Ngong Ping Village

I had one last trip to take before ending my time in South Korea and Hong Kong seemed like a good choice. That’s the greatness of Asia, everything is so close together, flights are always going to be fairly cheap.

My first adventure was riding a 3.5 mile long gondola over the mountains.
It was real high folks. It’s $255 HKD to ride the Ngong Ping 360, which is about $32 US dollars. The exchange rate made me feel like a Queen.

Ngong Ping Village is host to many tourist traps (yes, there’s a Starbucks), but its main attraction is the Po Lin Monastery.

I loved listening to the monks chanting and singing. So soothing.

It is home to more than 10,000 Buddhas, including Tian Tan Big Buddha, which rests atop Mount Muk Yue and standing 34 meters high (111.5 ft). I saw the golden room of Buddhas and it was breathtaking, but photos weren’t allowed. (cough-google-cough)

No, it wasn’t fun climbing 268 steps.

But the view overlooking the monastery was beautiful.

You can go inside the structure and learn more about Tian Tan and its history. It’s not that old, finishing construction in 1989.

The Big Buddha is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as The Offering of the Six Devas. They represent the six perfections: generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. 

I didn’t fully grasp just how big it was until I saw it from the gondola.

This turned out to be my favorite part of the trip. I prefer seeing the nature/architecture of a city, rather than the city life, but for the first time ever, I was just along for the ride and the itinerary had other plans. But, lucky for me, our next stop was Hong Kong Disneyland Park!

 

Milford Sound

If you go anywhere on the South island of New Zealand, make sure you go to Milford Sound. I would even venture to recommend you plan a week stay there. There’s not much to do, plus the nearest town (Te Anau) is nearly two hours away.

So why stay in a remote area that requires hours of driving on windy roads?

Because it’s beautiful. And one day won’t do it. Ask any local and they will tell you that New Zealand weather is fickle and if you want that perfect, clear day shot, you’ll have to be patient.

Our day was not clear. But I didn’t mind. I liked the mist, it felt very Middle Earth.

We booked our tour with Southern Discoveries  and they were great! Our tickets included lunch, plus we added an additional stop at an underwater observatory. (not an aquarium, which they emphasize)

There was a narrator who gave lots of history and talked about specific waterfalls, but given the thick (and wonderful) kiwi accent and the less-than-awesome acoustics, I couldn’t understand much, but the views were incredible.

I fell in love with the serene and peaceful sounds. I even talked to one of the employees who explained how she came to work in such a remote location.

They are 6-8 month long positions, as the isolation can be quite overwhelming for some. Plus, it’s a great way to save money, since you go into town (remember a 2 hour drive both ways) maybe twice a month.

It would definitely hinge on the work environment and coworkers, but it sounds like a lovely thing to do someday, to get some peace and quiet to write, while showing others just how beautiful this place is.

We kept pulling over on the drive back because the views kept getting better!

As we passed through Te Anau, we stopped to see the Waitomo glow worm caves . I’d love to have photos to show you from this truly astounding sight, but being that it was very dark, and quiet, no cameras were allowed. It felt otherworldly. Glow worms are brutal little monsters, look em up!

The forest surrounding the caves were ridiculously green! Go see it here.

Ok, I am officially closing the chapter on my New Zealand adventures. I could go on and on, but alas, I need to get started on my Hong Kong posts!

I Wanna Live in Wanaka

If there’s one place I could have stayed the entire month, it would’ve been Wanaka.

Surrounded by mountains, this cozy little town was utter perfection. Maybe it was the long bus ride, but this view was exactly what I was looking for in New Zealand. Beautiful skies, rocks, and mountains (what are men?).

I considered abandoning my tour group and filing a change of address. I didn’t want to leave!

Our only night there happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day, so like the traditionalists we were, we ate at a Mexican restaurant. (note to self: regardless of holiday, do not give in to peer pressure and drink the disgusting green drink)

My one mission that I wouldn’t leave Wanaka before completing was finding The Wanaka Tree. This thing has it’s own hashtag #thatwanakatree !! This is one of many many photos I took that day – definitely worth walking a mile in the blazing hot sun in flip flops.

On my walk back to the YHA, I noticed the path I was following was a timeline. As a millennium project, Wanaka wrote the history of the world on 2,000 tiles along the lakefront promenade. Each tile covers the important events, discoveries, and achievements of that year/period. As the timeline approaches the 18th century, facts from the local community start to appear.

