We were so excited to get to see you in Portland - it was a great and totally amazing experience to hear you read again, and thanks for signing our Stand by Me DVD. My husband can't stop showing it to people!

Glad you had a good trip and nice to see you back on the web.

Welcome back. I visited Monterey a few times for science conferences but never made it to the aquarium. I think I could spend about four hours watching octopi changing colours, and highway 1, for an easterner is a crazy-beautiful-amazing thing.

Glad you're home safe. Thank you for Portland. You rock.

geoster

reading that made me want to visit lots of places.... by the time ive saved up enough to visit the states ill have like a thousand places to visit!!!! its great that you enjoyed the holiday though, and its great to see you back... you just need to head england bound now ya know... ;-)

sara

Welcome back! Glad the book signing was a success! Sure sounds like you guys had mucho fun on your road trip. Looking forward to the pictures. Thanks for the descriptions of places! I travel vicariously throught others' vacation pictures, tales, etc. since there isn't much opportunity for me to actually leave this place.

P.S.
Tell Felix 'thank you' for letting you type your blog entry. :^)

Welcome home, Wil! You have been missed.

Er, before the hoarde of locusts decends upon you, it was in ST IV that Spock got in touch with Gracie the humpback. As I just got back from a 3500 mi. driving trip where only five people came out to hear me discuss my latest book, you still pwn me. (Granted, the five were university professors, and the book is a dissertation on thin-film magnetism. I also will get an ISBN, and I thought of you.) But I did see baleen whales on the On Vacation part of my trip, so that makes up for it.

Mmm, West Coast. wonder what that's like.

-- Draken

Welcome home! Sounds like a great trip.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was skanky the whole time I lived there for college (96-2000). It's too bad, too, because it could be so much better. The large rides are fine, but the atmosphere kinda sucks.

Welcome back Wil. Sounds like a kickass trip. Now, let's play some hold 'em!

I share your fascination with octopi. I volunteer at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre and in our wet lab we had a container in one of the touch pools that had baby octopi. Usually they would hide in shells but occationally they would take a little swim and it was so neat to see them change colour when they rubbed up against the rocks and shells. The babies are tiny and probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Wil,

It was such a pleasure to hear you read and meet you in person. Glad you're back. :-)

Welcome back

Star Trek IV, Wil. Not Star Trek V, Star Trek IV.

It's not that I'm anal about little details like that, I just have never been the first guy to point out a Star Trek mistake to a Trek cast member before. What can I say, it brings a little joy to my day.

It sounds like you got exactly what you needed out of this vacation, that is awesome.. I am still stuck on the fact that you got to play Q*bert! I am so jealous :P
Welcome back Wil :)

Next time you're in this neck of the woods, you might want to check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium, it's pretty cool, especially the behind the scenes tour.
The Hatfield Marine Science center is next door, and you can spend some quality time interacting directly with a GPO*.
If you want a fish-nerd as a guide, I'd be happy to volunteer, and I promise not to be a gushing fanbody. L.E. Modesitt and Joe Haldeman can vouch for me. ;)
Didn't know you were going to Powells, that would have been worth the trip from Eugene.
*Giant Pacific Octopus, the fellow I met, liked to hold hands.

It was wonderful listening to you read, a bit mind-boggling to realize we're the same age... and then I went home and actually read the book. Ended up crying some, it's a timely sort of message for me.

And don't worry... I won't tell the Irish about the little name mix up, if you won't ;)

Thanks for coming to Portland Wil! My wife and I really enjoyed the readings. I'm half way through JAG and loving it. I was proud to represent in my WWDN shirt. Posse on........

Welcome back! Reading your account of San Francisco down to Big Sur really brought back memories ... in June of 2001 my SO and I took an amazing :) vacation and did exactly what you did, up to and including the Winchester Mystery House. We stayed in the redwoods near Santa Cruz in the Brookdale Lodge, which is supposedly haunted but sadly we never saw anything. And I want a Monterey Bay Aquarium in my house, too.

Welcome Back!

Oh, and one more thing. Daaaaaamn, your wife is Super Hot in person. And I mean that in a happily-married-guy-admiring-another-man's-wife kind of way.

While you were in Monterey, you should have taken a hike through Point Lobos State Park. It's an incredibly beautiful place, on the coast just south of Carmel-By-The-Sea. A gorgeous redwood grove runs right up to the shoreline, where the Pacific crashes dramtically against the rocks.
It's something for you to do next time you're in town.

