The Lovely South of Thailand

Greetings from the Southern Islands of Thailand!

The warm weather is everything I dreamed it would be, and it feels overdue by a long shot. Since hitting Northern Vietnam in December I have barely broken a weather-induced sweat once. Was I crazy to think that my 6 months in SE Asia would all be warm and sunny? Apparently.

However, now everything is as it should be.

I bussed down to Bangkok on February 8 to meet my dear friend Rishelle, who was flying in to spend 2 weeks of her vacation with me! We made our way South to Hua Hin, a nice seaside town, intent upon visiting The Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand, an animal rescue sanctuary reccommended to me by some fellow travelers who had spent some time volunteering there.

It was very cool to visit and see all the different animals there, from lizards, to birds, to monkeys, to bears...and elephants! The animals have each been rescued from different sad scenarios within Thailand. Exotic animals are an effective money-making strategy here. Tourists dont think twice about going to the tiger temple for a selfie with a drugged up wildcat, or riding an elephant that has been abused its whole life. It is really sad, and hearing the stories of the individual rescued aniamls is pretty heartbreaking. It was encouraging that WFFT is really working hard to educate locals and tourists on how damaging this industry is to the wildlife of Thailand (and other imported creatures). Often it is just a matter of not realizing how much the animals suffer.

WFFT works to rehabilitiate and release every animal for whom this is realistic possibility, but others are very human dependent and/or incapable of living in the wild. These animals will spend the rest of their lives in enclosures at the sanctuary, as close to a "normal" life as possible.

Our full-day tour of the center was very enjoyable and a highlight of our to weeks together. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially those wanting to get up close to the amazing creatures of Thailand without supporting the sketchy, abusive animal tourism industry.

After Hua Hin, we jetted our way to Koh Phangan for some serious beach time. We stayed on the North end of the island for the first few days in an amazing jungle bungalow just on the end of Thong Nai Pan Yai- super peaceful and quiet, and at a surprisingly reasonable price!


We spent one night in Haad Rin to get a teensy taste of what the Full Moon Party might be like, and then quickly scooted over to Sanctuary; a super hippie resort on a remote stretch of beach along the East coast of the island. The breezy establishment was wreathed in a haze of incense, and populated by tanned, toned, and tattooed waifs either meditating or detoxing (or both), bright green fresh veggie juices in hand. The dress code followed something like, "wear as little as possible, but if you must wear something, make sure it floats in the breeze, and throw some flowers in your hair".  The cheapest accommodation available to us was in the dorm room located above the restraunt, where we camped out on thin mattresses and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the short just outside our window. Naturally I loved it there, and we both enjoyed some yoga, vegetarian food, and of course some top-notch people watching!

After a few days we felt sufficiently zen to move on to face the big island of Koh Samui, staying in the center close to the Chaweng beach. Here we took a moto taxi to see a waterfall (3 of us on one tiny moped!), rented paddleboards (so fun!), and were intiiated into our first Thai massage! I am now addicted. Paying less than $15/hr for a massage is such a good deal, and they really dont go easy on you. It is almost half chiropractic adjustment haha!

Unfortuantely, that was the end of our vacation together, and Rishelle had to head back to Bangkok from Samui. I stuck around another day or two to see Ang Thong National park, and then had a very long day of travel to the other side of the mainland, arrving at Koh Lanta.

Now I am enjoying the soft sandy beaches and roasting hot sunshine for a few more days before I head south again, and enter Malaysia! Im not sure what I will find there, but Im excited to find out! I can feel the end of my journey creepiing up on me. I'm working on a few things for when I return "home", and Im trying to wrap my mind around not being on the road anymore. I still have a little over a month though, so it might be a bit early to mourn the end ;-) 

February is the new New Year

Let's be honest, no one is prepared for New Years when it bursts in right after the chaos of Christmas. After a frenzy of festivities, we havent even had time to process what our goals for the New Year will be.

Hence, I propose that February is the new New Year. Maybe this is convenient for me, because I spent most of December and January eating things I shouldnt and generally being lazy, and I knew that I needed to make a change...but I also needed a little help.

Feeling in a bit of slump post-holidays, I was out for dinner with a friend from my hostel in Chiang Mai, and spotted a flyer for yoga in Pai, my next destination (or so I thought, until my Myanmar visa went through). Knowing Pai to be a bit of a hippie place, I thought it might be fun to do some yoga there, because I like yoga and have really missed it while I have been traveling.