 

As we departed from this lovely haven, we were off for more adventures further South! Thank goodness, our driver was a saint when it came to pit stops for photos!!

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Thunder Creek Falls

Fantail Falls

Driving in New Zealand is a true test of the stomach. You may think you’re immune to carsickness, but you haven’t zoomed around these corners on a bus…This was our longest day of driving, and most of it was in the rain. Thank goodness I brought my ipod.

(note to reader/future NZ traveler: There is an evil in the South Island called the sandfly. They are fierce and they are many. Bathe yourself in bug spray, wear long pants/skirts, high socks, and whenever possible keeps your windows closed if you want to avoid being eaten alive and scarred for the next month)

Our final stop was in the eternally wet Franz Josef. An itty-bitty town, made for backpackers, glacier climbers, and people who like to be damp.

I had planned to go sky diving over the Southern Alps here, but was warned that the weather was the ultimate decider. Sure enough, the rain proved too dangerous for any sort of high flying. So we did what everyone does when it rains, karaoke. Oh yes, I melted some faces with my Oh Darlin!  I impressed a Brit, so I consider that a win.

The two days we spent here were a wash (hehe) due to the ever-present rain clouds. But we made the most of it by trying some delicious nutella-filled donuts, carving our own jade jewelry at Te Koha Gallery, and embracing the wetness at the Glacier Hot Pools.

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We left for Greymouth the final day to catch the TranzAlpine railway back to Christchurch.

So what did I think of my week with Haka Tours?

They are extremely helpful, keeping an online messenger on their website should you ever need to ask a ‘silly question’ you can’t answer on the site. My questions ranged from what airlines to use to which boots would work best. My tour guide was super friendly and always keen for an adventure off the beaten path. He definitely made it feel like a road-trip with your mates, rather than a boring tour bus. The price is pretty reasonable, given the US exchange rate, my money definitely went further. $600 NZD was around $400USD. I always felt safe with this company, not that New Zealand is a sketchy place. Everyone I came across was uber-friendly. GO SKY DIVING. It is so much cheaper in New Zealand than the U.S. because of the exchange rate. You can’t afford not to.

I have two things that annoyed a bit, but weren’t total deal-breakers.

• If you don’t want to purchase Extra Activities, you’ll have a lot of downtime
  There is one thing I wish they would’ve been a little more upfront about. There are a zillion things to do on these tours. Skydiving, white water rafting, cliff jumping, hot air ballooning, pretty much anything fun and extreme is within your grasp. These are all add-ons to the tour, time spent away from the group and whatever the tour would be doing normally (if you were the only one who signed up for an activity). But that’s just it. There were no ‘normal tour activities’ for those who opted out of spending their life’s savings on every single activity. We spent two and a half days in Queenstown and I was bored, having done my paragliding early the first day. The tour guide basically leaves you to your own devices, taking the days off. For a 7 day tour, I thought it strange to pay for 2 days of no actual ‘touring.’ I’m not saying I needed someone to hold my hand and show me down every street, but I think there needs to be an organized/planned option/activity for those tour members that choose not to do extra activities.
• Shorter Tours are added on to longer ones
  This may be just me, but as this was my first ‘tour group’, I was looking forward to sharing this experience with a new group of people and possibly make new friendships, or at least ‘vacation friends.’ I chose to go on a 7-day tour called the South LICK tour, which is solely on the South Island. As we met up in Christchurch, I realized I was one of five people joining a group of 11 that had already been traveling together for a week in the North island. There was a clear dynamic of ‘the original group‘ and the ‘add-ons‘. It sounds so high school, but it got on my nerves. Seats on the bus were ‘claimed’ (all adults mind you), rapport was established between the tour guide and the original group, meaning pit stops, music selection, and meal locations were decided. I would have at least liked a say in the decision making. Maybe that’s the draw to tour groups, that you don’t have to make decisions, you just follow the group wherever it leads. Maybe I’m just not a tour group person!

Would I do this again?

Maybe. If I were doing a longer tour and was with a group of my own friends. Going solo, on the trip I selected, is not something I’d like to repeat.

Lake Tekapo & Queenstown

 “Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.”