Welcome back, Wil! Glad you had a great time!

Wesley said to tell Felix "meow" for him! =^..^=

Ahh yes, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I think any Bay Area native can recall the excitement of going there and the disappointment of arriving. Yuck.

Sounds like you had a great time and came back rested up!I am looking forward to the pictures

I pass by the Winchester Mystery House almost every day, because I live about 2 miles away from it. And the Monterey Bay Aquarium has become one of my favorite places recently...I could just sit in front of the reef tank (where you probably saw the turtle) for hours. :)

Sadly, all of the comments regarding the Boardwalk are true. It's like a permanent county fair atmosphere with creaky, unsafe rides and scary teeth-optional patrons. At least they still have a Sky Glider ride that enables you to literally and figuratively rise above the huddled masses and the wretched refuse.

It's nice to have you back Wil.

I'm glad to hear the book signing went well! If you ever come out to the DC area, I trust you'll let us know. I'll be there!

Hi Will! Glad you made it back safe and sound. This is my first visit to your website since I first heard about it on Live Journal Syndicate. Anyway, funny thing about being your kids age, you don't quite appreciate the good things in life until you are an adult. Same way how I feel when my father was stationed in England. We visited a lot of places including St. Pauls Cathedral in London (Where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married). Oh man what I give to go back there and share the same experiences with my wife.

Some of the places I did visit which was mention in your journal was the Golden Gate Bridge. I dont' know if you experienced this but if I can recall, the bridge on one end, ends in a tunnel and everytime we drove through there, I could not figure out why people would sound their horns, as if we were in New York. LOL! The drive down the 101 is breath taking. Much better drive then the I-5 where there is nothing but farmland. Just make sure you have cruise in your car when taking that route. :)

Anyway, glad you are back and I hope to read more of your many adventures.

Take care,
Dave

I wanted to move to San Jose a few years ago to become a tour guide at the Winchester Mystery House. I knew the history backwards and forwards, so it's very cool to hear you guys stopped there. I hope you had fun!

Welcome home. We would have loved to see you in Portland, but we were there just a couple of weeks ago, and it's an annoying drive from north of Seattle. Maybe next time....

Give Felix a rub and let him have his space. You can try again tomorrow! :)

The Jelly Belly factory is cool -- it's really eerie to see the Church to the Republican Icons it's become. The large picture of Reagan made entirely out of jelly bellies is... amazing. Penultimate only to the massive collections of Elvis jelly belly portraits, of course.

Good to see you back -- I've been clicking every day since the 10th in waitful anticipation (waitful -- is that a word? I somehow doubt it). But it's good that you got a chance to refill the well like that. Now you'll have lots of new material for the blog.

BTW: Have you seen any advanced copies of Gurps 4th edition yet?

Author, actor, and screenwriter Pamela Ribon has a different take on the book reading/signing at her blog: http://pamie.com/blog/2004_08_15_archive.html#109261847618766013

Take note her response to the discussion in the post comments.

"Okay, everybody, calm down. I have nothing against Wil Wheaton. It was just funny that I was there when he was there, and I was signing copies of my book and he had just done a big ol' reading. It was purely coincidental, and we were sitting next to each other and I thought it was funny that I knew who he was but he has probably never heard of me."

Hi Wil,

My wife and I had a blast at your powell's signing. There are a couple of pics from it on my wife's blog (Wil speaking, and the super nifty Jane White postcart he autographed for us).

http://homepage.mac.com/jessicabeck/iblog/

We also wanted to thank your wife for taking a moment to talk to us after the reading.

You guys rock.

Oh and as we just moved to Portland from Santa Cruz, I completely understand about the boardwalk. It's sad really.

I'm so glad you had a good time on your vacation, we all missed you...

Glad to hear that the trip went well. Exstatic that your back writing. I was feeling silly visiting the site every day, only to be greated by the talking Moose.

Give Felix and extra scratch behind the ears for me.

save the whales baby!!

Glad you are back...can't wait until the 21st.

Wil, Welcome back!

I have to admit I was "jonsing" to read your stuff again... and was happy to see the bloglines notification of your newest entry (even if I am new to your stuff... it is addicting).

Glad you got the chance to take a break.. now never do it again!

;-)

My family and I just went to Jelly Belly yesterday! My daughter(7) loved the jelly bean paintings and jelly bean duck and my son(2 1/2) couldn't get enough of the robot arms in the warehouse! He didn't want to continue with the rest of the tour. And then there were the free jelly beans... Can't beat that. Family trips, they're either the best or the worst!