As it turns out, the flyer was for a yoga retreat, which is something I have never done before, and frankly never expcted that I would ever do. I was too late to sign up for the retreat that week, but there was an opening beginning of February, and as I did more research on it and read some reviews, I felt very strongly that this was something I wanted to do! I needed some kind of jumpstart, and the retreat seemed to fit the bill, as well as being a cool new travel experience. Because isnt that what travel is all about? Seeing and trying new things?

Upon arrival I discovered that the theme of the week was "purification". Essentially, we were about to begin a week of detox! It was exactly what I needed, and I couldnt have been more excited about it.

Every morning I woke up at 6:45am to bundle up in thick sweater, hat, and scarf (here in the mountains it can be quite chilly before the sun comes out. And just to prove that I am not completely off my rocker, it is cold enough that you can see your breath- so there!), and trundle down to the kitchen for a mug of hot lemon ginger tea, followed by a mug of vegan chai tea. Did I mention that from the moment we woke up until lunch time at 12pm, we are all in a "silence session"? No one except our instructor spoke during that time, and although the first morning I had to swallow my habitual morning greetings, I actually appreciated the silence. Its amazing how much pressure it takes off when you can just sit with a group without feeling the need to make conversation. It also allows time for introspection and reflection.

Tea time was followed by nasal cleansing- that's right, we used a personal neti pot every morning, and unclogged whatever might be obstructing our breath that morning! After that we moved straight into breathing exercises, which I had done before, but never for so long at a time, and then silent meditation.

I'll confess right now that I suck at meditation. There are WAY too many thoughts going through my head, and I have real trouble trying to slow them down. I struggled through each meditation session, but I did try, and that's the important thing right? The flies and misquitos landing on my face didnt help matters.
I still think the most meditative state I have ever been in was while I was driving my motorbike through Vietnam. There's definitely something wrong with me.

When we finished our meditation, we would eat breakfast, which was usually a scrumptious pureed vegetable soup or bowl of noodles, chased by a vegetable juice. While this was not to everyone's liking, I adored it, and may even consider this an alternative to my usual yogurt and granola when I get home.

A short break for digestion followed breakfast. This was usually spent lolling about in the blissfully warm pools of morning sunshine, until 10am. Then the real work began.

The two hour session of Hatha yoga was always challenging, but I loved it! This was our chance to feel the burn and get the heart rate up. It never took long before we started peeling off the layers we piled on in the morning. Every session would end in at least 15 minutes of shavasana, which is basically a fancy way of saying that you lay down and get so relaxed that you almost fall asleep. It feels SO good after working hard!

At 12pm we ate lunch, which was the largest meal of the day. Everything we ate all week was vegetarian and dairy-free, but I never missed meat or dairy. The food was absolutely fantastic, gourmet stuff. Everything was portioned out for us, so if we were still hungry there was always a basket of fruit and veggies to snack on, and plenty of herbal tea available at all times.

Maybe this is overshare, but I knew the detox was working by the second day! I was visiting the toilet every 5 minutes and had a huge headache. My gut was loudly protesting the abundance of nearly-raw vegetables, complaining that it actually had to work to digest things, rather than quickly absorbing the sugar-laden and greasy foods that unfortunately had become my normal diet. However, my skin began to clear and I was starting to feel more energetic.

At 3pm, after the heat of the day, we would gather in the studio for a Q&A period, followed by a short lecture of yoga philosphy. We could ask any question at all- whether about a certain yoga pose, a question regarding the previous day's talk, something we had experienced during one of the sessions, or about life in general. I was a little hesitant about the yoga philosphy talks, as I am decidedly not into Buddhism. Our teacher assured us it was not "religious" in that sense,  though she spoke on the Yama and Niyama teachings, which I believe are derived from Buddhism. It was basically universally recognized values. Simple in concept, difficult in practice. Nothing earth-shattering, but good reminders. Maybe I'm too cynical :P

Afterwards we started our Yin yoga session. Yin yoga requires holding a pose for a long period of time. We usually worked in 3-5 minute intervals. Something as simple as laying on your back with a bolster underneath you and your arms overhead can honestly become torture after a minute or two. By five minutes, you want to scream. The point is to work at breathing into and relaxing the tension, but this is very difficult. The very worst pose required sitting in a crouch, balancing with only your toes. For. Five. Minutes.
I wanted to die.
Apparently only walking in flip-flops for 4 months can be detrimental to the foot muscles.
While Yin yoga looks easier than Hatha, I much preferred the fast-paced morning session!