                 -J. R. R. Tolkien (The Hobbit)

I tell you, I felt like Thorin Oakenshield himself passing o’er the misty hills of the South Island. I am grateful however, that I didn’t have to go on foot.

I haven’t been a passenger on a road trip in a very long time, and it was a hard adjustment. I didn’t control the music (uf, that was a tough one), I didn’t control the stops, and I had virtually no foot room the entire week of traveling. But, complaints aside, the view from my window was pretty great.

Our next pit stop was Lake Tekapo. I could’ve stayed here all week. It doesn’t offer much for entertainment or night life, but the view was spectacular.
The world was quiet here.

We stayed in a YHA (Youth Hostel & Accommodation & Travel) that had a certain charm to it. Despite the dewy musk, I rather liked the communal living. What I did not enjoy was sharing a room with five other people. Did I mention it was co-ed? Yeah, not used to that. I honestly hate sharing my living space. (haha, why did I do this, right??)

After some greasy Chinese food, we headed for a nice soak in the hot springs . It was a great start to the trip, and we girls bonded over a long walk back in the rain.

Sadly, we were set to leave this cove of serenity the next morning, but I managed to sneak a few photos in before they left without me.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, built in 1935, was the first church built in the Mackenzie Basin.

I couldn’t get over how beautiful this place was. It’s the perfect location to disappear for a week or two and just enjoy creation at its finest.

By lunch, we pulled into Queenstown which sits right on the edge of Lake Wakatipu.

Here we stayed in one of Haka Tours‘ hostel locations (yay no dewy sheets!!). The space was much smaller, but the amenities made up for it. We had two kitchens at our disposal, free WiFi, a TV room, and it sat in a prime location just a block from the center of town.

 

We spent two and a half days here, which was a nice break from all the driving. I sampled some New Zealand brew which wasn’t bad! It was a little bitter for my taste, but definitely drinkable. Also tried out the famous Fergburger which was delicious, but the twenty minute order line was a little ridiculous.

On the drive in, I spied some para-gliders overhead and thought it looked fun.

So I did it.

Was it amazing? No, not really. I was looking forward to more….well, just more. I’ve been skydiving before and I think that was the problem. There is no real thrill to para-gliding. The best part was running off the cliff. From there on, you’re sitting in a harness for a few minutes and then you land. I asked my instructor to do as many ‘tricks’ as he wanted, so we spun and rode the wind currents as best we could, but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

This wasn’t their fault at all. In fact, I highly recommend this experience for families, even for kids! There isn’t an age limit as far as I know, just a weight restriction. So young, old, anybody can do this, trust me. It is a very mild ride.

I figured I’d enjoy the view since I was already up here. Got some crepes n’ coffee and did just that.

Queenstown was a quaint little tourist town (dubbed the adventure capital of New Zealand) that I would end up revisiting later that month! (but that’s another story)

As we drove out of town, The Remarkables looked well….remarkable! On to Wanaka!!

Suitcase Life: Arches & Airways

Before leaving Utah, we wanted to make a quick stop in Arches National Park. I could’ve spent a week in Moab just to hike and see as many arches as I could, but alas, we had but a few hours, I was hungover, and there are over 2,000 of them.

We decided to pick the few that were very short distances from the parking lots. It was super hot guys.

From afar, in the center you can see Delicate Arch which is considered the most famous natural stone arch in the world.

Our next arch was in a random patch of sandy dunes, a natural choice for those seeking a pretty easy trail for the already light-headed.

Sand Dune Arch

Some of us were not as excited about the sand.

I wish I would have been more energetic that day, the landscape was incredible.

A little further down the trail was Broken Arch, my favorite.

This thing was steep. Sarah is basically a spider monkey and practically walked right up. Me, being the unsteady photographer, had to grit my teeth and hope I didn’t die running upwards.

What was even more terrifying was letting a complete stranger hold my very expensive camera to take this photo. If they ran away with it, there was no way I’d catch them from up here.

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In spite of the heat and the complete lack of electrolytes, I was quite proud to witness such a beautiful piece of nature.

And we were off, waving goodbye to the strange rocks of Utah and Eastwards to Colorado…

By far, the cutest thing we saw on the very long, boring drive to Castle Rock, CO.

We stopped in Vail for dinner and leg-stretching. Truffle fries, while delicious, were a terrible choice.

