On The Road To Portland (Part 2)

It took us six days to make the drive from San Diego to Portland. Why, you ask? Why did it take us 6 days to drive the 1,000 short miles? Well, because we were pulling a trailer and going under the speed limit, but also because we wanted to catch as many of the destinations along I-5 on our way as we could. In the first four days we went roller coaster riding in Santa Clarita, spent a long day driving most of California to Redding and then two adventurous days in Redding itself (I wrote about those four days here). Here is how we spent the next two days, ON OUR WAY TO OUR NEW HOME IN PORTLAND! :o)

Thursday morning we woke up in Redding and got back on I-5. Within minutes of getting on the interstate we were greeted with gorgeous vistas of Shasta Lake. I had noted in the atlas that we'd be passing by this lake when planning our route, but had not expected it to be as magnificent as this. The views we saw that day strongly reminded me of the views we'd seen off of the Sea-to-Sky Highway in Vancouver, BC and we were both blown away by the natural beauty.

View of Shasta Lake from I-5

Shasta Lake

Soon after passing the lake we rounded a bend in the road and were presented with another amazing site- snow covered Mount Shasta, the fifth tallest peak in California at 14,179 ft. The view of the mountain got better and better as we got closer (I probably took a million pictures, thinking each was better than the last) and eventually we were directly next to the imposing mountain.

First glance of Mount Shasta

Getting closer!

Mount Shasta!

Not thirty minutes later we passed the last exit on I-5 in California. This might not seem that interesting, but it was exit number 796, meaning that I-5 stretches almost 800 miles north and south through the state! Right after crossing the border into OREGON! we also passed another I-5 landmark: Siskiyou Summit, the highest point on the I-5 at 4,310 ft elevation.

The last exit in California on I-5

Welcome to Oregon!!

Our destination that day was Ashland, a super cute little town tucked deep in the Rogue Valley. We'd heard great things about Ashland, and my Pacific Northwest guide recommended it as a culinary delights destination, which is always a huge plus in my book. The town was located conveniently right off of I-5 and we had no trouble finding parking for our truck and trailer on one of the side streets right off of Main Street.

Walking around Ashland

Main Street in Ashland

The biggest reason we decided to make a stop in Ashland was because it was also home to one of my favorite bloggers, Patti from One Road At A Time (Patti wrote a great write-up on Ashland here). After living in the Bay Area in California for over 30 years, her and her husband Abi decided to shake things up by moving to Ashland, buying a Bed & Breakfast and renovating it! Today, two years later, they are running a successful business and have gone on several exciting adventures around the US and abroad. I really like reading Patti's blog because she is totally open about what it's like to run a B&B, and haven't we all wandered and dreamed about what it would be like to open and run a B&B some time in our lives? Well, I know I have, and I really enjoy reading the "behind the scenes" stories. Patti also writes a second blog on behalf of their B&B, On the Road to Abigail's, where she shares up to date interesting information on what's happening in Ashland and the Inn.

Abigail's Bed and Breakfast in Ashland

So! After wondering the town we made our way to Abigail's Bed and Breakfast and Patti gave us a true "behind the scenes" tour of the B&B. It was awesome to hear about the before and after progress they made on their renovations. Then the four of us made our way back down Main street to one of Patti and Abi's favorite restaurants, a quaint Italian place called Pasta Piatti, and we spent the rest of the evening swapping blogging secrets and sharing funny stories. It's really funny how the four of us would have never met had Patti and I not accidentally found each other on this huge world of the internet. How amazing is it to find friends like that?

Abi, Patti, Sky and I at dinner in Ashland

The following morning we'd planned to drive to somewhere between Ashland and Portland, to arrive in Portland on Saturday, but we couldn't help our excitement and drove all the way to the city. On the way the weather could not make up its mind and we kept passing under grey clouds and light rain and then blue skies and bright sunshine. Right before we drove into the city limits we were greeted with a huge and beautiful rainbow that seemed to begin right at the side of the intestate and stretched far into the countryside. Does this mean we've found the end of the rainbow? We've found the gold? I sure hope so! We plan to call this place home. :o)

The rainbow right off of I-5

Huge rainbow over Oregon!

Now we've spent the last week running around Portland, trying to get all of our affairs in order before I start my new job tomorrow! I have lots to say about this last week, and plan to write about that soon.

To see more pictures of Ashland, click here.

Happy New Beginnings!

M.

