Stories's Log
This log represents the Life and Times of the Las Vegas Dude.
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Fri 
08/15/2008 07:54:24
 jim  Reno,NV-I95-ToReno
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:45:41
 SAE  .Pittsburgh PA, here we come!!!
I could spell Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania already, without having looked. Why? Because I am a studly little hound.
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:45:41
 jim   (Reply)Pittsburgh PA, here we come!!!
I got the contract 5 minutes after seeing a whale off the Oregon coast.
What are the odds of that? Once again, getting a contract has surprised me. I had an interview a couple of hours earlier in Toledo, Washington. I was thoroughly exhausted from driving across the country.
So, now, we'll be coming back to Vegas, just to load for another cross country trip.
About Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh once produced half of the nation's steel, with over 500,000 people working in over 1,000 factories and mills. After WWII, the city went through a clean air renaissance. The steel industry and the mills fell after the 80's and it's economic base shifted to tourism, services, and high technology. It now has a population of about 330,000. BTW - Try spelling Pittsburgh Pennsylvania some time without a reference.
Fri 
08/15/2008 01:44:33
 jim  Hwy 101 on the Oregon coast
We had a flat, I saw a whale, and I got a contract.
The Oregon coast is most definitely the most beautiful country side I've seen. 
It's just too bad that most of their economy seems to center around logging, and gaming. 
We're staying in a really dumpy hotel in Coos Bay right now.
Coos Bay was a hot spot at one time.
Now its become another floundering relic of the American industrial revolution. It's sad that so many of our products are made in China. Human rights seems to have taken a dump in the last decade.
Hopefully, we'll be in Reno, NV by 6 pm tommorrow.
Then we'll be headed back home to pack for our next adventure.
Thu 
08/14/2008 17:24:28
 jim  CoosBay,OR-Downtown
Thu 
08/14/2008 17:24:28
 jim   (Reply)CoosBay,OR-Marina,Downtown
Thu 
08/14/2008 16:50:30
 jim  NorthBend,OR-Motel,Coast
Thu 
08/14/2008 16:50:30
 jim   (Reply)NorthBend,OR-Motel,Coast
Thu 
08/14/2008 16:04:24
 jim  Reedsport,OR-Coast
Thu 
08/14/2008 14:54:12
 jim  DunesCity,OR
Thu 
08/14/2008 14:30:50
 jim  Hecata,OR-Tunnel,Coast
Thu 
08/14/2008 14:20:42
 jim  Coast,OR-Bridge
Thu 
08/14/2008 14:08:20
 jim  Htwy101,OR
Thu 
08/14/2008 13:56:44
 jim  Yachats,OR-Coast,Jim,Becky
Thu 
08/14/2008 13:26:18
 jim  Newport,OR-Yachatts,Coast
Thu 
08/14/2008 13:10:56
 jim  Newport,OR-Bridge,Coastline
Thu 
08/14/2008 13:05:20
 jim  Oregon Coast 2
Thu 
08/14/2008 12:44:18
 jim  Newport,OR-Beach,LightHouse
Thu 
08/14/2008 12:09:28
 jim  OtterRock,OR-DevilsBowl
Thu 
08/14/2008 11:38:50
 jim  DepotBay,OR-WhaleWatching
Thu 
08/14/2008 11:09:32
 jim  LincolnCity,OR-Beach,Becky
Thu 
08/14/2008 08:39:25
 jim  Oregon Coast - CoosBay
Wed 
08/13/2008 22:00:00
 jim  Lincoln City, Or
We drove up Oregon's highway 101 today.
The scenery is incredible.
Astoria was beautiful with its sky high river bridge and seaside ports.
Our route took us through Seaside, Cannon Beach, Rockaway Beach, Oceanside, Tillamook and finally Lincoln City.
I like driving through the clouds on the mountain sides overlooking the ocean. I still think Oregon's ocean shoreline is still the most beautiful area in the world. I would love to be able to live anywhere along this route. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!
Becky, as always, is entertaining.
- We passed a fishing archery (hatchery),
- She asked a tourist what our elevation was when we were parked by the ocean (the clouds were drifting around us).
- Also, she keeps saying we're in Eragon (as in the fantasy movie) instead of Oregon.
We stopped at a dock for lunch.