Sarah and I had worked together, but never got on the friend-level at Disney, so it was nice to get to know her better on this mini-trip. She made me want to re-think my career goals, owning a beautiful home at 26, but I could never be a dental hygienist…

After a fun day of shopping, I was back in the air and back to my home-ish area in D.C.

Suitcase Life: Bells, Bouquets n’ Boots

Now on my second month of travel, I arrived in Denver, Colorado for yes, another wedding. However, this time I was in the bridal party.

The bride-to-be and I had worked together at Disney and fell in friend-love immediately. When I needed a little crazy in my life, she was the one to call. And if she needed someone to pick her up in the middle of the night and hold her shoes, I’d be on it.

We had the Bachelorette party in Grand Junction (a four hour drive from the airport). This was a quiet town, and even quieter on a Wednesday, but we made our own party. We walked to Volleys, a volleyball bar. Guys, these exist. It was amazing.

Afterwards, we needed karaoke, but the not-so-nice DJ clearly avoided our requests in favor of the locals. Hey man, I get it, but c’mon…

Luckily, he let the ladies close out the night with “Red Neck Woman”

We only lost one girl, but she was fine. She wanted to go home and sleep in her bed rather than share the hotel room. SMART. I was the party-mom and got everyone slowly but surely back to the hotel.
I am a jedi with drunks. The guiding force is with me.

The next morning, groggy and hungover, we got manis and pedis. Thank heaven for massage chairs.

We drove across the border to Moab, Utah. This place is beautiful, guys. I felt like I was stepping into an old Western. But most importantly, it’s where I got to meet this little handsome man!!

For just having a baby, the bride was looking dang good. Baby boy was too! We were pals right away, we even drove out to the wedding site together. It was a gorgeous drive, but it was also long, twisty, and incredibly rough. I feel for everyone who drove with a low-seated car or camper. The ‘roads’ were more like pot holes with random flat spots. I got lost twice.

Once we were out in the middle of nowhere, I couldn’t stop taking photos. The view was incredible.

This is Castle Valley. If it looks familiar, well it should! This area is used quite often for filming locations.

John Wayne had several films here (see it in the back)

As well as Thelma & Louise, John Carter, The Lone Ranger, Galaxy Quest, Mission Impossible II (ugh, the worst one), and the marvelous Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

This was the view from the bride’s family cabin. We were out in the La Sal Mountains, just outside of Moab, Utah. Breathtaking, to say the least.

It’s always weird meeting people for the first time, especially when you all kind of have to be friends for the bride’s sake. Fortunately, we all got along pretty well. Whether it was the happy-wedding vibes or the steady flow of champagne, we’ll never know.

Waking up to this was marvelous. I highly recommend taking a trip out here. Camp, stay at the lodge, go horseback riding, or visit the film museum. There’s even a winery! I definitely plan on coming back here someday to hike some trails take it all in. (and we both know when I say hike, I mean walk a little and take photos)

One of my fellow bridesmaids, Sarah (another former Disney coworker) couldn’t bear another minute without cell service. So we snagged one of the dune buggies and set off to find some bars. Trouble was….we didn’t pay attention…or look how to get back…

Though the views were gorgeous and awe inspiring, we were starting to get a little worried.

Getting lost in the middle of nowhere is scary enough, but risking the wrath of a bride getting married later that day??
I think our fear led us back.

We all made our own bouquets from the local foliage, plus some red and orange daisies.

All primped and pretty!!

As the time drew nearer, the nerves set in. I wanted everything to go perfectly for her. I wrapped the bouquets in burlap, lent her my favorite songs to walk down the aisle to, and put on her veil. By the end of it, I was a blubbering mess.

Never have I needed to keep it together more and failed completely. I cried the whole ceremony. Hopefully they were the gorgeous, Top Model tears that gently caress your cheeks…

They said I do and the party began! The newlyweds had to kiss every time someone rang the bell.

I’m so glad I decided to bring my camera. These two were way too cute.

Once the keg was flowing, it was rough getting anyone to stay still for a photo…

Bridal Growlers for the Happy Couple. (They’re doing it right)

This is the right way to wear a wedding dress. It’s one day, ladies. The dress is merely a tool to show the world what you already know; you’re hot and off the market.

The groom was already getting silly, and the night had only just begun!

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It was such an incredible weekend. We all felt so close by the end of it. You bond over things like: whiskey, keg stands, and late night snacking on food-you-would-really-regret-eating-later-that-night.

