Vacation on a budget
I learned during my furloughcation that there are some things you can't put on your credit card.
You can't put fines from an Oregon speeding ticket on your credit card. (Since when did the northbound 101 become a 30 mph zone? Oh, since it started passing through small coastal towns five blocks ago. The one pictured below with a lighthouse is north of Gold Beach.) But officer, I'm on furlough and I have to save money for all these new restaurants opening in Rancho Cucamonga. That did not fly.
You can't put tire chains on your credit card, either. At least not when you're buying them from some guy on the side of the freeway in the middle of a snow storm, pictured right. (Mount Shasta? How did you get here? I thought you were a grassy knoll. Nobody told me you rose to 3,500 feet into your own microclimate.)
But there are so many other things you CAN put on your credit card. Take this mid-afternoon snack at Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts for example, where lines outside wrap around the block for a 30-minute wait. You can also put basketball tickets and everything at the concession stand at the Rose Quarter, where the Trailblazers walloped the Wizards on Tuesday, on your credit card.
And in pricey San Francisco, there are places where you can put your wallet away. The Palace of Fine Arts, one of my favorite spots in the city, is free. The top photo is of me paying homage to our Daily Bulletin on vacation feature.
You can't put fines from an Oregon speeding ticket on your credit card. (Since when did the northbound 101 become a 30 mph zone? Oh, since it started passing through small coastal towns five blocks ago. The one pictured below with a lighthouse is north of Gold Beach.) But officer, I'm on furlough and I have to save money for all these new restaurants opening in Rancho Cucamonga. That did not fly.
You can't put tire chains on your credit card, either. At least not when you're buying them from some guy on the side of the freeway in the middle of a snow storm, pictured right. (Mount Shasta? How did you get here? I thought you were a grassy knoll. Nobody told me you rose to 3,500 feet into your own microclimate.)
But there are so many other things you CAN put on your credit card. Take this mid-afternoon snack at Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts for example, where lines outside wrap around the block for a 30-minute wait. You can also put basketball tickets and everything at the concession stand at the Rose Quarter, where the Trailblazers walloped the Wizards on Tuesday, on your credit card. And in pricey San Francisco, there are places where you can put your wallet away. The Palace of Fine Arts, one of my favorite spots in the city, is free. The top photo is of me paying homage to our Daily Bulletin on vacation feature.
I for one am so glad you are back. Wendy, I really did miss you and your reporting!
Welcome home,
Jerie
Welcome back, Wendy!
Sounds like your furloughcation was an interesting one -- hope the good memories outweigh the financially frustrating ones :-)
Glad to see your byline here again!
VooDoo Donuts rule!
And what local breweries and/or food trucks along the bridge accepted your plastic?...
Breweries? I don't drink alcohol, I'm a good girl. And unfortunately no food truck on this trip due to rain and the fact that most closed when I was hungry, which was after 5 p.m.
The speeding ticket, I can understand the dismay in getting one on a road trip. Who wouldn’t want to get to the destination? But on the road, we are just travelers briefly passing through town, and people do live there and call it their hometown. Slowing down is not just about obeying the road signs; it's a courtesy and respect to the way of life in those places.
Right now I could go for a cake doughnut glazed in purple.
Helpful info. Lucky me I discovered your web site by chance, and I'm stunned why this twist of fate did not came about in advance! I bookmarked it.