And I Thought "Shasta" was Soda Pop

From San Francisco I traveled North, driving through a dense wintertime fog. I was hoping to see the great redwood forests, but I-5 was too far from the coast so I missed this part of the country. Nevertheless, at California's northern border, a spectacular view awaited me -- 14,179-foot Mount Shasta, the second highest volcano in the continental United States. Its snow-covered peak is spectacular and I could see it more than 100 miles away as I drove toward the mountain on I-5. The interstate ride included some interesting winding climbs and and 6% declines, viewing pine trees (mostly Douglas Fir) as far as the eye could see in the foothills. I knew I was no longer in "my part of the country" as every other truck was carrying huge logs to the mills.

My destination was Ashland, Oregon, about 15 miles north of the border. It's a beautiful town and famous for the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. That night I stayed in a local hotel and dined in a lively pub, enjoying a great burger and fries. What struck me immediately about the town were the people. Such a difference from the "beautiful people" of southern California, the Oregonians reminded me more of the type of people you see at the Bloomington Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning -- just nice, easy-going folk, socially and environmentally minded. You definitely recycle in Oregon!

The next morning I found a bagel shop that served "hiker bagels," the equivalent of an "everyseed" at Bloomington Bagel Company. My next stop was Corvallis, OR, but first I needed to finish a report for IU on my iPad experience last semester.

Corvallis is the home of Oregon State University. It's a quiet town, not unlike Bloomington, with an abundance of local brew pubs. Corvallis also is home for Justin and Liz Donaldson (and Ginger, their dog); unfortunately, Liz was out-of-town on business, so it was just Justin, Ginger, and me.

Justin recently graduated from Indiana University with his Ph.D. in Informatics -- the first doctorate achieved in IU's HCI (human computer interaction) Program, but he now lives and works in Corvallis. We had a lot of fun talking about my new start-up, Glerb, and speculating how events might unfold over the coming months. Justin treated me to an amazing restaurant, Big River. It's a converted warehouse serving savory food and drink. I had my first beer in over 30 years -- a dark stout. I drank half of it and then returned to my usual Diet Coke. :) The next morning we had breakfast at a local bakery and then I headed to Portland.

I just passed the 4,000 mile mark on my journey from Bloomington.