At one point, Sarah and I needed a midday nap. Cowboy boots are rough, and hot! (my feet were a’cookin in the Utah sun!)

While I probably had one of the best times ever at a wedding, being in the bridal party is hard work. It may seem like a party, but there’s a lot of planning and holding-the-dress-while-she-pees that goes into it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but I’m fine waiting a few years for the next one.

Packing up, Sarah and I prepared to leave for Colorado. She lived just outside of Denver and graciously offered to drive me back to the airport. However, she couldn’t leave without a selfie with the fearless cows on the gravel road.

This is selfie-commitment guys.

Back on the road again….

Suitcase Life: Seaside Oasis

If you are looking for a quiet coastal town, with beautiful coastlines, wonderful people, and the ability to walk everywhere, Seaside is your gig.

I had come here once before with just my parents a few years ago. When she suggested bringing everyone there, I quickly jumped on board, especially if it meant I could take my car on another road trip! (I really missed her – my car – her name is Coco)

After stopping at Cannon Beach to eat at Mo’s, (see here) we made our way north, BUT we ALL had to pee. The only thing in sight was a tiny winery with a sign saying, ‘Not a Public Restroom.’So we did some wine tasting first, flashed my adorable nephew’s smile and got to pee.

Mom found a great spot in Seaside right off the water that rented condos.

The decorations may have been a little dated, but that’s just coastal Oregon for you. They live outside of time.

With two rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room, it was plenty for the 6 of us. (well, 5 and a half. My nephew isn’t that big, plus there was a pull-out couch-sorry bro)

Waking up to this was pretty amazing. I love the sound of the waves. I plan to retire on the Oregon coast (unless I find a place in the world just like it). My days will be filled with writing, drinking copious amounts of coffee and wine, wearing leggings, fuzzy socks, and messy buns. My only requirement is a view of the bitter cold Pacific.

This view wasn’t terrible though. I loved having a hilly horizon again. Living in Florida and then D.C., I was lacking in the awe-of-nature department.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a family vacation without a rousing game of Scrabble. This lasts a minimum of four hours because my family is so dang competitive (and my dad takes 10 minutes a turn). But we load up on snack bowls and popcorn and laugh and giggle our way through it.

Our last morning before check out, I decided to try a quick watercolor of the view. It may not be a Monet, but it was a relaxing way to greet the day.

Seaside has lots of things to do for the family. Carousels, mini golf, bumper cars, hiking trails, scavenger hunts, etc. It’s also just really pretty to walk around in.

I missed living 40 minutes away from this little bug. My nephew is truly the love of my life right now. He could ask me for every cent in my bank account, every book on my shelf, every piece of clothing I own and they would all be his. Instead, he’s happy to read stories with Auntie and snuggle. He’s just perfect.

It was our first family vacation as adults. Meaning we were all out of the house, living our lives, some with their own families. Coming back together for the first time in 5 years was definitely strange, but a good strange. There was a learning curve on how to act, but by the end we were picking on each other like old times.

Before we left, we had to walk the coastline one more time. Why do we call it a Coast and not a Beach? Oregon doesn’t have beaches. Our water is frigid, the sand wet, sometimes just pebbles and rock. There is no ‘tanning’ or ‘laying out’ on them. There is trudging, clamming, pulling-your-windbreaker-tighter on them, but no, no beaches.

Sinking with Auntie. Apparently Hagrid took my nephew for a walk. (aka my beach hair)

Even though you can’t feel your toes, there’s just a rule that if you’re on the Coast, you gotta get in the water.

If just for a weekend, we loved every minute we spent together. We ate all the crab, played scrabble, quoted the Princess Bride, fought over who drank the last cup of coffee, and taffy. Sooo much salt water taffy.

And do you think I went home after that?

Nah, I was homeless remember? It was off to PDX again to fly down to Colorado.

NOTICE: Do not wear cowboy boots on an airplane. Especially if you’ve recently strained your foot.

1989 Mother Tour Comes to a Close

We finally made it!! Our beloved home State of Oregon!!!

Yes, I did screech my tires, pull over and run up to the sign and hug it.
We had fun in California, but nothing quite compares to the ocean air, the fresh water, the incredibly nice people…

Almost as soon as we crossed over the border, I stopped at Dutch Bros. I couldn’t wait to get an Iced Kicker! As I finished paying, the teenage girl handed me my coffee and said, “How are you doing today?”

