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DEAN'S QUARTERLY NEWLETTER, Vol. 9, No. 1, 09/01/2005

HIGHLIGHTS OF SUMMER 2005:

Trip to Washington, Oregon and Northern California:

Although I spent most of my summer at home in Maryland, I did spend 11 wonderful days visiting friends and relatives in the Northwest U.S., plus taking in Crater Lake and Redwoods National Parks. Everything went as I hoped, and for the most part, the weather was amazingly cooperative.

Beginning in Seattle, I caught up with Michael Morales, my travel companion through Ireland and Britain in 1986, and his wife Lorie. Mike and I have had some laughs and sang some songs over the years, and it’s always a pleasure to be in his company.

From Seattle, I took Amtrak down to Portland, Oregon, where I enjoyed visiting my second cousin Misty Johnson and later my second cousin Curt Schneider and his significant other Cathy. Misty had just finished moving to a new home and I helped her with the cleanup, but we also enjoyed a little of Portland’s lively night scene. Meanwhile, Curt and I hadn’t seen each other in over 30 years, so we had a lot of catching up to do.

From Portland, I rented a car and headed toward California, stopping first at Eugene, Oregon, where I got together with Jeff Edwards, my travel companion to Mt. Everest in 1987. It’s the first time I’ve seen Jeff in over a decade, but we both have travel in our blood, so it was fun seeing his slides from back country travel in Kyrgyzstan.

Crater Lake and Redwoods National Parks had more shades of earth tones than I ever imagined. Crater Lake, America’s deepest and the world’s seventh deepest, also has a high level of transparency, which gives it shades of blue that you may have never seen in another water body. The colors seem uncapturable by photography. One has to see it through their eyes firsthand. Likewise, one has to experience the humility of being among the giant coastal redwood trees to put time and space into perspective.

Finally, I caught up with cyber pal Susan Stein, who I met in Spain and traveled with in Laos, and her friend Tim at their home in Arcata, California. Aside from enjoying their hospitality, Susan’s great cooking and three lords-of-their-own-domain house cats, Susan introduced me her friends and to her fascinating community of Arcata, situated among the Redwoods on the northern California coast. Our visit together also featured a trip down to the coast to the Reggae on the River festival where Tim performed with his Afro-Cuban jazz rock band. The scene of 30,000 people camped on a shallow river bed (in 100+ degree heat) for a big party seemed in some ways reminiscent of Woodstock.

Their town of Arcata is rated near the top of America’s finest small arts towns, and its left leaning politics has occasionally gotten it national attention, for example, when its city council voted to defy the Patriot Act by refusing to support the efforts of the FBI to obtain library and bookstore purchase records of its citizens. The town also has a notable anti-corporate population that has favored mom-n-pop shops over the Walmarts, Starbucks and McDonalds of the world.

What a great trip it was! If you ever head to the Northwest U.S., to avoid the frequent cloudy rainy days west of the Cascade Mountains, definitely the time to go is mid-summer, when the days are more typically sunny.

My address in Maryland (since autumn 2004): Telephone numbers:

Dean Oman Home: 301-931-1144

10405 46^th Ave., Apt. A204 Work: 301-504-2317

Beltsville, MD 20705

For those wishing to visit Washington DC, my new location is not nearly as convenient as my old place, which was within easy reach of all the attractions. Still, friends and family are always welcome, and my new apartment is larger and more comfortable than others I have had.

Movie Review Page (No reviews have been added since spring 2005)

COMING UP NEXT QUARTER (Autumn): Trip to Toronto and Minnesota

Check in and let me know what’s up with you.
You can contact me by clicking on this E-mail address: mail@deanoman.com.

Review previous newsletters:

Spring 05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 4, 06/01/05 – Joshua and Dean’s Great European Adventure

Winter 05 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 3, 03/01/05 – Minnesota and Bahamas

Autumn 04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 2, 12/01/04 – Boston, Orlando, plus new digs in Beltsville, Maryland

Summer 04 – Dean’s News Vol 8, No. 1, 09/01/04 – Toronto, Minnesota, San Diego, Chicago

Spring 04 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No. 4, 06/01/04 – Italy, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, New York City

Winter 03 – Dean’s News Vol 7, No. 3, 03/01/04 – Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Arizona

Autumn 03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 2, 12/01/03 -- Minnesota

Summer 03 -- Dean's News Vol 7, No. 1, 09/01/03 -- California and Toronto

Spring 03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 4, 06/01/03 – Minnesota, Boston

Winter 03 -- Dean's News Vol 6, No. 3, 03/01/03 – Arizona, California and Colorado

Best wishes to all,

Deano

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