They sold us two crabs and a dozen oysters. These oysters were as big as my head, and I had to shuck them. A German tourist finally came over and shucked a few of my oysters for me. By the end, his hand was bleeding, and this guy was as strong as an ox (we had a lot of fun with this German couple). The whole dock was a blast though! We'd shuck our oysters, shell our crabs, and throw the shells over the side. I've got to admit though, if I had a 22 pistol, I could have shucked those oysters a lot faster. 
Being exhausted from driving over 40 hours in the last week,
We decided to stay the night at the Chinook Winds Hotel and Casino. The Mustang was a good choice for this trip. You can't beat the open air feeling while having its convertable top down.
If we took the quickest way back to Vegas, we are still 18 hours away from home.
If I get this contract tommorrow, that's how we'll be headed back, and I'll probably just drive straight through.
Wed 
08/13/2008 20:05:02
 jim  LincolnCity,OR-ChinookCasino,beach
Wed 
08/13/2008 17:21:16
 jim  Beaver,OR
Wed 
08/13/2008 17:12:46
 jim  Beaver,OR-Cows
Wed 
08/13/2008 16:30:46
 jim  Tillamook,OR-Coast
Wed 
08/13/2008 16:22:14
 jim  Garibaldi,OR-Museum
Wed 
08/13/2008 16:00:08
 jim  Rockaway,OR-Coast Fog
Wed 
08/13/2008 15:19:02
 jim  CannonBeach,OR-Marina-Crabs
Wed 
08/13/2008 14:47:58
 jim  CannonBeach,OR-Coast
Wed 
08/13/2008 14:41:50
 jim  CannonBeach,OR-Hwy101
Wed 
08/13/2008 14:10:00
 jim  CannonBeach,OR-Hwy101-Becky,Jim
Wed 
08/13/2008 14:09:34
 jim  Oregon Coast
Wed 
08/13/2008 13:33:50
 jim  CannonBeach,OR-Coast
Wed 
08/13/2008 13:05:56
 jim  Astoria,OR-Marina-Jim,Becky
Wed 
08/13/2008 12:35:10
 jim  Astoria,OR-PortOfAstoria,Bridge,Train
Wed 
08/13/2008 11:31:06
 jim  Astoria Oregon
Wed 
08/13/2008 11:00:36
 jim  Astoria,OR-Coast 95
Wed 
08/13/2008 08:38:34
 jim  Oregon Coast - Hwy 101
Wed 
08/13/2008 08:36:33
 jim  Oregon Coast
Tue 
08/12/2008 22:00:00
 jim  Toledo, Washington
We stayed with Don B, from GE in Toledo, Wa.
Don has 5 acres of land with a triple wide on it, and it is quite nice up there.
The mountainous landscapes, the foggy mornings, and the blackberry bushes are its highlights.
This morning, I watched 5 deer grazing on his neighbors lawn (they are considered 'pests').
Tue 
08/12/2008 18:22:24
 jim  Shots from Toledo Ohio
Fri 
08/08/2008 06:58:24
 jim  Seattle is still cold.
I drove around the town last night, and still, I heard no music.
Nothing much has changed since we left here just two months ago.
I did start unemployment.
Its impossible for me to get those people to understand that I'm a Contract Programmer.
According to those guys, I'm an employee, and therefore, I must have filled out an application for employment.
They said I must fill out three applications a week to maintain unemployment.
--- I haven't filled out an application since 1989.
So, I am thinking that I'm going to have to lie to keep unemployment paying. Thats just not right though. Filling out applications is a counter-productive method of finding work. Employers find me. I can't find them.
I guess what's really irritating me is that I am forced to pay up to 6% of my gross for insurance that I can never, in all honesty, ever qualify for. Plus, having to drive to Washington to get unemployment compensation for a multi-state claim is incredibly bad.
Wed 
08/06/2008 17:11:36
 jim  LaGrande,OR
Wed 
08/06/2008 16:13:54
 jim  BakerCity,OR
Wed 
08/06/2008 15:20:08
 jim  Nelson,OR-Highway,Lake
Wed 
08/06/2008 11:00:22
 jim  We are taking off for Seattle
It is a condition of their unemployment insurance, that the person has to call from a Washington phone.

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