Glad to see you back Wil. I hadn't realized that I'd gotten so addicted to your site until you weren't posting for this vacation. :)

Pictures I took from said event for Wil and Anne are at .

Wil, you should have visited both the Oregon Vortex and the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot in one trip, and then compared them objectively!

Now I understand why there's a preview button.

The pictures of Wil's signing at Powell's (with pictures of Anne and me as well) are at http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/Pictures/Friends/04-08-Wil-At-Powells/.

Ah, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk... my Dad used to hang out there when he was a kid, so did I. My 13 year old son LOVES the season pass we gave him in June when he graduated middle school.

Some of the rides are fun, some of it is really disgusting. The best, hands down, is the Giant Dipper. The hover bumper cars are a blast too.

In the Boardwalk's defense, think of all the seaside amusement parks that no longer exist. And although the Boardwalk owns most of the land around their site, they haven't been allowed to develop any of it by the city. Reading in the local rags, the Boardwalk wants to modernize and expand, but they can't get approval to tear out the Beach Flats shacks around the area.

Great trip Wil, welcome home!

p.s. - a little traveling tip -it might make a difference. We each take our top pillow to sleep on; it makes the difference between a horrible night's sleep, and one that's merely "not quite home". Yeah, it takes up a little room, but it's worth it. That's the time to put the zebra stripe pillow cases on; so you won't leave your precious personal pillow behind when you leave the hotel.

It's great to have you back!

We had a great time having you for your reading/signing at the Borders in Hollywood on Sunday! It was a great success!

Speaking of your trip, my husband and I actually just moved down to LA from Santa Cruz about a year ago, and I actually used to work at the Monterey Bay Aquarium! It was really the coolest place ever to work, I can't wait to visit again.

The boardwalk, however, unless visited on Mondays and Tuesdays during the summer (rides and certain concessions are only 60 cents) is really disappointing....

Hey Wil,

I wholeheartedly echo your sentiments regarding the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I've been visiting it regularly (every year or so) since my elementary school days, and it just never gets old, partly because they update their exhibits so often, and partly because there really is no other place like the Monterey Bay, and the Aquarium captures the spirit of the Bay as well as it captures its wildlife. The Outer Bay exhibit, in particular, leaves me utterly speechless every time I see it- a million gallon tank stocked with rarely-seen open-ocean species, including those turtles you liked. ;)

-Peter

I'm sure your Italian dinner in Santa Cruz was awesome (esp. if it was at Zoccoli's), but you truly missed out on the finest of SC's culinary prowess by not having a Mike's Mess scramble at Zachary's on Pacific Ave (Downtown SC). next time you go through there, if you ever go back (heh), you positively must try it.

regardless ... welcome back! missed ya!

Welcome back. I'm glad it went well, and looking forward to the pictures!

Hi wil.I only found this web site when i decided to look you up on the net a few days ago.I really loved reading some of the things you wrote and well done with what you have achieved.I look forward to reading more about you.

I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium once about ten years ago and I discovered that five hours is not enough to spend there.

Welcome back, Wil! Glad you and your lovely family had a great time!

Missed ya Wil!

Oh, I just took my visiting in-laws and best friend to the Winchester House on Friday! It was more interesting than I expected. Haven't done the Monterey Bay Aquarium yet (we opted for the closer California Academy of Sciences in SF, which is going to ROCK, o science geeks, when it fully re-opens in 2008).

Anyway, even though I know you must be really busy catching up. you should definitely read this entry by m_cat, which is a cat-based Livejournal humor blog:
http://www.livejournal.com/~m_cat/72578.html
The entry's about you. Kind of.

(Reading back a few entries at http://m_cat.livejournal.com/ might give you some context.)

Keep up the good writing...

Welcome back Wil !! I've missed you terribly. I'm glad you and your family are home safe and sound. Yeah, the poor old SC Boardwalk. It's a pretty sad place. I haven't been there in years and only go to ride the Giant Dipper anyway. I grew up and live near the Winchester Mystery house and had never seen it until a few years ago. You need to take the "Friday the 13th Flashlight Tour". The Monterey Bay Aquarium is awesome. Give Felix a scritch for me. Now get back to work, we need more reading material !!!!

Lorraine

Hey Will,

Just wanted to say that I thought the picture you've taken of Big Sur looks absolutely gorgeous, and I hope you don't mind but I've put it on my desktop.

Glad to have you back,

Chris.