Dinner offered welcome warmth as temperatures began to drop when the sun went down, and the sweaters and scarves began to return. This was the time of day when the group began to get chatty, discussing just how painful a certain pose was, or how delicious the food was, or asking get-to-know-you questions. Tea was guzzled, and friendships forged.

In the evening we would gather for a second session of meditation, and once we did an excursion to the hot springs, which was fantastic!

I was usually in bed by 10pm, and never had any trouble falling asleep! I have to say, that this was the first time in 4 months that I have had a regular routine, access to a hot shower, and slept in the same bed for a week. It was a really nice change!

Having completed the retreat yesterday, I have been evaluating how I feel.
For one thing, my stomach feels MUCH happier. I need less sleep, as I have naturally been waking up early and not struggling to get out of bed. My body is not as sore as i thought it would be after 4 hours of intense exercise for 6 days in a row. In fact, its not very sore at all. I think my mind is clearer, and I'm more aware of how I'm feeling and how that affects my body.

Overall it was a restful and rejuvenating week! It was definitely worth the time and money, and I would do another yoga retreat without hesitation, and reccomend it to anyone.

Now I'm headed to Bangkok to meet a very dear friend who is flying in from Canada, and then we will spend 2 weeks in the Southern Islands together! I couldnt be more excited! Koh Phangan, here we come! (No, we will not be there during Full Moon...and I dont think I could throw away my newly-detoxed state on a party anyway!)

Double Christmas

So I decided that since it really did not feel like Christmas in the least here in Lao, I will simply not make a big fuss about the holiday this year and just celebrate double Christmas next year! I think it was a good decision.

Needless to say, nothing noteworthy occured in the travel department. I returned from my 2 night stay in Muang Ngoi, and was fortunate enough to find reasonably-priced accommodation with enough wifi to skype the family back home! So that was really nice.

And as it turns out I got to spend a night in a rodent-infested bungalow (the reason for the low price, I guess)! So...that was...exciting...

Some photos from the past week:

Village life along the river...on the boat drive to Muang Ngoi

Tat Kuang Si, famous waterfalls outside Luang Prabang

The easy part of the 100 Waterfalls Trek...

Waterfall #99...and we climbed it! (The hard part)

Goaties!

Laundry day means heading down to the river!

Sunset view from my bungalow in Muang Ngoi...killer.

Friendsgiving

Yesterday was American Thanksgiving, and I got invited to a travelers' get-together organized by a couple American girls from another hostel. The girl that invited me is British, and is staying at the same guesthouse I am, and only randomly met one of these other girls by chance. She wanted to take part and asked me if I'd like to go. This is how the world of backpackers social lives works!

In the end there were about 10-12 of us, and I think only 3 were American! There were several other Canadians (Hello, Canmore AB!), a bunch of Europeans. We met at the Central Market and then went a local restaurant which fed us a DELICIOUS all-you-can-eat dinner of assemble-your-own rice wraps with greens, BBQed pork, egg omelets, spring rolls, and mouthwatering peanut sauce. I was a happy, happy camper.

The best part, though, was the massive collection of strangers (most people only knew one other person at the beginning of the meal) who all sat down together and enjoyed each others company for several hours! Traveling really brings people together....its funny how you can just have that one thing in common, and soon you feel like you've been friends forever!

I have been enjoying my new British friend's company since my first evening in Hoi An (we spent all day together yesterday), and I met another girl at this dinner from California who was really cool, and the three of us just got along so well- what a treat! I get such a boost when I find friends along the way, because I actually don't usually like hanging out by myself!!

As per Thanksgiving tradition, we went around the table saying something we were thankful for. Health, safety, and new travel friends featured heavily, and I too am thankful for these things. But for myself, I said I was thankful for being lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel.

Having met so many local women my age has made me aware of the privileges of my circumstances. Having been born into the advantages that are innate to being a middle-class Canadian have enabled me to be financially independent, and enabled me to travel in so many more subtle ways (different expectations of women, education, opportunity, independence, even support and encouragement from peers, etc). Many women around the world do not have these priviledges. I spoke with a tailor yesterday who is my age...she learned the trade from her mother and has worked since age 18, long hours, no days off, and she is also raising a family. She has never had the opportunity or means to travel, and probably never will.

