day eight: end of the road

Today we reached the end of our travels as we rolled into San Francisco around dinnertime, got the oil changed in the Highlander and checked into our airport hotel. Today's drive took us down another fairly boring stretch of I-5 from Redding into San Francisco. At one point we actually back-tracked a bit to hop onto 162 because it looked (according to my awesomely old-school AAA map) as though it would have taken us up through the redwood forests. We drove up 162 for about a half hour, started down another stretch of two lane road through the foothills and realized it was starting to storm and the road ahead looked pretty ominous. We also noticed that our Bitch in the Box (aka GPS) now told us we would be arriving two hours later than we originally expected. We sat there debating for a few minutes, then turned around and headed back the way we came, down 162 to I-5. About 45 minutes later we realized it was a good move when we looked to our right (out over the mountains in the distance) and saw nothing but black clouds and what appeared to be large scary-looking storm cells. Later at dinner we saw on the news that there had been tornado warnings in that area, and - see what you think- I may have accidentally taken a picture of one....hmmm...good thing I didn't know it at the time or I would have been *slightly* freaked out.

Dinner tonight was at the Crowne Plaza because we were simply too tired of driving in the city to venture back out, and we had just filled up the car with gas and gotten the oil changed for Mark- it was time to be done. And knock me over with a feather- this was one of the top two dinners we had the entire time! We ordered West Coast Fish Tacos, which were comprised of seared ahi tuna, mango salsa, and baked avocado slices, wrapped in lettuce leaves and drizzled with a lime chipotle aioli. FANTASTIC!! I absolutely have to learn how to make these puppies at home.

About an hour later we got word that Mark and Gwen had arrived, so we ventured over to the airport and picked up the four of them (Mark, Gwen, Everest and Sierra- world traveler canines extraordinaire). The six of us- along with two dog cages, a cooler, and Mark and Gwen's luggage- all crammed into the Highlander and jetted back over to the Crowne Plaza for a nightcap before they headed up the road to Wine Country for the next few days. It was so great to see them and relax a bit before they hit the road and eventually join us *permanently* in Ohio at the end of the month.

Mom and I fly home tomorrow, and what a fantastic journey this has been. If you've been reading along, a great big thanks for following me through twelve states, countless highways and rest stops, and the most amazing parts of the country I've ever seen. This was a trip I'll never forget, and I truly enjoyed sharing my thoughts along the way and my "shots across America." Signing off now from San Francisco...

day seven: oregonia to california

Today was the official day of Food Redemption. After a particularly awful cheeseburger last night in Portland (we failed to heed Jeff's recommendation for dinner because we really wanted a burger instead- BIG mistake), we totally redeemed ourselves by taking his breakfast suggestions today...Kenny and Zuke's Deli (home of the infamous "Body by Pastrami" t-shirts), followed by a perfect cappuccino and almond biscotti from Stumptown Coffee Roasters. I'm here to tell you- this morning we hit one out of the park. My zucchini, tomato and swiss omelet at Kenny's was absolutely stellar. Mom had cheese blintzes topped with fresh fruit compote- seriously, when did this become a food tour of America?? Oof, it's starting to feel that way (*burst*)...

At the peak of my post-breakfast culinary high, I was excited to try out Stumptown for a couple of reasons: it's owned by Matt Lounsbury, a fellow Wittenberger who (and this is entirely unrelated) assisted in my first rappeling experience, even though quite honestly he probably doesn't remember it, but I do since I practically needed pushed over the edge of the cliff. That's neither here nor there, but Jeff (a friend of Matt's) has been talking up Stumptown for a while now, so I was pretty geeked to try it. And it did not disappoint. There was even a tiny and beautiful latte art heart in the foam. And the biscotti - oh my, all I have to say is, "nom nom."

Leaving our breakfast utopia behind us, we headed south on I-5 out of Portland. The drive was awful in spots because it was downpouring for most of it. Twisty mountain roads + rain + giant logging trucks = a white knuckle driving experience. But we made it in one piece and ended the evening at a tapas restaurant and wine bar in Redding, California where we had the most amazing dish EV-ER. It was a baked cheese pastry consisting of melted Spanish white cheese, quince, and puff pastry drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Oh. My. Word. It was amazing. Pair it with a Malbec and voila- instant heaven on earth.