Welcome back. Just wanted to let you know that I've been reading a book about the Ig-Nobel prizes (I started it after I finished JAG) and found an interesting item. The 2000 Ig-Nobel Computer Science prize was won for a product called PawSense. After reading this post, I've decided that it's a bit of software you might find useful. Check it out at:
http://www.bitboost.com/BB_Welcome.html
(My own blog is sporadic and not-too-interesting, compared to yours. But I plan on reviewing your book, soon. Feel free to stop by and say, "Hello."

Finally! (kidding) Man you crack me up sometimes - luddite blog? Holy toledo. I wanted to make it to Portland, but had to write. It's the trade-offs in life that piss me off. Glad to see you back on the blog again. Very glad.

e

Wil,

So glad to have you home; I am sure you had a wonderful vacation. You should take a picture of Felix by your computer and call it "Cat and Mouse." My cat does the same thing. I had to look up "skanky" in a thesaurus--it is actually a word.

Thanks again for sharing your life with us and welcome home.

Freeman :)

Sounds like you spent a fair amount of time on my old stomping grounds - I grew up in Monterey, and from when it opened (in, ummmmm...1983? Summer before I hit seventh grade, anyhow.) until I turned 18, our family had a pass which meant I could go in there whenever I wanted. Many was the Saturday where I would kill $5 in quarters at the arcade down the street, and then kill a couple hours at the Aquarium, before calling Mom for a ride home. :)

Sad to hear that the Boardwalk has gone downhill...that's another happy memory of my childhood...and as great as you thought the Big Arcade was...it used to be _better_. That arcade used to be famous as the place where Old Arcade Games Went To Die...you could play games there you simply couldn't FIND anyplace else anymore, and they always seemed to have one or two of those games that were in such limited release (The Adventures Of Major Havoc) comes to mind, that theme parks were the only places that had them.

Between that and the girls running around in swimwear, it was a good place to be an adolescent male. ;)

Hey Wil,
Hopefully next time you'll head to Edmonton,Alberta, Canada for a book signing - we are all dying to hear you read up here!
Glad you had a great trip. Do you actually feel relaxed after all that DRIVING? LOL! I believe there's a difference between refreshed and relaxed and I hope you're both.

Welcome back wil!! we all missed you!

Do you draw huge crowds just walking around? I'm going to Gen Con tomorrow, and I can only imagine the mayhem!

I love going back now, and doing things that I couldn't do when I was a kid. Being able to explore, or eat stuff that's bad for me. Sometimes it's a mixed bag, because it's not as fantastic or filled with magic as it was when I was younger. Sometimes though, it has its own kind of grown up magic.

Hey, Wil, Welcome back! Glad to hear that the vaction turned out so well. It sounds like fun. My parents live in Portland so one of these times I'll try to be there when you are. My cats are always walking across my keyboard and then sitting on my hand when it is resting on the mouse. It sure makes typing interesting. Give Felix a scratch for me.

I saw Wil @ Powells. He did not suck. I did though. To be sure he remembered me I pitched myself on the floor at his feet. Wouldn't you know it?
(www.knightwriter.blogdrive.com)
Why is it when you want to be cool, you are a complete idiot?
Wil you rock. even if we didn't get that picture.
*GGG*

Dammit, how did I not here that you were in Portland? I went to the Vortex on a road trip to San Diego once, but we got there after they'd closed. Hope you had better luck!

Hey Wil... sounds like a wonderful time with your family and for your authoring career.

I'm the guy that missed the entire Hollywood signing on Sunday. Thanks for bein' cool, as I knew you would be, when I came up to you on the patio sometime after it was all done. [I actually drank some sort of mocha thing to kill time whilst you ate a late lunch. Coffee... it's okay. I guess. LMAO]

So glad Border's had a few signed copies for us late comers. And thank you for signing some in advance for the tard[y]s, like me.

Mostly bummed to have missed your readings! I sure hope an O.C. signing gets set up like you mentioned it might.

Laters... and just Tivo past the two bad plays you made on WPT!

It was great seeing you in Portland, Wil! Thanks for signing my girlfriend's book. I definitely got a few punch holes on our relationship card. I'm sure I'll get a free sandwich soon.

The SC Boardwalk has actually improved over the last couple years... the kid's section (under the log ride) was totally revamped in the last couple years and looks much better than it did before. We always stuck to the arcade when we went, there's a great South Park pinball machine in there (and a ST - TNG one too!) The beach, though, is touristy and dirty... Twin Lakes on the other side of the harbor is a much more family friendly place & it has rings for bonfires too.