I almost started crying. I missed this! People actually caring about others. She was considerate and polite and didn’t even realize how rare of a find she was in this country, let alone her age group. Once again, Oregon proves its worth.

My Mom loves the old bridges in Oregon, so she decided to sketch one out to paint later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was going to be our last day traveling. We left Arcata that morning and ran through the redwood forest. All that was left now was to enjoy the Oregon Coast line on the way up to Florence. There was no way I would be driving to Oregon and not getting a bowl of Mo’s Chowder…but that comes later.

What I had initially planned, months before this whole trip, was to visit as many light houses as possible on the California/Oregon coast. I failed miserably at this. I overbooked myself, thinking I could do a zillion things, but driving eats up so much of the day!

We did manage to see one, Cape Blanco Light house, located just outside Port Orford, Oregon.

It’s part of Cape Blanco State Park, home to the windiest, steepest, gravelliest roads ever.

Another attempt at watercolors, this looks almost identical to one I did…when I was seven.

As we climbed further north, my Dad kept calling, asking when we would be home. He was getting very impatient since we were a day behind schedule (thanks a lot San Francisco).

But we couldn’t help pulling over to soak up as much of this gorgeous coastline as we could!!

I’ve always loved how outrageously graphic Oregon warning signs are.

We even stopped at a bookstore in Gold Beach, Oregon. It was a dollar sale, how could we resist?? We ended up buying a book on tape to keep us awake. BEST IDEA EVER. I can’t believe we hadn’t been doing this the whole time instead of playing the alphabet game a billion times (and Taylor’s 1989 album of course).

Driving through trees and misty corners gets a little creepier when you’re listening to Stephen King’s book Salem’s Lot read to you in very convincing voices. (it’s about vampires)

Luckily, we escaped from King’s creepy clutches by reaching Mo’s!!

We’ve been going to Mo’s for over twenty years, because it’s that good. The clam chowder is the reason you come; the service, atmosphere and clam strips are why you stay.

Because we are the nicest people ever, we brought a case of chowder base home for my Dad.

After a very long day of driving, we finally made it home to Central Oregon. I was so happy to see my Dad and my brother again!

This was an incredible trip. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. Although we had some hang ups and wished we could’ve stayed longer in places, every moment spent in that car with my Mom was wonderful. We hadn’t spent 15 days straight with each other for almost ten years! Not only did our mother-daughter relationship survive, but I think our friendship as two women really grew.

Travelling together really tests a relationship. You experience a lot of discomfort and discover new things that may annoy you about a person. It can also show you how they handle a crisis, what kind of music gets them in a good mood, and it reveals the goofiness that exhaustion brings, creating the best jokes on the planet.

So choose your co-pilots wisely. Make sure your personalities will compliment each other. If you are a planner, and your friend likes to wing it, communicate before you start driving what kind of schedule you’d like to keep. If you’re on a budget, but they want to wine & dine the whole way, that needs to be addressed as well. It can all go swimmingly as long as you both communicate everything you expect from the trip.

Beginner’s Road Trip Checklist:

• killer mixtape (books on tape highly recommended)
• good co-pilot (must be willing to chat it up when it’s dark)
• road snacks (nothing smelly or crumbly)
• water water water
• general plan of where you wanna go. (this can be wibbly wobbley)
• Zero Expectations, just a goal to HAVE FUN!!!

1989 Mother Tour – Northern California

Napa Valley

My Mom was very new to the wine-tasting life. Luckily, she had the perfect tour guide with years of experience. (wink-wink)

Our first stop was Domaine Carneros, a very swanky Chateau.

We felt pretty under-dressed, but tried not to let it bother us.

The view was spectacular. My Mom seemed to be favoring the sweeter Whites while I am a dark Red fan. I had to take it slow though, this was only the beginning!!

We bought some little mementos, took some photos and went searching for the next one.

A very rough watercolor of the grapes.

Per a recommendation from a local, we went to Cornerstone Sonoma.

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It was like a mini wine lovers town! (the town was mini, not the lovers)
They have five wineries, restaurants, and beautifully designed gardens. It was the perfect lunch spot. My Mom enjoyed sipping my White wines and squinching up her face at the Reds.

