A Cheesy Birthday trip to the Forest

As I turned another year older, I chose to console myself with copious amounts of dairy products. We went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. We got there when it opened and ate breakfast (the menu is delicious), sampled free cheese, and had ice cream before we left.
I could live here.

Cheese has always been an important part of my family. Ok, not important like an heirloom, more like a necessity for happiness at any given moment. We are cheese enthusiasts. I related hardcore to Liz Lemon and her night cheese. The love is real.

Oregon loves its cheese, but it takes its love of ice cream to another level of awesome.

My favorite will always be Huckleberry.

If you get there early, you can see the factory in action and watch the humongous blocks of cheese get sliced n diced while your mouth waters. The tour is self guided and free. It’s an observation level above the main floor.

To complete my very adult birthday trip, I chose to go where my seven year old-self always dreamed. The Enchanted Forest, Oregon’s roadside theme park.

It looks janky and creepy, I know, but trust me, it’s adorable.

The dedication to theme was impressive and cute.

The characters however, inspire nightmares. This is supposed to be Miss Muffet, and she was scarier than her spider counterpart.

Each area featured a different story.

There is a small rabbit hole to crawl through which ends here. It’s small, so be warned.

They even theme their garbage bins!

The creepiness continued with the crooked man who looked too much like the version featured on The Conjuring 2.

His house was cool though!!

I don’t know how this happened, but I loved it.

The park is much larger than I anticipated. This is no roadside attraction, it’s a full theme park, complete with 8 rides, a haunted house, comedy theatre, music entertainment, a storybook lane and European village. (click here for park map)

I cannot wait to bring my nephew here. The little western town had funny art and silly displays in the windows. (and creepy mannequins)

Clearly Dad jokes fueled the humor of this place.

I convinced my parents to ride the Ice Mountain Bobsled Roller Coaster, which was fun but also nerve racking, because it honestly looks like I built it over the weekend.

The ride that impressed me most, as an experienced theme park observer and former Disney employee, was the Challenge of Mondor. This is the nicest, and newly updated ride they have and it shows. I would roughly compare it to Toy Story Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios  or Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida.

All in all, a nice and quaint family theme park. I did end up taking my nephew a few months later and he loved it! He’s around 42 inches and was able to ride everything. Great place, great value!

 

 

The Beautiful Oregon Coast

After two lovely weeks with my sister and her family in Hawaii and San Diego, it was finally time to return to my home state of Oregon. (since leaving Korea, I had been living out of a suitcase for over a month due to shipping my belongings overseas)

Flying is so easy now. I used to complain about anything over 6 hours, but after 16 hour flights over oceans, any flight in the U.S. is a breeze.

Especially when I fly from Portland to my tiny hometown. It’s less than thirty minutes, they don’t even have time to serve drinks! It’s marvelous. Plus, I got a view of my familiar rocks of home.

Now you’d think I’d go straight to bed and sleep for two days after all this travel wouldn’t you? Nah, I went on a road trip with my parents.

It was my birthday weekend so they decided to take me to my favorite place in Oregon, the coast! We have our favorite spots, but lately we’ve tried to explore new coastal towns, you know, to be fair.

We decided to start at Cape Meares. (get ready for a bunch of adorable shots of my parents) Now, be warned, the road to this place is long, windy, and feels kind of like a trap. But I promise, you will eventually get there.

Cape Meares has so many beautiful things. It has an adorable, short n’ stubby lighthouse, and the biggest Sitka Spruce in Oregon. If you are super lucky, you can even spot a few whales (I’m not apparently).

There’s tiny, private beach villages along the coastline that I definitely want to live in. (I plan on retiring as soon as I get published so I can write in a house on the coast with a window facing the Pacific)

This was such a beautiful view, I tried to capture it with watercolor, and quite liked how it turned out! (click painting for color)

I couldn’t help it, they were just so cute.

We also saw the Octopus Tree. A very strange and unusual tree! I purposefully didn’t include a photo, because you should just go see it for yourself!

Down a hill that you will complain about climbing later, you can find your way down to the Cape Meares Lighthouse, but make sure to enjoy this view on your way down.