On The Road To Portland (Part 1)

We reluctantly left San Diego after spending two awesome weeks there. Our original plans had included visiting Joshua Tree National Park next, but we soon found out that all the campgrounds in the vicinity were booked solid because of Spring Break. We spent an extra day on the beach instead...bummer. :o) Sunday morning I woke up with the crack of dawn because we were spending that day RIDING ROLLER COASTERS!! We drove three hours north from San Diego to Santa Clarita, to Six Flags Magic Mountain and then spent the next eight hours running around the park like school children, trying to ride as many coasters as we could.

Recipes From The Road- Pears and Figs in a Sherry Sauce

While wondering around the fruit section of a grocery store the other day we were trying to find fruit that we had not tried before or fruit we hadn't eaten in a while. There was a gorgeous display of ripe green pears and the sign above it listed the pears as being the "Best Ever Pears" from Oregon. Well, who can beat that? And plus, its from Oregon! The store also conveniently provided take home recipe cards as suggestions on what you could do with these pears. The suggested recipe was Pears in Sherry and Fig Sauce, and after reading through the directions and ingredient list we decided to give it a try.

California Dreaming

We spent the rest of our two weeks in San Diego (aside from spending afternoons in La Jolla and visiting the San Diego Zoo) biting our fingernails thinking about the impending end of our year long journey exploring downtown's Little Italy and Gaslamp districts, laying out on the Pacific and Coronado beaches and admiring the other treasures around the city. The two weeks flew by in an instant and all I have left to prove that we were even there now is the collection of pictures I took and the golden tan on my skin. There is something to be said about Southern California...life is just different here. This region of the country has an amazing smell to it; it smells of sunshine, of freshly cut grass, flowers. If this smell could be captured, I think it would be a top seller for car air fresheners, although its likely it would cause an increase in traffic accidents, as drivers would tend to drift off, happily dreaming about California.

San Diego downtown view from Coronado Island

We wasted whole afternoons laying out by the ocean on the warm, golden sand, watching kite surfers and sailboats go by. Since our next destination (Portland) doesn't deliver quite as much sun as the SoCal region, we were trying to soak up as much sunshine as we could before we left to make the drive north. Our most favorite beach ended up being Pacific Beach mainly due to its popularity (lots and lots of interesting people watching!), its wide and clean sandy beach and its long boardwalk.

Pacific Beach

Me, trying to work on that horrible shorts tan line!

The boardwalk on Pacific Beach

A pup enjoying the views on Pacific Beach

Spring Break rolled around during our second week in California and the beaches filled up with all kinds of amusing folks out for their one week of freedom. We would pack up our beach blanket, a picnic lunch and our books and head to the beach late morning. We'd spend the rest of the afternoon goofing around on the beach and then in the early evening we would walk the boardwalk and wait for the sunset. Sunset over the Pacific Ocean is one of this nation's greatest assets. We tried to capture as many as we could.

Sunset on Pacific Beach

One Saturday afternoon we drove out to Coronado Island to visit the Coronado beach and see the famous Hotel del Coronado. It turned out that a dog beach was nearby so we spent a good portion of our visit there, watching dogs happily run around, kicking up sand and chasing balls into the high waves. Afterwards we strolled the beach up to the hotel and got a hot coffee from the cafe inside. We took our coffee to the outdoor patio and sat and watched as guests of the hotel shuffled past, some dressed in swimsuits and some dressed for Rodeo Drive.

Coronado Island

The Hotel del Coronado

Coronado Beach dog beach

We spent an afternoon in Balboa Park and another touring the Old Town San Diego, the birthplace of California. On our last day in town we finally made it out to the San Diego harbor and Skyler got to oogle at historic warships. That evening turned out to be pretty magical. There was a gentle breeze off of the ocean, the temperature was a warm, mid sixties. We strolled the harbor, then made our way to the Gaslamp district where we had an amazing Italian dinner on an outside patio. Afterwards we walked the streets, taking in the casual and happening atmosphere of St. Patrick's Day celebration. We ended the evening with a dessert from an Italian bakery, complete with two frothy caffe lattes. Life truly seemed grand, and it was.

Sky and the Star of India in the San Diego harbor 

Unconditional Surrender statue in the San Diego Harbor 

Gaslamp district of San Diego

Walking around the Gaslamp district of San Diego

Little Italy district of San Diego

Dessert selection in Little Italy, who could say no?