I feel incredibly lucky to have the life that I do, and I never want to take it for granted. I am trying to make the most of these next few months before I buckle down to work hard at my job and my future schooling, and I hope that one day I can put my education and privileges to work to improve the lives of women around the world...in what capacity this will be, I have no idea...but that is the dream that is taking shape :)

(Unfortunately my friend A. and I are cut out of the photo...we are the 2 closest to the camera!)

Chill Time

Its a common misconception that "traveling" is a "vacation".
This is false.

Vacations are when you leave your regular routine to rest and relax, forget your everyday worries, and basically not stress about the day-to-day problems of life.

Traveling means you are willfully placing yourself in different, often stressful, situations daily, where nothing is familiar to you and you must constantly absorb new information and problem solve things that at home you would never even think twice about. For instance, how to ask what a bottle of water costs...when there is no price label, and the clerk speaks a diffeent language. And then figuring out which of your bills you need to produce, and how much change you should be getting, when the currency is completely strange to you and in denominations of 1000's.

Besides the usual challenges of budget restrictions, city and transit navigation, and finding a places to sleep, eat, and sightsee, there are the differences of culture and language to figure out.

On top of all this, for the last week or so I have been visiting two major cities with really depressing histories: Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Ho Chi Ming City (Saigon), Vietnam. I couldn't NOT visit their museums on the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnam War, repectively. I'm glad I went, but they were quite depressing, and I left feeling sickened and heavy-hearted.

Deciding it was time for a "vacation" during my travels, I caught a bus to the seaside resort town of Mui Ne, and booked into one of the few available hostels. It turned out to be not my usual digs- its got a beautiful pool, clean bathrooms, comfortable single beds, hot showers, and a restaurant/bar with a 12-hour-long "happy hour"! The hip, modern vibe runs contrary to the falling-apart, cheapest-bed-on-the-block, grungy backpacker dives I've been enjoying for most of the trip.

But for right now, its perfect. I spent today burning on the beach, swimming in the sea, eating and drinking at the hostel, and catching up on online stuff. I didn't worry about getting all the sightseeing in, or meeting people (though I did hang out in the morning), or finding the cheapest authentic roadside foods. I even had a nap, and I haven't spoken to anyone since after 2pm.

Its been exceptionally restful.
I'm looking forward to repeating the performance tomorrow...

Weekend Wonders

Where has the time gone??
I'm on my last week of volunteering/staying in Bangkok, and preparing to strike out on my own come Saturday.  I can't believe how fast the last 3 weeks have flown by!

I've been much busier since the two other volunteers arrived, which has been nice. We have gone out exploring on a few nights, and spent our long weekend (last Friday was a holiday here...what the occason was is still a mystery) about an hours drive outside Bangkok (read: 2 hours for the whole trip, because it takes an hour to get anywhere in the city) at the historic UNESCO World Heritage sites of Ayutthaya. This was a good warm-up to starting the backpacking portion of my trip :)

Checking out some ruins at sunset on my first night in Ayutthaya

I stayed in the cheapest room I could find, which was about 200 Thai Baht ($7.45 CAD). It was a private room, with a shared bathroom. Creaky floorboards, opaque plastic windows, and a small fan sitting on a plastic chair serving as the A/C lent it a rustic charm. The bed was big, fairly comfortable, and clean, so I was satisfied. The bathroom was sketchy as heck, and I spent very limited time there! haha!

I ate the street food served piping hot from the little pushcarts on the corner- delicious! - and drank SO much water, iced drinks, and coke...anything cold. It was ridiculously hot outside. As soon as I took a drink out of the cooler, it began to sweat almost as much as I was, and in a matter of minutes it's lukewarm, and then just plain warm and gross. So I guzzle while its chilly.

And heaven knows I needed hydration. Most people rent bikes or hire tuk tuks to get around Ayutthaya, but one of our party was nervous about riding a bike and tuk tuks get expensive fast, so we decided to walk! And since I was detirmined to get to a certain temple at the far reaches of the town, I continued walking long after the other girls turned back. It was an adventure, as my free tourist map was fairly useless, and I had to stop to ask for directions several times. But it was good. And a nice Thai lady on a motorbike saw me tootling along sweating up a storm, and stopped to offer me a free ride to the temple! I took her up on it, and got my first motorbike ride- what a thrill! I loved it! Once I'm out of Bangkok I think this will become a more regular occurance :)

I visited 3 temples in total, and they were all very beautiful. Wat Phra Mahathat was of special interest to me because it is the location of the intriguing Buddha head that is tangled up in tree roots. Its an image I've seen a few times, and its always appealed to me, so I wanted to see it for myself.
I guess I had never seen a picture with it next to a real person, to get the scale of it. For some reason I imagined it was this massive boulder of a sculture, locked in roots the thickness of a giant's arm. I was slightly taken aback to discover that in fact, the Buddha head is about the same size as mine, if not smaller, and could easily be missed if not for the crowd of tourists snapping selfies with it.