Finally, our favorite, Chateau Montelena Winery

If you haven’t seen the movie Bottle Shock, stop right now and rent it.
Trust me, Alan Rickman and Chris Pine (with long hippie hair) are a dream together. And it’s all about wine! This wine to be precise:

Back in the day, France was still considered the authority on all things wine, especially Chardonnay. It wasn’t until 1976 during a Paris Tasting Competition that the Chateau’s 1973 Chardonnay took first prize, showing to France and the world that California was officially in the wine game. You can read about it here, but really, just watch the movie!!!

We loved all of the wines. This could have been because it was our fourth tasting of the day, but they were all very delicious! And our server was very kind, given the fact that we came in twenty minutes before closing. (he could’ve been flirting. Ooh yes, let’s say he was!)

Sad to leave our beloved wine country, we headed back towards Route 1 and the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. The Mountains were so beautiful to drive through.

We ended up in a Denny’s in Eureka, California and it was very late. After a very strange meal with angry old men banging on the windows, we decided to look into a hotel for the night. Google Reviews was a life-saver. One reviewer recommended a hotel by saying, “This place is great, as long as you don’t mind having meth dealers next door.” We decided Arcata might be a better town to stay in.

Mom found a pretty postcard she wanted to practice painting. I am so lazy and minimalist with this, but she really commits!

We only had one more stop to make before we reached Oregon, and that was the Redwood National Forest. We took a detour off of Route 1 onto the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway.

It was here we entered Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
It’s perfect if you want to keep driving, but pull over every once in a while for a short hike to get the blood flowing. And that is exactly what we did. Drove a few miles, jumped out, ran in the woods, took photos, ran back, did it again.

Pictured below is Big Tree who is  1,500 years old, 304 feet high, 21.6 feet in diameter, and a circumference of 68 feet. Pretty dang impressive.

This park has cabins and a campground available. So I will definitely be visiting this area again in the future.

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Next up: OREGON!!!

 

Brothers, Badlands & The Black Keys

Planning a cross-country road trip is like planning a two-year old’s birthday party. It’s pretty much pointless. No amount of forethought and effort can stop the beautiful chaos about to begin, so you might as well embrace it.

Sure, you need to have a starting point and an ultimate destination, but everything in between? Let it happen. Don’t make fifteen different hotel reservations. Don’t map out ‘photo op’ moments. Get in your car, and just drive.

The only thing that warrants careful and precise planning is a decent Road Mix. If you don’t have good music, you’re going to go insane.

My second trek across the US of A had a snag in it even before we got in the car. Due to annoyances with the DMV, we were set back a day and a half. Gotta plan for it guys. And who was my co-pilot this time? My older brother. Well, he’s my only brother. But, if he insists on referring to me as his ‘little’ sister (even into my mid twenties?!), he’s gets to be old.

It just so happened that as I was planning to move to Florida, he was relocating to Tennessee for his job. “Tag along, partner?” I said. “Don’t mind if I do.” he said. (yes we are cowboys) –Can we take a minute to admire my Tetris-perfect packing job? My brother was allowed the big suitcase on the right, and his guitar. That’s because I’m so nice.

So we said ‘So Long’ to the parents in Oregon and drove off into the sunset.  – I told you, we were behind schedule.  It started out great. Windows down, blasting Ventura Highway (America) and Movin’ Out (Billy Joel) just to get the groove going. Well, guys, Oregon has badlands. That’s right. They are actually named The Badlands. And they go on forever.

The most excitement that first day was almost hitting an owl. No, let me rephrase that. The owl was flying directly at us. So he almost hit us. Jerk.
We decided to drive until we couldn’t anymore. That, my friends, is a bad idea.

(it needs to be said, that you, Idaho, were by far the most grotesquely smelling state we drove through, so thanks for that)
We dodged many a deer, goat, and cow (yes, wild cows) on the curviest, cliff roads ever. Not the best. The clouds were pretty though.

Our bodies lasted until 6am the next morning which turned out to be about thirteen hours of driving. I checked us into a skeezy hotel (I had to wake up the manager) to get a nap in. I said we’d check out in four hours, so he only charged me forty, which I thought was fair. I wanted to sleep; he could’ve said anything.

Sleeping Beauty here slept like a rock. I on the other hand slept maybe two hours. I was so nervous about completely passing out and sleeping way past our check out that I just couldn’t relax. Meanwhile, waking my brother takes nothing less than a blow horn and an apocalypse. But I settled for plugging his nose.