If only all days could be filled with as much sunshine as these...but then would we appreciate them for what they were? San Diego has moved into our top ten cities around the US list. We'll be back, maybe often...to recharge our sunshine batteries during long stretches of rain in Portland perhaps. :o)

To see more pictures of San Diego, click here.

Happy California Dreaming,

M.

La Jolla Afternoons

While visiting San Diego, we've spent several amazing afternoons in La Jolla, a little scenic seaside community just north of the city. One of La Jolla's best features (in my opinion) is the abundance of seals and other marine life that is easily visible on the shore. The harbor seals can be seen year round in La Jolla at Casa Beach and Seal Rock, and right now (early spring) is pupping season! These baby seals, with their giant flippers and whiskers are possibly the cutest babies I've ever seen. In addition to the seals we saw a few California sea lions, and lots of brown pelicans and Cormorants on the beaches. Even whales can often be spotted close to shore here during migration season!

San Diego Zoo

Aside from the beaches, we were the most excited about visiting the San Diego Zoo during our time in San Diego. I'd been to the zoo in the past with my parents and little sister, but Sky had never been and we were looking forward to spending a day there together. We bought our tickets online with a $4 discount and got to skip standing in line at the ticket office. We arrived just after lunch and had five hours left until the zoo closed, so we got a map from the front and planned out our route around the park. Our ticket came with a free guided bus tour of the zoo, so we went on that first to get acquainted with the park layout and learn a little about the animals. Then we spent the remaining hours running around the zoo like madmen, making sure to visit all of our favorite animals (the park is HUGE and has Lots and Lots of hills...if you visit, plan to walk a lot and wear comfortable shoes!). In the last thirty minutes before closing we caught a ride on the aerial tram that flies over the zoo from one end to the other, a nice feature that was also included with our admission tickets. I believe this day is best captured in pictures, so here goes:

Our Little, Big News!

Just when we thought we had our plans all figured out (at least until after Russia), we got one more life curve-ball thrown at us, and once again our plans have morphed into something completely new. So, without further ado, here is the big announcement…

On The Way To California!

After spending five days in Phoenix we packed up and headed west to the land of sunshine and sea, California! I-8 took us right through the Sonoran Desert National Monument, by large fields of solar panels and again right by the Mexican border.  Since the drive from Phoenix to San Diego was too far for us in one day (pulling a trailer we have to go slower on the highway and Sky is the solo driver), we were just hoping to find a boondocking spot along the way.

Desert Heaven in Phoenix, AZ

The drive from Tucson to Phoenix was a piece of cake and took us just over two hours. The desert landscape was similar to what we’d seen coming into Tucson, with saguaro cacti scattered amidst dry sand. What was interesting though was how many tumbleweeds we saw that day. It was a particularly windy day (we seem to pick all the windy days to do our driving…it makes it more exciting that way) and because we were driving through dry, flat land, tumbleweeds had nothing to stop them from swirling around the highway. I’d seen tumbleweeds crossing roads before, in cartoons and silly movies, and kind of always thought that the size of these things was exaggerated for comedic effect. BUT NO. These massive tumbleweeds, the size of wine barrels, would fly right across traffic, with no obvious trajectory pattern aside from the direction of the wind gust.

Tucson and the Saguaro National Park

Wednesday morning we woke up at the gas station on the side of Interstate 10. It was a bright and sunny morning in the New Mexican desert and we had plans to drive west into Arizona to our next destination, Tucson. The weather forecast for southern Arizona called for snow later in the day, and I had trouble believing it. Snow…in the desert…on such a nice sunny day? We’d run into similar craziness last time we’d come through Flagstaff, AZ when we experienced a gorgeous sunny day followed by a morning snow blizzard, only to end in another sunny and warm afternoon. Well, we set out on the road hoping to be parked at our campground, snug and safe, by the time this “snow” rolled in.

The Land Of White Sands

After spending two days on the border of Mexico in El Paso, Texas, we headed back inland into the state of New Mexico. On this loop of our trip we're hoping to repeat as few locations as possible from the ones we saw on our last loop around the US, but White Sands National Monument was just so astounding last time that we couldn't pass through New Mexico without stopping in again. Although the afternoon we picked could have been slightly less windy (read: 40 ml/hr wind gusts), the park proved itself just as amazing as we'd remembered it. Instead of writing a long post about what all was so amazing, I'll let pictures speak for themselves.