During the journey today, I started thinking about people (as I typically do, especially on long car rides), and that led me to some serious musing over connectedness in general. I think it all started with the Body by Pastrami shirts in the Portland deli, and remembering that when I was in New York a couple of weeks ago, Ben showed me a picture of a woman wearing one of those shirts. I couldn't believe how crazy it was that I somehow ended up in that very same deli today, all the way across the country, completely by chance. And that led to me feeling overwhelmingly grateful that I've reconnected with old friends recently. I even found out (while at breakfast at Perkins in Spokane) that my friend Megan just had her second baby- and I didn't even know she was pregnant. I regret how I've been too busy, too complacent, too "whatever you want to call it" to make a consistent effort to keep in touch with all of the people who matter to me. I have my immediate circle of friends who I talk to regularly, but outside of that, somewhere along the line it has become shamefully easy to let a day, a week, a month, a year go by without making an effort. And I want to stop that... because these recent experiences with people who matter to me are memories I would have missed out on had I not taken that first step and made an effort. In our daily lives, it's all too easy to just go through the motions and take the beaten path- we don't contact people because it's too much work, or maybe we decide ahead of time that they won't be able to get together anyway, so we just let relationships go, and they slowly and sadly fall by the wayside.

I hope in the coming days, months, and years I continue to change that course. I hope that if someone crosses my mind, I'll actually pick up the phone or send an email rather than thinking, "I should really contact them sometime..." It's not difficult, and you never know, it could lead to a phenomenal experience, a new memory, or a reconnect that both people need more than they know. Seize the opportunities to let people know they matter- that's my thought for today. Chew it over with some cheese and puff pastry.

Onward to San Francisco tomorrow, our final destination...

day six: seattle v. portland

I'm super tired tonight so I'm going to make this brief. Here are today's pics- it was a great opportunity to experience Seattle and Portland back to back, literally in the same day. I was able to compare these two cities which prior to this week had been kind of "mystical faraway lands" in my head...I wasn't sure which I would like better, if either, but I have always felt like I would really enjoy living in the Pacific Northwest so I've had a lot of curiosity about these two cities in particular.

Seattle blew my socks off yesterday and this morning. I felt instantly connected to it, and very comfortable there quite quickly. Last night's exploring about town on my own left me feeling confident navigating around this morning (and I directed us to Lola for a spectacular brunch of spinach and feta omelets, fried garlic potatoes and cucumber lemonade). There was something so quaint about Seattle, and something so familiar, that it just felt like home.

The drive to Portland down I-5 took about 3 hours (in traffic) and it wasn't incredibly scenic, just a lot of cars, and a lot of highway. Our hotel here is a Kimpton hotel called the Hotel Vintage Plaza and it's by far my favorite place we've stayed so far. Everything is right up my alley, from the Italian restaurant downstairs called Pazzo (which had delicious tiramisu) to the wine bottle decor. It's an older building that feels new because they have done an extremely good job maintaining it and keeping it current. Very classy.

This afternoon was delightful...we met an old friend of mine from college for drinks and a light late lunch next door to our hotel. It was so great to see Jeff and catch up since it had been about three years since I saw him last. He was also able to give us some recommendations on where to go and what to do in Portland. He told us to check out the Rose Garden and the city's Pinot Noir- apparently they have great Pinot here. We sat outside and had some afternoon cocktails and some Thai food, soaking up the sun and laughing for a couple hours until it started to rain suddenly and we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I then came upstairs and napped off the few brews I'd had, and got ready to head back out to dinner.

Overall I'd say Portland isn't my favorite of the two, but I also don't feel like I've seen a whole lot of it. Seattle just seemed clean and cool, trendy but smart, and full of places to go and things to see. Portland was pretty closed up- all the bars and restaurants were closed, but it could have been the holiday today- there just wasn't anyone around.

I do like that people get around here on bikes- it's seriously the bicycle capital of the Northwest. Everywhere you look there are people cruising by on bikes (some without brakes, which I think are called "track" bikes). Anywho....I said this would be brief, and now I'm even more tired and it's time to call it a night. Night y'all!

day five: not enough time

Seattle is completely awesome- it's like a hybrid of Manhattan and San Francisco, all rolled into one. I know I'm working backward today but I can't help it because this is where I am, and it's what is fresh and most relevant in my mind today. At the risk of this sounding like another "we started the day there, and ended up here" blog post, I'm just going to briefly say (for memory's sake) that we started out in Spokane and somewhere around 280 miles later we ended up in Seattle. There was a lot of nondescript flat Washington along the way, at least until we reached the Snoqualmie Pass area (where the scenery actually began looking more like Washington SHOULD look). Don't laugh, but I actually typed a Google search into my phone today that said, "Where the hell are all the redwoods?" It did not turn up any results- at least none worth sharing.

