Starling Travel

Nicole Lee took a trip to Mixt Greens.

She called it a yuppie salad bar and then went on to specify that it was Yuppie with a capital Y!

Their sign says, “Lettuce rock your world.” Yep, that’s the same slogan I used when I ran for 7th Grade Vice President. Still a knee slapper.

Her verdict that the place didn’t live up to its price tag. If you’re looking for more atmosphere than salad, then maybe Mixt Greens is for you. Otherwise, opt for the salad bar at Whole Foods.

Where:

Mixt Greens
120 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA
475 Sansome Street (on Commercial) San Francisco, CA
560 Mission Street San Francisco, CA

Megan Wallent and her family visited Hawaii and while they were there, they encountered the Burger Nazi.

• The Burger Nazi (But We Liked It – And Went Back!) « M( )

They were hiking in Makena Park and happened upon a roadside food stand. Before they could even order, the Burger Nazi had a speech for them.

“Before you order, let me tell you about my food. I cook everything to order. We have burgers and fish sandwiches with mahi mahi. The burgers are the Kong Burger, which are this big (his hands up as if to hold a sandwich, fingers extended to their full length as if to make a giant ellipse), and they cost $14 each. It comes with cheese, lettuce, maui onion, roasted pineapple, tomato and mustard and catchup. I wrap it in the foil, and if you unwrap it, then it will fall apart. I only cook meat with meat, and fish with fish so if you want both, you’ll have to wait.”

Man, I want a Kong Burger! I’ll wait until you can cook the meat with the meat, I promise!

Click on over to Megan’s site for pictures and more descriptions.

Where: Makena Park, Maui, Hawaii Google Map

Ward Jenkins, of Ward-O-Matic fame, took his family to San Francisco. He and his wife took the most amazing photos. You can see them here:

• The Ward-O-Matic: One last look at San Francisco

He found a cool machine in an arcade:

Amongst the old arcades and puppet shows, I found this wonderful device. Listed as the oldest machine there, it’s a praxinoscope. The faceted nature of the mirrors gives off the same effect as a shutter for film — very important in order to give off the optical illusion of ‘persistence of vision’. The images projected from the drum onto the mirrors allowed you, the viewer to see the girl jumping rope, instead of becoming a big blur. It was so cool to watch one of these for reals.

Click on through to Ward-O-Matic to see the photos of the praxinoscope and the rest of the beauty of San Francisco.

Our friend, atp_tyreseus, is driving across the country from San Francisco to Cincinnati right now. Before he left California, however, he took a trip to Muir Woods. He was kind enough to share his pictures with us on his Flickr photostream:

• atp_tyreseus’ Muir Woods Trip on Flickr

Considered “the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world,” Muir Woods is nestled in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You can see the national parks’ website for it here:

• Muir Woods National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

View Larger Map

Just north of San Francisco, you can see a lovely forest of redwood trees and enjoy the best that California wilderness has to offer.

We stopped in Baker City, Oregon on our way home from Mount Hood this month. This time, we stayed in the Best Western Sunridge. You can see the entire group of photos here:

• Best Western Sunridge in Baker City, OR – a set on Flickr

The hotel SWAG was typical, but nicely presented:

They were having the Miner’s Jubilee in a few days, so all the windows of the town were painted with this miner, Ma and the mule:

It was a nice stay at the hotel and we enjoyed ourselves there!

In the middle of May, we went with Stacey and Dan in the Hummer up Kane Creek Trail. It was a really intense trail, and I took videos of it:

Download this video for your iPod

My favorite highlights are:

• At the 3:38 minute mark, the dirt bike riders watch Dan drive up the trail and say, “It’s nice to see someone use a Hummer for what it’s for!”

• At the 6:55 minute mark, the Hummer is right on the edge of the drop off and is balanced on two wheels. Dan and Stacey get past the hard part and make it look easy!

• At the 13:57 minute mark, you can see some dirt bike riders make it up the hill. I used to think that dirt bikes would be easier than off-roading with the Hummer until I saw how tired these guys were.

• At the 18:45 minute mark, there is a photo of a Jeep that didn’t make it through the trail and went over the edge. Unable to retrieve it, the owners have left it to rot in the ravine.

• At the 18:57 minute mark, we are in the Hummer at the point where the Jeep went over the edge. It’s easy for the Hummer, but we laugh about it uncomfortably.

• At the 20:03 minute mark, Stacey asks us if we’re ready to do the Lionsback Trail. I unequivocally answer, “No, no, actually, this is our final, final trip.” Of course, two months later, I’m excited about it again and want to go on Lionsback!

• At the 24:00 minute mark, we are at the watering hole with lots of other people. Dirt bikes, quad-runners and Jeeps have only gone this far and stopped. The driver of the Jeep mentioned to us that he didn’t know it was possible to go any further. I guess you need a Hummer to get past that point.

We had a lot of fun on that trip and are looking forward to our next chance to go off-roading with Stacey and Dan in their H3.

I don’t know how I missed it, but back in 2005, NakedJen went to Disney World and had some insights to share with us. Be forewarned, NakedJen is in fact NAKED, so if you’re at work, don’t click on the link:

• nakedjen: Ten Things To Know About Walt Disney World

My favorite:

When attempting to take a naked picture lying on Mickey’s Bed, alarms will go off. There’s a reason that there is a do not cross sign there. His bedroom really is off limits. The minute you step into his bedroom, loud alarms sound and Disney cast members come running to see what all the commotion is about. They then will discover you standing there half in the room, half out of the room without your clothes on and they will not be PLEASED at all.

In fact, she didn’t actually get a naked picture of herself in Minnie Mouse’s room either. She photoshopped herself into the picture. Considering the crowds of children at the park, I would be shocked if she had been able to get away with it without getting arrested.

I loved this moment while hiking on the Wildwood Trail in Welches, Oregon.

Those little clover leaves taste like sour apples if you bite them. I don’t go around biting flora, but a local said mentioned it to me, so we tried them.

If you are feeling stressed at work, take a One Minute Vacation and watch the clover in the wind.

Where:

Wildwood Recreation Area
65670 E Highway 26
Welches, OR 97067
Google Map

Phone: (503) 622-3696

Take a One Minute Vacation to the Wildwood Recreation Area. While I was filming the latest Walking Video, I took a break and watched the water for a minute. Come along with me and relax by the Salmon River.

Where:

Wildwood Recreation Area
65670 E Highway 26
Welches, OR 97067
Google Map

Phone: (503) 622-3696

I never expect to be able to eat well when I’m in rural areas. I’m perfectly willing to eat in any greasy spoon they offer me, but I am rarely surprised or pleased with the food. Thai Home, in Sandy, Oregon, however, was a delightful exception to the rule.

Mike ordered the Massaman Curry. It was a perfect blend and Mike gobbled it up.

Of course, I ate my Jungle Curry before I could even snap a photo. Yum! It had these peppercorns in it that gave it a spicy flavor.

Our meal came with a sample of this tapioca dish. It was slightly sweet with a hint of cream. I’ve never had a dessert of tapioca, corn and rice noodles, so it was a surprising delight.

If you are visiting the Mt. Hood area in Oregon, you need to eat at Thai Home!

Where:

Thai Home Restaurant 38676 Pioneer Blvd, Sandy, Oregon
Google Map
Phone: 503-668-0779