(Near) The Murder Capitol Of The World

Sunday morning, after boondocking on the side of Hwy 118 outside of the McDonald Observatory we got back on I-10 and headed towards El Paso. The last 80 miles of Interstate 10 leading up to El Paso mirrored the Mexican border and it was exciting to be so close to a foreign land. Unlike Europe, where one can visit multiple countries in the same day, the US is so enormous that it is a rare treat to find oneself on the doorsteps of another country. El Paso lies right across the border from Juarez, and unfortunately, Juarez has recently seen a huge increase in drug related gang violence, leading to it being dubbed the “Murder Capitol of the World”. Most online travel guides warn against crossing into Mexico in this part of the country, and we decided not to test our luck. Instead, we spent our two days in El Paso exploring the city and the outdoors at the Franklin Mountains State Park.

West Texas Driving

Last Friday we checked out of the Midtown RV Park in Austin and headed west into the Hill Country of Texas. We were retracing the same route we’d taken just under a year ago, heading to the little town of Fredericksburg. We passed exotic animal ranches, where antelope and reindeer grazed under the warm sun. We passed sprawling pecan and peach farms, and big grass fields with long horned steer, lambs and sheep.  After spending a full month in the busy metropolitan Austin, we were more than ready to get back into the rural side of Texas; to step into a slower pace of life.

We Win Some, We Lose Some

One night in December, while we were back home in Fayetteville, I was checking my Facebook feed. One of my running girlfriends had posted a link to a local article and announced that she was looking for a partner to compete with. Her statement intrigued me and I clicked on her pasted link. Isn’t it funny how the smallest, most innocuous moments in life like that can lead to some very interesting and unexpected changes? Well, in our case, the link lead to a reality TV show casting, to be held in Fayetteville, of all places. Producers from LA were picking new contestants to compete in sets of two on a spin-off of the Bear Grylls show. Castings were being held nationally in 9 different cities, and somehow little ‘ol Fayetteville had made the cut.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day also coincided with our last day in Austin. We decided against going out to a fancy-shmansy dinner (which isn't really our style anyways), and instead spent the evening on the Whole Foods patio. On Thursdays the store offers up handmade large pizzas with three toppings for only $10, so we called in a pepperoni, mushrooms and artichoke pizza, picked up a bottle of chilled Riesling, and some sugar snap peas from the produce section. Nothing says "I Love You" like pizza and wine in paper cups while watching a good Netflix show on the computer (free WiFi on the patio!).

Eating From An Urban Spoon- Austin Style

We spent our last two days in Austin eating as much as our stomachs could fit generously sampling more of the amazing selection of cuisines here. Did you know Austin has over 2,000 registered food trucks? Holy moly (guacamole…since I've got food on my mind)! If you tried out a new food truck each day, it would take you over five years to try each one…and that’s only if new trucks weren't added in the meantime! In my opinion food trucks are the epitome of eating out. First, you have location…they are everywhere, you don’t have to drive far to find a decent dinner, and if you and your friends are picky, no problem, the trucks usually sit in large groups, so there choices to pick from. Two, the sheer variety of types of food offered is mind boggling. Even if you go to a food truck that has something ordinary like hot dogs, you can probably expect them to have added some new twist, so it’s no longer just a hot dog, but now an artisan sausage. And finally third, the very affordable prices…it’s not uncommon to walk away with a full, filling meal for under $10. All that adds up to NUM! in my book.

Within Austin City Limits

Austin has smitten us with its amazing weather. We have spent the last month (winter month at that!) running around in shorts and t-shirts, bathing countless hours in the sunshine. We have quickly grown to appreciate the city for all it has to offer and have even established several places that we can call our favorites, as in, places we will truly miss when we leave. There is something very special about this city, with its colorful murals and bright neon signs. Its artistic vibe is like a breath of fresh air in the middle of the Texan desert. After Portland, I would say Austin is our second most favorite city in the US, and if we could find a way to live in both places, we would. (Preferably Austin in the winter and Portland in the summer!) In our month here we have yet had a day when we were bored, with nothing to do. The city offers a long list of attractions and we have slowly been ticking them off, one by one. Because we have enjoyed this city so much, I have decided to share a city guide with you, in case you decide to come visit the city for yourself! Enjoy!

Recipes From the Road- Thai Tom Kha Gai Soup

As you all probably already know, Thai cuisine is one of our favorites. We can usually judge the quality of a Thai restaurant by their soup, and we almost always order the Tom Kha Gai coconut soup. Over the years we've tried recreating the soup at home and have never really found a recipe that has come close to what we've found while eating out...until a few days ago, when my friend Maranda posted a recipe she'd recently tried out herself. We had most of the ingredients on hand so we decided to give it a go, and you know what? This is probably the closest we'll ever get to restaurant quality! If you've been looking to make the soup yourself, I would recommend that you try the this recipe!