I told you, my parents cannot hold in their cuteness.

Or their tendency to be blown by the strong coastal winds…

Ok, last one I swear.

Ok I lied. I just want these criminals to be brought to justice.

It was a perfect ‘Welcome back to Oregon’ day.

Our first day done, we drove to Garibaldi for dinner at Pirate’s Cove. Wow, this food was delicious. The view was beautiful with bald eagles circling the bay! Reviews online are mixed, but we had an amazing experience.
We checked into The Ashley Inn in Tillamook that evening. This is such a sweet place with continental breakfast (which we missed), complimentary coffee (which we took advantage of), and DVDs to rent (which we didn’t notice until we were leaving).

Tomorrow held cheese, ice cream, and a land of Enchantment…

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.

Suitcase Life: Brides & Beaches

Columbus to Oregon seems like a pretty straight shot, but apparently flying down to Georgia first sounds much better to Delta. (rude) But I did manage to scooby-doo all the flight attendants into giving me extra cookies ‘for my nephew.’ (ok, most of them were for my nephew)

Mission Accomplished.

I’ve always cried watching the Love Actually opening scene with all the tearful airport arrivals (I’m puddling just thinking about it). My nephew managed to cause a similar scene when he ran up to give me the biggest hug ever at PDX. I know I just saw this little bug in July on my road trip, but everyday I don’t get to see him is too long.
This boy truly holds my heart.

Why was I in Oregon? (other than to see my family and adorable nephew of course) I had a wedding to go to! I have known this girl since I was born practically. She and my sister were childhood friends, but once everyone moved away, our relationship grew. We bonded over singleness, LOST, small town blues and figuring out how to ‘adult’. (obviously I’m the only one with the single problem now)

Our moms were friends and always seemed to be pregnant together. Naturally, all of us kids became friends.

My brother and I were feeling how good we looked and insisted on a family photo shoot before heading to the wedding.

My nephew has spidey sense when you point a camera at him.
He always knows….

We saw people we hadn’t seen in over twenty years. It is weird, but oddly calming to be around people who have known you your entire life.

She was a beautiful bride and the wedding was perfect. Tractors, guns, line dancing and all.

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My mother figured since all of us were in town, we might as well have a family vacation. It was a pretty big deal since we hadn’t all been together in the same house in over five years. But first, I needed a day in my hometown with my sis.

I had to go to one of my old college spots, Bom Dia Coffee. The chai is so delicious, as are the avocado bagels.

Jackson’s Corner had a new location I wanted to see, so my sis & I went there and got a slice and a brew while we waited for my grandpa to finish his appointment.

It was finally time, my mother had planned a weekend trip to the Oregon Coast for the whole family. To get us excited, she got us ‘vacation socks.’

We were headed to Seaside, Oregon but first we had to stop in Cannon Beach. If you take anything from this blog, you need to understand how important it is to try the clam chowder at Mo’s. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it!! IT IS AMAZING!! Plus the view ain’t bad.

We needed to walk off our humongous, but delicious lunch. Haystack rock was calling me…

This is a pretty famous spot on the Oregon Coast. If you google those words, Haystack has its own subcategory. Plus, it’s one of the locations in The Goonies. Goonies never say die!!!

I’m a big fan of jump shots. Therefore, I made my family do them.
My sister looks like she just won a car.

I cannot jump very high, so I hide it by spreading out my limbs.
Illusions Dad, you don’t have time for my illusions!!
After too many attempts to admit, my mom managed to make it an inch off the ground, but not without great enthusiasm.
My brother is an acrobat in spirit. He can do anything athletic. Some of us were not too keen on this whole jumpy thing…

It was a lovely walk, but Seaside was calling our name

Before we left, I knew I had to do the Mermaid shot. It was a long time coming, and it was now or never. (really, the tide was coming in) In hindsight, I probably should have worn shoes to climb on the sharp barnacles.
(If I still had my fin, I wouldn’t have this problem)

Suitcase Life: Books & Travel

This Summer was a busy one. I started it out by driving from Washington, D.C. , down the bottom of the US and back up the California Coast ending in Central Oregon. That was just June & July.