I was a little disappointed, but then realized how ridiculous my expectations were, and snapped my photo. I like it.

Next we visited Wat Pha Si Sanphet, which was cool, but very crowded with tourists, and also caters to the Elephant-riding crowd, which made me sad and a little peeved. I get that its cool and exciting to ride an elephant, but that doesn't make it ok. Especially when you can clearly see that they are being mistreated, ie: scars and marks on their bodies from the hooks the handlers use to control them.

After that point, my friends and I parted ways for the afternoon and I carried on to Wat Chai Wattanaram, which was my favorite! It was a bit further out = less crowded, and very well preserved. While not very large, I spent a fair amount of time wandering and taking photos, cuz that's how I roll. I even took a selfie! Gasp!

Despite sunscreen usage, I burnt to a crisp.
Thanks to frequent application of Burt's Bees After Sun lotion, it turned to a tan. Hooray!

I finished the day with a quick trip to the local floating market, which I'm sure lacked authenticity, but was fun nonetheless. Again, not what I expected, but it was interesting to look around.

On Sunday, back in Bangkok, I visited the Jim Thompson House (pretty, if not really as interesting as I'd hoped), and took a Thai cooking class! We learned about some of the key ingredients while shopping at a local market, prepared each dish separately, cooked, and ate! It was fantastic and we had a lovely chef to guide us. I walked out with a small recipe book I am very excited to use!

Now, I am back to work at the Fatima Center for the rest of the week, and then I carry on to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Saturday! Wish me luck at the hectic Poiphet border crossing!

As always, more photos & anecdotes can be found on my instagram, jllkc79, or #jillgoesbackpacking.

First Days in Cusco

Getting ready for my next adventure has me reminiscing about my first days in Cusco last December.

I'm trying to remember what it was like, how I felt, and the things that seemed so strange at first, before I slowly grew accustomed to life in South America. I'm mentally preparing to go through that awkward stage again once I reach Bangkok.

I remember it was very cold when I arrived. There was no central heat in house, which was not uncommon. I would bundle up in my newly-purchased alapaca sweater and wrap myself in my blankets while I typed away on my tablet or studied my Spanish lessons. It didn't help that I couldn't figure out how to get a hot shower for the first week, so I would come out shaking like a leaf and stay shivering for a very long time! (note to newbies: to get hot water out of those electric showerheads, only use the very smallest level of water pressure possible. Also, try not to get electrocuted)

Regis in front of the Catholic cathedral in Plaza de Armas, 

I loved my homestay hosts from the very first. They were an adorable older couple that just loved to have young travelers stay with them. They patiently helped us along with our Spanish, advised us on how much was a reasonable price for taxis, instructed us which buses to take, and fed us delicious food!!! They were a huge highlight of my stay in Cusco, and I highly recommend living with locals while traveling, at least for a portion of the time. I lived in a part of the city I probably would never have seen otherwise, and experienced the day-to-day Cusco from a local perspective. 

L-R: me, my homestay "parents", and my Dutch housemate 

Speedy Gonzales was the little terrier pup that belonged to my hosts. Since they were empty-nesters, Speedy became their fur baby and he was spoiled, but so much fun! It felt very homey and reassuring to have a pet around. He was always happy to see me when I got home :)

I arrived in Cusco at an awkward time, right before New Years. The regular classtimes at my Spanish school were interrupted due to the holidays which delayed the ideal scenario of slipping into a regular routine, and in addition to that there were not many students enrolled. I ended up in individual classes for the first while because no one else was at the beginner level with me. This was nice because it meant I was basically being tutored, but it was also overwhelming.
To have to adjust to a new home, culture, language, and social situation was exhausting and stressful! I had no friends, no family, and nothing familiar at all to turn to. 

When New Years came around, I felt lonely and isolated. I was incredibly relieved when E., a young Peruvian employee at the Spanish school, invited me to join her and her friends for the celebration.

