My Travels

This *might be my last trip to Mammoth for this snow season. I grabbed a couple of people to head up for a very short trip up to Mammoth given the amount of snow this past week. With such short notice, I was able to book a room at the Motel 6 Mammoth Lakes . Since we only stayed in the room for five hours to sleep, I don't have much to say about the place. It is a rather large facility and reminded me of an older apartment building. The rooms were serviceable and cozy. It is always a hit and miss regarding toiletries in these types of lodgings - soap yes shampoo no. Tromped out in the morning to enjoy the excellent snow conditions on the mountain. On our way back, I visited Upper Crust for the first time this season and missed our usual waitress. The food continued to be as good as memory served but don't eat the tiramisu. If you get a chance, grab the coupon from their website to save 10%.

"This posting is out of sync as I forgot to put this up before the Mammoth posting..." Went to DC on a lark, visited some friends and family. Since it was a short weekend trip (bolted out of Santa Barbara to catch my redeye flight), didn't really expect to do much. I was lucky enough to get free transport between Dulles and the capitol area with a pit stop at a family acquaintance home. Walked around the Mall area and visited the National Museum of American History , cruised past the National World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument . Although it was late January in DC, the weather was fantastic. A very brisk 60 degrees made the sightseeing manageable and the crowds were not overwhelming. Bunked down at the Capital Hilton . The hotel was undergoing some renovations and most of the upper floors were under construction. The room I was given smelled musty and hopefully that will be resolved once the remodeling is done. The next day, strolled over to Old Ebbit

With the recent storms in California, I decided to make a day trek up to Mammoth and check out the snow conditions. Left late in the evening towards Mammoth and was planning on making an overnight stay in Bishop. Unfortunately, I was too tired to get past Lone Pine. After stopping at several lodging facilities in town, the Dow Villa Motel was our best option at $55 for the night. The front desk person was willing to give me 10% discount after some chit chat and it being almost midnight. The room was spartan but very functional. If I had to stay in Lone Pine, I would be willing to stay here again. Headed up to Mammoth mountain the next day, stopping in Bishop for some snowboard repairs. Had a blast snowboarding even though the snow was a bit packed and not enough powder for my taste. After leaving the mountain, stopped in Bishop again to eat some bread and crunch cake from at Erick Shat's Bakery for the road trip home.