Here we begin August 1st in Washington, D.C. (again). The place is ready for the new tenants and it’s off to Columbus, Ohio. So starts living out of a suitcase for three months.

We stopped in Ohio for a restful weekend.

This is a bedroom, not a hotel room guys.

Books are what really got me through this massive trip. So here is # 1.
The Davinci Code written by Dan Brown. If you haven’t read it or seen the film, it’s like National Treasure with a more academic approach to clues and mysteries, rather than ridiculous car chases and stealing historical documents.

WARNING: These books will make you very suspicious in general, but especially about anything government/science/religious related.
So there’s that.

I took a break from reading and watched Sex and the City reruns while practicing my very rusty pool skills.

Ohio wasn’t terrible. I explored a small town called Westerville. It was adorable. I went to Java Central Coffee House a few times. It has great coffee, very friendly baristas and tons of nooks and crannies to eat, drink, and read in! There’s comfy couches, game tables, basically the perfect coffee shop. Worth a visit.

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Next we drove up through Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I was pleasantly surprised by Wisconsin. I thought it was a perpetual snowy tundra, but we had many lovely sunny days!

This trip was more of a marathon than a sprint. I mean by this point, I was virtually homeless for two months until I left for South Korea.  So I stayed in Wisconsin for two long, relaxing weeks.

When staying in a place you have never been before, don’t fret. You’re not going to know the area instantly, there’s no need to panic.

Instead, grab a book. Does the photo above make you cringe? I’m sorry to disturb the spine lovers out there, but I don’t mind doing this to a paperback. My philosophy is this: Do I like the book? Am I keeping the book? Fold it back. Do I hate the book? Am I going to give it away? Fold it back.

And hey, why not lounge on a window seat and read for hours? I can’t really call this Book #2 because I started but never finished it. (Yes, I’ve read Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone before.)

I didn’t always stay in though. I went to see the Wisconsin State Fair in Brookfield. Fairs are never the same once you’re an adult. Instead of being dazzled by the blinking lights and the sweet smells of cotton candy, you notice the creaking hinges on the ferris wheel that was put up in a day and the grimy hands of the hot dog vendor giving you your change.

Regardless, I rode the spinny rides and ate the corn dogs.

Aaaand onto Book #2 Into the Wild written by Jon Krakauer

I remember watching this movie and being extremely angry. I couldn’t forgive his stupidity and ignorance and irresponsibility with his own life. But reading the book was different. I’m not saying what he did was the best decision, but I understand him better. We’re all so quick to judge people, especially the dead. Krakauer gave Chris a voice. He cared enough to ask why. This book made me want to hike a trail, go camping, and breathe in the air of the mountains. It didn’t turn me off from seeking nature, it drew me to it. I think Chris would have loved that.

Drove into downtown Milwaukee to see Lake Michigan. Thing is humungous.

It was too cold though. So I retreated to my cozy couch with cocoa. My reading material wasn’t quite so comfortable.

Book # 3 Gone Girl written by Gillian Flynn

Again, I saw the film first. So naturally I knew the twist, but I care more about Crazy Amazing Amy. I love a good villain. I like a smart villain. I like a practical, careful, meticulous, realistic villain. There’s no point if the baddie leaves fingerprints in the blood or dumps the gun in the alley or buys a bus ticket with the victims’ credit card. I want them to be as smart as possible. They don’t always need to be caught either. I like the reality of letting them slip through your fingers. Amy was insane, but she was organized. You could say part of her warped view stemmed from her upbringing, but that gives her idiotic parents a little too much credit. She feeds off being needed and wanted. She loves winning your affection, but once it’s won, it no longer interests her. I needed to read it to get inside her head. And yikes.

After Wisconsin, I went back down to Columbus for a bit, but it just wasn’t doing it for me like last time. Luckily, my friend Kelly had just had a baby! She lived a not-so-short bus ride (try 9 hours) up to Michigan, so I thought, heck why not.