But take a look at "The Lost Boys" sometime, you'll see the people haven't changed much since that was filmed.

I had no idea that town had Stand By Me 'tours'!
Dammit...now I need to go. That will always be one of my favorite movies ever!

Hey, Wil--

I hate to feed the Voice of Self-Doubt any more than it already feeds itself, but if you went to the aquarium on the second-to-last day of your trip it wasn't the penultimate day (which would be the last but one), but the antepenultimate day (two days before the last). Unless you're using "second-to-last" in the sense of "next-to-last."

(There. Have I confused the issue enough yet?)

Anyway, great to have you back again, glad that the trip was good. And give me a shout if you're ever going to be in or around Chicago doing a reading. Just a Geek absolutely rules, and I'd love to hear you read from it live.

Hey Wil!

Hope you had a good vacation, always kinda sucks for a vacation to be over, but always good to be back home in my experience. Saw you up in Portland at Powell's. Got there a bit late, but that's what you get when take the wrong exit and get caught in Portland's fantastic rush hour traffic when driving like a maniac from Eugene...lol. Really happy to see you dug the Prisoner sign I duplicated. Always wanted one myself, but knowing you were a fan I printed an extra for you. I didn't want to bring the line to a screeching halt while I told you all about how I made it, but I will say it was a trick tracking down the right picture. Once I loaded it all into Illustrator to add the text, it was a snap to finish.

Thanks again for the autographs on the books and I agree with the poster who says you and your family should visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium next trip up. Also, having lived for SEVERAL (read - too many) years in Southern Oregon (K-Falls), a good place for a hot summer day is Lake of the Woods. Lots of fond memories from there. I couldn't tell you to save my life how to get there now, but it's worth finding on a map. If you're in that part of the world, probably worth checking out too if you're visiting that part of Southern Oregon.

Hope the iBook gets back to you ASAP. Take care! Vote for Number Six! ;)

Brian

I have a great picture of an octopus attacking my arm while I was teaching a SCUBA class in S. Florida that I'll have to dig out now.

Welcome back, Wil! Glad you had fun... I can't wait to see the pics of Brownsville. Stand By Me is one of my favorite movies and it will be interesting to see what the town looks like now. :o)

Wow, you've been back for, like, five minutes and you've got 71 comments. Big show-off.

I haven't commented here before, but I thought I'd join the conversation today since it seemed to be the thing to do. Wil, glad you're back. I'd been tuning in recently and was slightly distressed to see you disappear. Very pleased you had such a great book-tour-slash-vacation.

My mom lives in McCloud, CA, and I do believe it was Engine 25 of the McCloud River Railroad that chased you and the boys across that trestle. On one of my trips there in 1994, my then-boyfriend and I drove out to visit the trestle. Went and stood in the middle of it and took pictures of each other there. (I'll have to scan and post those one of these days.) Have you visited there? A stop for your next west coast tour, perhaps.

Now, see, I feel like a total weirdo because my family and I LOVE Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We love the skankiness of it, the whole bit. I spend the day assessing how much flesh can be bared before one crosses the line, counting tattoos, etc. It's fun!

Glad someone already posted the link to Pamie's blog entry about you. It's worth reading, both the post and the comments that follow.

Welcome home!

Dude,
What an awesomely fruitful and well-rounded trip that West Coast tour must have been!! I'm sure Corey Feldman never ventured further north than Ojai to yell at his agent nor further south than Dana Point to score heroin.

Hope your tour takes you to Brooklyn some time.

BTW, Santa Cruz Boardwalk is always a great experience when you're tripping on a hit of high powered blotter acid recently purchased from one of the many dreadlocked, patchoulli soaked hippies downtown.

Nice to read you again, Welcome back.

My favorite part of California on my last visit there was going down Highway 1. (A long time ago). I'm glad to see that others beside me appreciate it. Of course I was out having the time of my life, with to other equally broke Okies who turned a college road trip into a memory of a lifetime. I hope to share that drive with my daughter before she goes off to college, but not the same circumstances.

Welcome back, Wil! I'm so glad you had a good time on your vacation.

The comments for this entry are very interesting! So many people from your Portland signing and so many people familiar with Monterey.

Now, what about an East Coast signing tour? 8-)

Welcome back wil. Glad you had a great vacation.
Now when are you going to do a reading in AZ?

Re the Oregon Vortex. There is exactly the same thing in Santa Cruz: http://www.mysteryspot.com

It is a tourist trap but very entertaining. Been there a couple of times already.

