When I was kid, I moved to Southern California where I spent my school years living in the suburbs. We're talking early 60s now, and this was very much the quintessential American Dream. My dad got two weeks off every year, so we packed up the old Bonneville with my sisters and the dog, and made the trip back to Montana to see my grandparents. Because of that, I always had a love for both the ocean and the mountains, the city and the country, urban and rural life, and was aware of the wide distinctions between them. It's also why I get a little stir crazy if I go too long without my "city fix" as I call it, and why also after just a few weeks there, I'm happy to get back home to our place in the country. The traffic alone is enough to make a person crazy.

But there are a countless things one can't do or see in Montana: swim in the ocean, go to a world-class museum, or visit a foreign country that's completely different in
character (Walmarts notwithstanding!).

On my last trip to the coast I covered 5000 miles and saw many
interesting things. Here are just a few of them.