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Book #4 Angels & Demons written by Dan Brown

I started this book hoping to hear the rest of Robert Langdon’s romantic adventures with Sophie. I was bitterly disappointed. Contrary to what Hollywood would have me think, this is not a sequel to The Davinci Code, it is a prequel. Awesome.

The book was good, but I couldn’t commit to the story line, because I was invested in the future one.

I thought I would hate riding the bus with complete strangers for 9 hours, but it wasn’t that bad. I talked to a nice lady going home to see her kids who had the boldest mustache I’ve ever seen.

Finally in Michigan (near the thumb crease), I got to meet this handsome little munchkin!!

He was two weeks early, which clearly means he couldn’t wait any longer to meet me. (ok, and his parents)

He graciously lent me his nursery too. What a gentleman.

It was great to meet Kelly’s man and her little man! We bonded over bloody marys and s’mores. (both of which ended up all over me)

After five freezing days in Michigan, I took the bus back down to Ohio to stay in a hotel for a night. They had a continental dinner people. This needs to catch on EVERYWHERE!!!

I finished my book and I believe in passing on good literature (and keeping my air cargo light), so I left it for the housekeeper to enjoy.

After driving to Ohio, to Wisconsin, back to Ohio, up to Michigan, back down to Ohio….I finally got to get on a plane.

I was on my way to Oregon!

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!!!

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)

The Trees Are Actually Quite Lovely

Social Media has a sneaky way of telling you how behind you are in life. Well, society’s idea of what life should be like. Let me be a little less cryptic.

I feel like one of my friends gets engaged, married, or is having a baby every week. While I am happy for them, it’s a strange, “glad I’m not you” kind of happy. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later*

It was the upcoming wedding of an old neighbor/high school buddy that launched a road trip long ago, unlike any I’ve taken since. I wasn’t alone this time, and I wasn’t driving. Two things which are normally red flags in my ‘Travel Must Haves’ book. But, I let it slide since my companion was a dear friend whom I’ve shared most of my adolescence with. How bad could it be?

Well, for one. She’s a nervous driver. And two, it was icy on the pass. I distracted my white-knuckled, panicky self by photographing the white wonders outside my window.

My worries dissipated once the flurries flew away and the green trees came into view.

As we drove deeper into this moss and lichen-filled forest, we decided a detour was necessary. That’s when we saw this:

Also known as: The Fire Swamp (not officially, but I think they should consider it)

Since weddings were on the brain, my friend decided this is where her own ceremony would take place one day. Beautiful as it may be, it was a pickle navigating the twisty paths. I can’t imagine many mother-in-laws would enjoy that.
(they lucked out, she got married in Tokyo)

Being in such eerie and lovely surroundings, a quick photo shoot ensued.

She looked like she belonged there. Everything seemed to fit around her perfectly.
The wedding was short and sweet and the reception was on the highest hill I’ve ever driven on, (ok was a passenger on). But since, we didn’t know anyone in town, we had to leave early to drive back across the mountain before we lost our daylight. Nervous Driver + Ice + Nighttime = Stress on an otherwise happy friendship due to panic and annoyance and too many hours spent in too small of a car. But no worries, we survived, as did our friendship and  we were happy to see those familiar fields and great open spaces of our tiny town.

*I am excited for my engaged/married/future parental friends, but I am in no way jealous of their experiences. My timeline has much bigger gaps between life altering changes. I don’t plan to be a spinster, but I do not plan to get married anytime soon. I am simply enjoying my adventure, one day, or rather, one road trip at a time.

 

 

 

California Pipe Dreams

San Francisco. Land of the 49ers, Giants, and Harvey Milk!

It was a warm day in the year 2010 that my roommate at the time asked me to venture down south in hopes of fulfilling dreams of being the next American Idol. I only had one condition. We stay for a week.

I’m a realist, or a pessimist, depending on your point of view. I figured rather than hinging the trip’s success on the chance of making it on the show, that staying a week to explore the city regardless of the results would be the best plan.

I let her hope for the best, while I planned for…well…you know, the rest.