Allright dangit, I've waited long enough. WHERE IS FISH ON PART 3? I mean you can't stop at the end of two. You are going to the poker room and thinking about your game and then you get there and...

And another thing...I'm NOT taking the bait on "I saw a turtle." No way.

Forget it.

Seriously.

It's been done.

Hi Will ! Great you'r back again. Sounds like you guys had a great time. Any chance you'd be visiting Europe (The Netherlands)in the near future ? Keep on writing dude, you realy rock.

Leon

Hey Wil, welcome back!

Damn, you came to San Jose? Went to the Winchester Mystery House? I've lived in San Jose eight years and still haven't gone inside, although I have looked around the grounds there.

I have, however, been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium at least six or seven times. That place is incredible. It's really cool to be there with a group of kids who have never seen fish beyond a small tank.

Now you've made me want to go back there ASAP.

god, what i waited for our writer to come back telling us all about the trip!! i made your site my starting page and yeah, reading that you're still on vacation wasn't much news... nevertheless you deserved it - can't wait for mine, so i know the feeling... anyways - glad you're back!!

yayyyyyyy wil saw a turtle :-)

Road trip tip:

If you want to make sleeping in uncomfortable beds a bit less uncomfortable, bring your own pillows. It's amazing how much a difference it makes.

Joel

Hey, Ignore "The Voice of Self Doubt" when it come to the readings. You perform quite well. Welcome back!

There are quite a few places around the states that have similar strange-oddities like the Oregon Vortex.

Here is NY, there is a place where items (cars in particular) roll UPHILL.

What would be nifty is if there was a tour of all these places for us curious folk.

Browser Hijacker Remover

welcome back

Welcome back Will! You were missed. (BTW, I can identify with a cat and the keyboard. Jake the Wonder cat does the same thing to me)

Andrea

I'm so glad to see you back at "work" because you're one of my daily stops in my morning Internet rituals and I was seriously going through a case of Wheaton-withdrawal.

I just wanted to let you know (if you haven't seen it already) that the little blurb from you is in the latest issue of Wizard, the celebrity issue. It's right next to the really sexy ST:TNG Crusher pic, and I forget what page number it's on. Thanks for helping me score another freelance paycheck. ^_^

Welcome back! Kudos to you for saying you were going to be gone too.

Last month, we drove highway 1 from San Fran to beyond Santa Cruz for the first time. It was a spectacular view, and I'm glad you got to share it with your family as well.

I spent a long afternoon at the Montery Bay Aquarium once playing with a Cryptochiton stelleri (http://oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/biodiversity/gumboot/gumboot.html), oogling the jellies, and petting the rays. It's an amazing place and I was only a little disappointed there wasn't a huge empty whale tank on the bayside for George and Gracie. ;)

And Santa Cruz (Santa Carla for Lost Boys fans) was pretty seedy too, but the tacos were memorable.

Welcome back, Wil...I missed your blog more than I thought I would. Thanks for sharing your family vacation memories with us. And when are you gonna come to Chicago?! ;-)

Happily surprised
again a new dawn shines on
bees visit the flowers

It's about time that Powell's figured out that you need to be in the main store! I was saying that to my friend who works at Powells...

Glad you had a great vacation and thanks for coming to Portland to see us :)

Mari (The one in the Candy Striper Uniform)

Glad to see you back, Wil.

Didn't see it in your post, but did you happen to catch They Might Be Giants at the Bite of Oregon in Portland on Friday the 13th? It was a rockin' show. Their new drummer rules. :D

Hey Wil,

Welcome back.

After reading yourlatest post, I have to say:

"Do it man, get a salt water fish tank"

I have one. A bit more work that a freshwater tank, but totally worth the effort. The boys will love it. So will you.

So do it. Just don't get one that big. 100Gallon would be perfect.

Rick

Welcome back, Wil! Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

Reading about your adventure in Northern California gives me envy. I'll be going to San Jose in two weeks. I grew up there, and lived there untill 2000. Every year I went to Santa Cruz, and yes, the boardwalk has changed a lot in its feel in the last 20 years.

I'm glad your back, and that you had a great time with your family!

WELCOME BACK!

Missed you but survived! Glad you had a great time!

so when do we start the hypnosis for you to stop being afraid to fly so you can come to the UK and see the sites and do a con!?

i dont know... all that time in space and you wont get on a plane! *snicker*

Andrea x

How is it my two favorite bloggers (you and Neil Gaiman) go on vacation the same time and return to the web on the same day? I'm beginning to get suspicious. I just can't decide if you are alter egos of the same person, or are secretly working on some diabolical project.