E. and I joining the festivities in Plaza de Armas at New Years

I had only spoken to her over email before I arrived, and a couple times at the school, but I really liked her because she was so friendly and outgoing. Her English is fantastic as well, so I finally had someone to talk to! She ended up not joining her other friends for the night, so we just hung out and talked the night away, danced around the plaza at midnight amidst fireworks and drunken revelry, and then chilled at a local pub and listened to some fantastic live music until the wee hours!
Having a friend made a huge difference to me, and things started to look up.

At the beginning, everything is new and difficult. I took this photo from a cafe off Plaza de Armas, while exploring the city alone and ordering a meal in Spanish for the first time. I was so nervous about the most basic phrases, but with practice it became easier. Navigating transit and city streets by myself was stressful at first as well, but eventually I learned my way around (I made lots of mistakes, and it wasn't the end of the world!), and it felt awesome to be able to show newbies how to get around and where to go. 

I loved randomly experiencing something unexpected. Sometimes it was festivals and dancing in the streets. Sometimes it was a conversation with a local lady. Sometimes it was trying a new food I had never seen before. Every day was something new and exciting. 

I know that my first weeks traveling will be difficult and full of uncomfortable adjustments. A part of me dreads that and wishes I could skip it all together, but the truth is that those first days are when the impressions are the strongest and there is so much potential to see things so clearly...things that fade and become normal over time. I want to try to do better at capturing those moments this time. Hopefully it won't take me 10 months to get around to sharing them with you :) 

Summer Adventures in Oregon

Last December, my friend Julie and I decided we needed to go on a roadtrip together the following summer. We met at the treeplanting camp I worked in my first two seasons, and since she lives only 4 hours away we have been able to work in a few visits now and then. 

Our destination became Oregon...we didn't plan it out much, just that we wanted to see Cannon Beach and Portland at some point. We hopped into Leroy, the faithful '86 VW Westfalia I call home during the planting season, and tootled off down South early this past August. 

Our first stop was Seattle, which I had never seen before! We visited the usual tourist hot-spots...Pike Place Market, the first Starbucks, and the Gum Wall, as well as a tasty cheese shop where we bought expensive fancy cheeses and devoured it. 

We didn't get to see the fish-throwing guys!

They only threw the fish when our backs were turned. Its a conspiracy.

I bought some delicious basil & garlic flavored GF pasta at the farmers market, which I realized after the fact was extremely expensive due to the weak Canadian dollar. Oh well. It was tasty...

The Gum Wall. For some reason people have been sticking their chewed gum in this alley for years. I bought into it, and a wad of my gum now resides there as well. This is weird, disgusting, and strangely fascinating. 

After Seattle we drove around the Olympic Penisula in Washington, stopping briefly in Forks to satisfy Julie's old adolescent desire to pilgrimage to the setting of her beloved Twilight. It was worthwhile because the coastal drive near Kalaloch was stunning! 

Arriving on a Friday, we were lucky to secure the very last available camping spot in town! The location was ideal, within minutes of walking to Cannon Beach and all the cute shops downtown. We had a great time there. 

 The day we arrive was windy and rainy, which I think is pretty usual for the Oregon Coast, but the Saturday was gorgeous hot weather. We threw down a picnic blanket on the beach and enjoyed a sunny afternoon, fending seagulls away from our snacks.

In the evening the tide went down to its lowest point, and we went back to the beach to explore and get close to the striking "monolith". It was a beautiful scene at sunset, and I couldn't stop taking photos...

After visiting Cannon Beach, we stopped by Ecola State Park, about 15 minutes drive North from the town, and hiked the trails for a few hours. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and we had another beautiful day for it. 

Once we had worked up an appetite, we headed further South to Tillamook to sample the delicious products at the Tillamook Dairy Co-op. It was a worthwhile endeavor, though after eating ice cream, yogurt, and various flavors of cheese, our bodies were begging for a break! (I regret nothing)

Portland included a few important stops: Voodoo Donuts (of which I was unable to partake, but I fully supported)...

 ...and Powell's Books: the largest independent bookstore in the world! It takes up a full city block, has three floors, and a store map. Needless to say, these two booknerds were incredibly happy and spent far more money than they should have.

 

 Overall, it was a very satisfying trip, and I had so much fun exploring with a wonderful friend!
Hope you enjoyed the photos!