We brought along our friend to help keep us awake, and she had no problem agreeing to a week in California. The drive down was beautiful, full of excitement and of course no radio was needed because we sang the whole way.

My exposure to actual ‘cities’ had been quite limited up until this time. Portland was about as big as it got. So when we drove into the heart of San Fran, I couldn’t help but love it a little.

I soon realized however that this was a cement city. Sure there were parks here n there, and they were pretty, but I need my grass, and trees and bushes, and moss. I just need it.

We ended up staying with a friend of a friend’s mom. You know how that always works out. It actually wasn’t that bad, if you don’t take into account the ‘house bunnies’. No there weren’t retired Heffner rejects lying around, there were free-roaming rabbits that needed periodical cuddling. Free is free.

Audition day wasn’t until the middle of the week, so we started exploring.

 

There was a local park tucked away in a tiny neighborhood that had a cement slide. It was terrifying. There were pieces of cardboard to slide down on, so you know, perfectly safe. A few had some great messages.

This city is known for its perpetual fog, which I honestly don’t mind. Makes for fun photos in my opinion.

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The local we were staying with took us to this fancy schmancy hotel claiming there was a special surprise inside. I felt like I owed money just walking through the lobby. It was incredible. We were led around a corner to a long row of elevators. There was a specific one and the elevator man knew exactly which it was. It rose quite quickly and as if a curtain was drawn, the enclosed space became windows and we saw the entire cityscape. It was beautiful.

The day came, or may I say, the very early morning came that we had to get in line for the American Idol auditions. We sat from 3am to let’s say 11 because I don’t actually remember. It was a while. And thank goodness it was just to get a wristband, because there would be no hope if I had to sing after no sleep.

 

And since we were already up, we continued to our next stop, the Golden Gate Bridge. As I said before, fog often obscures this incredible structure, but this day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was shining bright.

Just a little walk from the bridge, we found a cave of sorts and some ‘ancient’ bath houses. Obviously we had to explore and model in them. We may have gotten a little too into it.

Near that were some typical tourist attractions. A replica of a palace in Versailles, a Camera Obscura, and that gorgeous California coastline.

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Audition day came and went. It was fun for the few seconds we sang in front of a producer. Not much to be said for the hours we sat in the Giants stadium. We didn’t let it ruin the day though. We were off to explore Haight-Ashbury, drive down the legendary Lombard street and do a bit of shopping.

Sure, it would’ve been great to meet Nigel Lythgoe and that Seacrest fellow, but we still had fun. I was just happy for a road trip, and to see my Oregon mountains again.

2200 Miles in 2 Days Flat

Does my title sound a little far-fetched? Well, believe it. Forty eight hours exactly from Norfolk, Virginia to Redmond, Oregon. I guess a better thing to question was our sanity. Why would anyone choose to drive across the country in two days?

Growing up in my family, vacation was known to be a precious, precious thing that my parents enjoyed to its fullest potential. Which means, any place we went, there was an itinerary for every minute of our trip. No side stops, no deviations, no sleeping in or naps in the middle. There were things to do, sights to see, places to set up camp.

Now I’m all for having a plan, but a more, generalized, flexible plan that if need be, can be completely rewritten in the moment. My best memories come from things not going according to plan, so I plan…not to go according to the plan. Confused? I am.

Anyhoo. A little of this hyperscheduling must have been passed down to my sister and I, because we figured, to maximize our time with family back in Oregon, driving straight through, sticking to the turnpikes, was the best and most logical choice. 

I’d like to tell you that it was magical. That those many many hours spent driving, stopping only for gas and peeing, went by in a musical montage of laughing and rainbows. I really would like to.

We took turns napping in the back, drank far past the healthy amount of energy drinks, yelled at the GPS that refused to update and kept repeating, “bear left, bear left, bear left” in a British accent. It wasn’t all bad though. I listened to good music (this trip helped me discover just how much I love Of Montreal), took fun pictures, realized energy drinks and jerky bites do not mix well and that we will never EVER do this again.
(at least not this way)

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It was all worth it though once we reached home. I had never been so happy to see tumbleweeds and junipers in my entire life.