Come on Wil, get yourself over to England!! It's about time those o'reilly people paid for some action over here, after all, I have been bigging you up for years and now and people are starting to talk good things about you!. Plus, we Brits are alot more open minded about star trek and everyone I know LOVED Wesley, you were hot stuff for my age group!

And I still have my Riv an' Wil (my friend Sarah was the River Phoenix nut), scrap book with lots of pictures of your good selve lookin moody that I need you to sign!

Glad you're back

Wil, if you and your family haven't walked across the Golden Gate, I strongly recommend it! Killer views and an up-close-and-personal experience with an Historical Landmark. Well worth doing!

Welcome back, Wil!

We haven't been properly introduced yet, but I'm a One Assed Monkey over at the SoapBox, and just wanted to let you know that I'm loving every minute of posting on the boards :)

I just got back from vacation myself, went up the mountains for a week. It was nice, but I'm glad to be home again.

Glad to hear you had a good time, and that you're all at home safe and sound.

Yeah, I live not too far from Brownsville and it never changes. Small towns are really cool like that. I was freaking out when I first saw "Stand by Me" because I was all like, "OMG. Is that Brownsville?" It's a neat little place--it's loads of fun whenever I go there.

I missed you at the book signing. =( I was up in Portland and I would have gone but I had to go to a friend's birthday party that evening, so I had to leave early. Next time 'round, though!

I think I've beeen to every place you mentioned in your post, Wil--I think you may have put together the ultimate Left Coast vacation! Except you missed the Space Needle, but I won't tell anybody.

I saw a turtle! (sorry)

I live in the East Bay Area and have been to all the Bay Area places you mentioned. Especially the Monterey Aquarium! My husband and I practically live there. We used to work at the Long Beach Aquarium before we moved up north. We also bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge every three weeks. Everytime we do, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be able to live in the Bay Area. Glad you had a wonderful time here!
By the way (& I don't get to visit your site often, so you may have already said this), what type of breed of dogs do you have? I work at an animal shelter and always ask people who have pets.

Abusive comment from 63.198.141.158 deleted.

"loser"??? who can't even spell Wil's name right when trying to slag him? You're an idiot.

I had plans to come see you in Portland from eastern Oregon but had to have salivary gland removal surgery that day. Guess which one I would have preferred?

I wanted to be a marine biologist as a child, too. Must be a California thing. I'm heartsick that I know live 150 miles inland. :(

I could have sworn I read that Stand By Me was filmed in my town of Cottage Grove, OR. I feel really stupid now. I've been bragging that up to my family since I moved here a year ago. Ooops. Oh well, at least I know for a fact that Animal House was filmed here. I'll always have that ;)

Laura: we did film a lot of the train track sequences in and around Cottage Grove. Matter of fact, the bridge we all first walk over near the very beginning of the film is right off I-5, and I stopped there and took pictures when we were on our way up. I loved Cottage Grove. It was really beautiful and quiet when we were there.

A friend of mine is a sysadmin for Powells. She said they're really snobby about who gets to read at the main store.. anyone they think might be too geeky gets booked at a different store. So you must have impressed someone and gained some Cool Points, for what that's worth.

Glad you're back! And, thanks for mentioning Wyoming at "Earnest Borg 9." Yep! We were there. Our first con just because of you!
You're absolutely right, Star Trek con attendees are distinctive(??!!)...Darn! Why did i forget my camara! Oh Well, we got the most important (and only) photo & autograph...yours, of course!!

Wil: First time comment-maker... pardon if you've already covered this elsewhere, but are you planning any Washington DC area signings / readings? Thanks. Love the books, btw.

Welcome Back, Wil! Nice to know the trip was a good one. I just wish I was still in my hometown (Seattle) so I coulda seen you at Powells!

In regards to Michael's post (I haven't seen any response to it yet), "penultimate" indeed means second to last, and that's the way Wil used it.

I've been following this site for a year now. I only recently caught up on all of the old posts. It's so cool to see someone with such similar interests as me (Futurama, The Simpsons, HomeStar, Geekdom, TMBG, etc.). And now the word penultimate. I've been a fan of it for a few years now (how sad it that, I'm a fan of a word). Anyway, unless I'm missing something, he used it correctly.