Some noteworthy things about my day in no particular order- please forgive the ADD tonight... Dinner at "serious pie." which consisted of an amazing buffalo mozzarella and tomato basil woodfired pizza, accompanied by Spire Mountain hard apple cider- YUM; Stopping to take some panoramic shots overlooking the Columbia River - this is where I shot the "Watch for Rattlesnakes" sign, which gave me a good laugh due to my whole theory that street signs often give us relevant life advice; I also picked a sprig off of a plant there, and I'm wondering what it is - it smells like some sort of herb that is used in a lot of spa oils- almost like eucalyptus it's both medicinal and fresh; Walking the streets of Seattle by myself this evening, chatting on the phone, with an "original" Starbucks chai latte, pretending to be a local (I even gave someone directions).

I walked down to Pike Place Public Market tonight, but most everything was closed up since it's Sunday night, so we're going to head back down there tomorrow (and watch them throw fish at people) and then have brunch at a highly recommended place called Lola. I did take a cool shot of the Public Market sign tonight, and then a couple hours later realized it looked awfully familiar...turns out it's almost the exact same shot as one of the stock photos on the Picnik homepage!! So cool that I didn't realize that until after I shot it and examined it more closely.

I so wish I had more time in this city, which quite honestly feels somewhat familiar already. I can't remember much else about my day, other than a magnificent walk/dinner/evening/marathon phone call in a city I will definitely make a point to revisit. Cheers from Seattle...

day four: post script

Ok, this morning (day five) I woke up and was messing around with more of the shots I took yesterday and I got so excited about a few of them that I had to post them as a P.S. to yesterday's blog. It's too beautiful not to share, and I hope anyone who happens to stumble across my blog today enjoys them as much as I do...

day four: soul food

Today was exceptional. Period. We began this morning leaving Great Falls on our way to today's eventual destination, Spokane, Washington- stops along the way included Browning, Kalispell, Glacier Park, and the Great Divide. In Browning, we drove past the hospital where Mom used to work 40 years ago; she pointed out where she used to live, and marveled at the way things had changed yet stayed so much the same. There were also more dogs in this town than anywhere I've ever been in my life- every yard had a dog, every truckbed had at least two, and they all seemed to know each other. Dogs would run along beside trucks, yapping at the other dogs in the truck. I also learned that there aren't any cats there because they, um, eat them. Hmmm. The other thing I noticed today is that the Northwest is rampant with what I refer to as "Espresso shacks"- which seem to be the startup business of choice. Get yourself a teepee, an old train car, a storage shed, or a camper, slap a homemade "Espresso" sign on the side, and you've got yourself a money-maker. You think I'm kidding about the teepee- I'm not. I saw one in Browning. Enough about that...moving on to Glacier Park...

There aren't words to describe how remarkable and breathtaking the landscape was along the drive through Glacier Park. I've never seen anything as enormous and awe-inspiring as the Rocky Mountains up close. I've been to Denver a few times, and I lived in Telluride, but the Rockies seem puny when you're not actually in the midst of them- today, they commanded respect. Glacier Park was the most unbelievable sight I've possibly ever seen, and it reminded me how small and mortal we are. It was utterly humbling. The air in the mountains was so clean it was like breathing new life directly into my soul. Every breath I took today, and every sight I drank in was renewing, cleansing...grounding. I was also kind of ashamed of myself for not making a point to come out here before now, and that I have taken for granted the fact that it's here. I can't believe I've never greeted it before in person. I have always felt a deep connection to the earth, and I've always believed in the unique harmony of all living things- but today, I actually felt it resonate throughout my core. At one point in Glacier Park I was almost moved to tears by the sheer beauty of it, and I stood there stunned, speechless, knowing I could try to capture it on film but that I would fail because no snapshot could possibly do it all justice. I tried though, and I hope what I shot today conveys in some small way how incredible and truly great this planet is, and how lucky we are to call it home.