where we spent the day. Furvan went shopping on his own, though. Lucky for him he doesn't know what he was missing. There are some similar museums around the world based on the same didactic concept, but the Exploratorium is still the best in my opinion. Countless physical experiments to try yourself, well constructed and explained. We entered at half past ten in the morning and got thrown out after only twenty minutes — when they were closing at five in the afternoon. I believe that's one of the few experiments without a proper description: the difference between your sense of time and the actual time spent at the museum.

Califorina Vacation 2011 - Day 12: Coyote Point

Tuesday, we're among the last few furries checking out of the Fairmont. Packing the car, heading for San Francisco. Breakfast at Starbucks somewhere near San Mateo, Furvan shopping for fursuit building materials at a sports store, then a small detour to Coyote Point County Park, visiting the small animal park.