As someone who lives in Monterey, literally up the street from the Aquarium, I try to be grateful every day that I get to live in such a beautiful area.

Every day, the drive down 1 South into town still dazzles me a little.

The only thing I really hated about Santa Cruz was all the vampires. A trip to Monterey and no mention of Monterey Jack Cheese? Your trip couldn't have been all that wonderful if you missed the cheese. After all, the town was named after it.

Hi, I'm Geri, and I'm a WWDN addict.

Missed you! I checked back the past couple days . . . where is he?!

Now I'm gonna have to take my turning-13-yr.-old up to Monterey Bay Aquarium. I am transported to another time and place in another galaxy when I stand in front of the Jellies or the Kelp Forest. And I love, love, love the Southern Sea Otters -- puppy dogs of the sea, dwindling in number each year.

Glad you are back and refreshed!

Heh. My cat loves to keep me company while I'm on the computer. It's gotten a lot better since we raised the moniter, though.

I am sure that everyone agrees with me when I say welcome back Wil. We missed you here :).

"We ended our day with dinner at some spiffy Italian restaurant in Downtown, and got up early the next day to drive to Monterey, which has always been one of my favorite cities in the world."

i commented on yer buzznet just the other day about how WONDERFUL the Monterey Bay area is. theres just something special in the air, i dont know how else to describe it...it just FEELS RIGHT !...ya know what i mean Wil ?

a place trully kissed by God !

thanx for sharing yer guys wonderful trip with us all, sounds like you guys had a terrific time

I saw ya in Portland. It was cool to shake your hand and actually meet the person I feel I know, from reading so much of the blog stuffage. You're a cool guy Wil. That picture you took with me sucked though! What a dumb look I had on my face. Oh well.... was still a kick in the pants.

-Brady

Hey Wil,

Sounds like you had a great trip.

I was born and raised in San Jose and used to do everything you mentioned all the time. Reading your entry reminded me of how much I miss northern California. LA is cool, and San Diego is beautiful, but traffic just blows.

Next time you're up in San Jose you should check out the Tech Museum of Innovation. I'm sure the kids will enjoy it. They've got lots of hands on high tech exhibits. Their Imax Dome screen is pretty slick too.

Ali

Welcome home!
I live just outside of Monterey and I couldn't agree with you more about the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I love that place and visit as often as I can.

Anyway glad to have you back, we missed you :)

Indeed Wil! I saw a turtle too!

Hey Wil,

Happen to find your blog by accident while talking to a friend of mine in the military. We were talking about Gmail and where he got it on a .mil site and they linked back to yours. Very cool.
I live in Atlanta and always wondered what happened to you after leaving ST:NG (still in reruns here in Atlanta, thank God, haha). Just wanted to greet you and tell you how much I enjoy your blog. No blog on my site yet, just a lot of free speech going on there. ;)

Pax,

Howie

Clever how Will takes a line from a song to use as the title for a Blog Post or other relevance. This one for example:

Put The Message In The Box - World Party

Wil didn't go to Portland or any of those other places he said he did, he was in the Davis County Jail in Farmington, Utah!!

Hey-

I've been going to Santa Crus since I was about 4 ('69)... and it's always been that way. When you are under about 15 you don't really notice it. WHen I went in college it really came home. My parents always griped when I wanted to come ride the Big Dipper that is was "kind of scummy."

But man, I still have to go back even though I'm pushing 40 to ride the Dipper every couple of years.

Hey-

I've been going to Santa Cruz since I was about 4 ('69)... and it's always been that way. When you are under about 15 you don't really notice it. WHen I went in college it really came home. My parents always griped when I wanted to come ride the Big Dipper that is was "kind of scummy."

But man, I still have to go back even though I'm pushing 40 to ride the Dipper every couple of years.

Dag Namnit! I'm not an idjit! THought I had stopped the first posting to correct some spelling quibbles (and any that are left were left there on purpose... yep, that's my story and I'm sticking with it).

If you really enjoyed the aquarium in Monterey, I just found out that they have camping trips inside during the summer. The last one for this year is in a few weeks, so you might try to catch it next year. You bring sleeping bags and camp next to your favorite exhibit. I haven't gone to one, but it sounds pretty cool.

LOL.. When I read the part about Santa Cruz I had to laugh. I took my wife and daughter up there 5 years ago and it was almost the worst. Fortunately a 3 year old is easy to impress, but my wife and I were quite irked by what Santa Cruz has become. I love beach towns, but this one felt like it was dying.

where the fucks your game?go suck kok