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!

One Year Ago

Its been a year now since I flew down to NYC for a week of volunteering and sightseeing in the Big Apple.

I was going to go again this year, but you know...life happens, and so now I'm working on other things at home and watching some photos of this year's trip go up on Facebook.
I won't lie to you, it kind of really sucks, and I'm feeling pretty bummed out.

I'm not whining exactly...consider it more of an explanation for the following deluge of photos, and indulge me for a moment as I reminisce over last year's good times.
I never did finish blogging all my photos of the trip anyway.

Feeling pretty stoked on life at the Rockefeller Center

Group shot!

"You're Fired!"

The Times!

Visiting the Seinfeld restaurant

I got a strawberry milkshake...it was delicious :)

Grand Central Station

Taking the Subway

Wall Streeeeeet!!!


The Team @ Brooklyn Bridge!

Visiting the World Trade Center Memorial

Crowding onto the ferry to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty

Having fun with the mascots in Times Square! 

Don't let the smile fool you, I'm actually terrified of mascots.
I mean LOOK at him. He's ATTACKING me.

Night skating in Central Park: magical!

Trying not to get run over

Riding a snail in Columbus Circle

"Everyone look like a celebrity!": This was one of those obligatory greenscreen tourist photos where you have to pay for it in Guest Services afterward.
We just took a photo of the photo instead. hee hee...

Bell ringing at the Christmas Kettle, and handing out suckers to the kids!
 (NYC has THE CUTEST children in the world. Scientific fact.)


Waiting in line to see "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway!

The show is about to start! The Chandelier is under there! THE CHANDELIER!

Katharina enjoying an authentic NYC chili dog after a busy morning of sight-seeing!

New York Cheesecake has NO CRUST, therefore it is GLUTEN FREE!!!

Well dear reader, thank you for putting up with me as I mope tonight. It was actually really fun to look at all these photos again. Such good memories :)

Detours, Dead-Ends, and Other Events

Sometimes things just don't go the way you want them to*.

After cruising through the Canadian prairies, we made a quick detour South and crossed the border into the United States.  This was a bit of a blow to the Canadian-ness of our roadtrip, but it was justified by saving us time and money (as gas prices are ridiculously cheaper there).It was going to be another very long day of driving, and we were hoping to pass through quickly, so we placed sweet-n-innocent-looking Katharina in the driver's seat and crossed our fingers. 

No such luck! We were quickly directed to drive into a bay where we were asked numerous questions and then scooted into a small waiting room. Strangely enough the window looking out to our vehicle was a one-way mirror in our favor, so we got to giggle as we watched the border guards struggle to open the trunk of our Grand Prix, setting off the alarm in the process. It doesn't have the usual release by the pedals, and there is no keyhole on the trunk...the only way to pop the trunk is to hold the lock switch on the driver's door for a few seconds. It took them about 10 minutes to admit defeat, and curtly ask Katharina to open it up for them, which she tried to do without laughing. After that they got to deal with our intense packing job, which they could not repack. And for all this trouble, the only thing they confiscated was a bag of oranges I had purchased the day before. I was sad. 

Once across the border, we navigated the American highways with mixed success. To our Canadian eyes they were not quite as straightforward or well marked as we were used to, so we ended up missing a turn somewhere, and added an unnecessary 1-hour detour to our 15-hr driving day. Then our highway abruptly came to end with an abundance of bright orange signs and precious little detour direction, so we drove around for a while before finding another way through, desperately hoping we were headed to Canada.
Somewhere along the way, there was suddenly a thunderous noise from underneath us, and I turned to Steve and asked, "Is the car supposed to be making that sound?"

Turns out, our muffler went. Further inspection revealed a massive hole. We attempted to patch it with special muffler tape, but as it turns out the damage was too great, and there was no salvaging it. Steve liked the new revving sound, nicknaming our Grand Prix "The Ferrari", but the rest of us were not so pleased about the constant headache-inducing roar which remained for the duration of the trip.

Alas, also we took another wrong turn, but discovered our mistake within 15 minutes. However, it was starting to get dark and we were all getting tired. Disney sing-a-longs could only carry us so far. The gas pedal may have been pressed a little further than it should have been when the flashing red and blue lights illuminated our rearview mirror. We all groaned.

The police officer that approached the window seemed like a reasonable fellow, and Katharina saved us all by playing the sweet-n-innocent card again, this time with success ("Our car didn't have a speedometer reading miles, we were keeping pace with traffic because we weren't sure how fast to go...")! We were let off with a warning! From there it was just a matter of a few more hours of driving, and we reached the Canadian border.

This time we tried a new tactic. We placed bearded-and-tattooed Steve in the driver's seat, and crossed our fingers.

The Canadian border guard asked, "Where are you from and where are you going?"...and after a cursory glance at our passports, practically waved us on our way before Steve had finished our story.
Oh Canada.

We made it back to our homeland, and spent the night in Sault St. Marie, Ontario.

 *Because I made this announcement, I feel obligated to update you all and let you know that Steve and I are no longer together. This is sad, of course, yet I have nothing but good memories of our time together. The roadtrip has not been tainted for me so I will continue to document it, but maybe with fewer photos than might otherwise have been posted.

Hawaii Highlights

Some memorable moments from my February family vacation to Oahu...

First turtle sighting! It was huge! I thought it was a boulder.

Our first sunny morning was beautiful and so, so welcome!

Snorkeling & swimming with a sea turtle at Turtle Bay!

Locally produced coconut ice cream...the best thing I ate all week!
And that is saying something, because there was a lot of good food around.

Showing some Canadian pride when our women's hockey team
won gold at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics!

Boogie boarding...a.k.a watching my brothers get trashed by the brutal waves.

Hiking through a jungle-y rainforest! 

Non-highlight: I should also make a confession...please try to understand.
I...I forgot Regis at home. Trust me, I realize that is practically heresy. After all, the blog is named after him. He has been on practically every trip I've taken in the last 4 years. I don't have a good defense, just the fact that I was in the middle of mid-terms when we left and my brain was elsewhere! Please forgive me, Regis...

Stormy Weather

Look at these fresh, innocent faces.

Off to Hawaii for the first time. Spirits and hopes are high. 

Surf, Sand, and Sun, here we come!

Little did we know, the forecast for our week in Hawaii included a LOT of fog, wind, and rain! 

Feeling brave and venturing out of the beach house for a walk...

Returning in 10 minutes, drenched. 

The good news is that we had renewed appreciation for the sun when it finally came!