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Day two, we were excited to see new sights, explore the great open spaces of America, starting with its charming rest stops.

I always document how I look at the beginning of a trip, because as the days go by, my ‘style’ looks more like a 90’s grunge band.
My brother has been my reluctant model for years, and my weird photo shoots were finally rubbing off on him, because this was his idea.

As we dipped into Utah for a bit and onto Montana, we played a lot of Lord of the Rings. It just fit.

It was around this time, we got on the worst road in all of the United States; I-80 East.

It is one of the most hopeless stretches I have ever had the misfortune of traveling. We were on it for eight hundred miles. Not eighty. EIGHT HUNDRED. It was horrible.
So, we made use of all the rest stops to keep Jack from turning into a dull boy.

We chose most of our stops based on what food we were craving. Little America won us over with their 99 cent ice cream cones.

And I found a friend while we were there.

We continued on through mountains…

over bridges…

Through rocky terrain that belongs in The Flintstones…

I’m telling you, it went on and on. Thank goodness for The Black Keys and Gotye.

-side note- I’ve never liked the look of these wind turbine things.They just creep me out. They look alien. I think that’s how they spy on us. yeah sure. I’ll go 75…when I’m exiting…

As the day came to a close, we were somewhere around Nebraska. As we looked for a promising exit, we saw this:

There is no way there would be a sign in Nebraska for Oregon…Hours later….We pulled into a Days Inn. First mistake.
It was 2am. Second mistake.
The check in guy was the creepier cousin of Napoleon Dynamite’s brother, Kip. And what he was doing before he came out of the back room just made it all the more disturbing. Let’s just say I made my brother go back for shampoo. After our longest day yet at 17 hours, it was time for a good 6 hour nap.

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Day three, Independence Day!! If all went well, we would reach Tennessee and my brother would ‘supposedly’ leave me to drive the rest of the way alone.

All siblings have a language, or at least a verbal shorthand and ‘isms’ that only they understand. My brother and I are so hilarious together. Trust me. We almost pee ourselves doing Ace Ventura & Nicholas Cage impressions. If anyone could have seen or heard what was going on in that packed tight Honda CRV, we would’ve been committed immediately. We both oddly have an obsession with sunglasses. We had enough to each wear two different pairs a day. I have a lot because I break/lose them almost as fast as I buy them.

Letting my brother use my camera while I drive can be an interesting experiment. I wonder sometimes if he notices his own patterns.
The Beautiful Photography of ‘OLDER BROTHER‘

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After another full day, we were finally getting somewhere.

I was ready for a hearty, American meal to celebrate the fourth, but my brother was too hangry to listen to any of my Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives suggestions. We didn’t even get to stop at the St. Louis Arch. What a butthead.

This was the best I could do.
We finally stopped in Kansas City, but everything was closed! Well, duh…National Holiday nonsense strikes again.

This is where we would have loved to eat, The Brick, purely for the The Oklahoma. It’s a deep-fried hot dog wrapped in bacon.
You just salivated. Gross.
We did find a cool wall though.

We stuck to munchies until we finally made it to Nashville, Tennessee, where I slept twelve straight hours without even feeling it.

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Day four, because my brother is the BEST, was a short traveling day.

Yes, he gave in to my pleading and agreed to drive to Florida with me and fly back.

Gold stars, bro.
We drove four short hours to Marietta, Georgia to stay the night with our cousins, because frankly we didn’t have a 12 hour day in us.

The next day, with only six hours to go, we figured we’d seen it all when it came to strange-rest-stop-activity. But we were wrong.

Horrific murder scene? Dirty handed, clumsy bum? Trapped souls in the walls??

Oh, and there was a horrendous, monsoon of a rainstorm, which my brother braved to fill up on gas, while I took videos of him shivering and glaring at me.

Hope was in sight as we passed our final state border.

And as promised, my brother got to see the first palm tree of the trip.

Over three thousand miles, five days, too many energy drinks and 5 hour energy shots, and two days short on underwear supply (my brother freeballed it in his swim trunks; it was nasty), we finally made it to Orlando, Florida.
It was a great trip, full of laughter, farts, real talk, and wow-that-was-too-much-information.

You were an excellent driving buddy, Bro. We should do it again sometime.
(please pack extra undies)