Carnaval Brasileiro in Austin

While living in Austin we decided to throw some money on the table and attend the yearly Carnaval celebration. The event touted itself as "One of the Biggest Carnaval Celebrations Outside of Brazil" and since we had no upcoming plans to attend the real deal in Brazil we figured it would be interesting to get a feel for it in Austin. The Brazilian style Mardi Gras party was held at the Palmer Events center, just across the Lady Bird Town Lake from downtown Austin. We really had no idea what to expect, as the only Mardi Gras style events we've been to before are house parties and downtown street festivals (both rated PG at most). Well, by the end of the night I'd seen more breasts than at the YMCA locker room and I was thoroughly impressed with everyone's costumes!

Torchy's Tacos With Friends

Last year when we visited Austin we met up for dinner with some college friends of ours: Jen, Jay and their baby boy Wesley. Back then Wesley was just three months old and if I remember correctly that was his very first outing to a restaurant. Wesley did quite well that evening and we had a very enjoyable evening catching up over yummy Italian food.

Balcones Canyonlands NWR, TX

Last weekend we drove out into the Hill Country to visit the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is about an hour's drive northwest of Austin and is one of the few nearby places to go hiking outside of the city limits that we have discovered so far. Given such a grand name- CANYON LANDS!, I was hoping for something dramatic, like the real canyons we saw at Big Bend National Park last year, but what we found instead was mostly small rolling hills of dry prairie landscape. We spent most of the afternoon hiking and driving around the refuge and didn't see a single animal. The park is revered for its bird watching opportunities, but I can't even say we saw any birds of particular interest. Maybe we will bring our binoculars next time?

Becoming Austinites

I can't believe we've already been in Austin for over two weeks! We've fallen into a routine here, made up of running, mountain biking, soccer playing, hiking, and city exploring. We've had amazing, GLORIOUS weather as well, holding steady in the mid 70s and lots and lots of sunshine. (70 degrees in January...EPIC!) It's hard to complain when everything comes together so well and works outs. In other words, life and Austin have been good to us.

Recipes From The Road- Thai Stir Fry

On our last day in Houston we followed a tip from our friends Mark and Lianna and went shopping at the Canino Produce Market. The front portion of the market resembles a regular grocery store, but there is an adjacent area in the back of the market where local farmers set up booths and sell their produce directly to you. In this section of the market you can bargain on the prices and there is quite more variety to be found. While there we stocked up on a bunch of fresh vegetables and fruits, so we needed a recipe that called for what we'd purchased. Given our love of Thai food, we did a quick search on the Thaifood.About.com site and quickly found a stir fry recipe that hit the spot. That night we made a super delicious meal and I thought I would share it with you!

Greetings From Austin!

Saturday morning we made the drive from Houston to Austin (and got a little lost along the way on back country roads with height limitations..yikes!). Since we'd decided that we'd be staying in Austin for a month we weren't ready to commit on any one RV park and were hoping to get a look at all of them before we made our decision. We were really hoping to not repeat the bad RV park experience we'd had in Houston. So, we reached out to our fellow RV blogging friend Yair, who by the way is now calling Austin his permanent residence. Yair had a nice long driveway and invited us to come stay with him over the weekend. Life was looking up and everything was kosher!

Houston, TX

Houston is the fourth largest city in the US, right after New York, LA and Chicago. Last time we'd visited Texas we were just hours away in Austin and didn't make the drive to see the sprawling cosmopolitan city, so this time we decided to head there first. We had high hopes for Houston and were super excited for it to be our very first destination on this leg of our trip. Unfortunately, bad weather, bad RV park choice and LOTS and LOTS of traffic added quite a negative tone to our Houston experience.

Galveston, TX, The Third Coast

A friend recently asked us why we hadn't visited the Third Coast. I was momentarily thrown off by the moniker, but then realized that he was referring to the Gulf Coast. We'd visited the West and East coasts on our trip so far, but had yet paid a visit to the Gulf, so last Sunday we took a trip down to Galveston, just 40 minutes outside of Houston. We'd called up the visitor's office in Houston before going and asked for some tips on what to see and do there. The lady offered up some recommendations, but ended the conversation with "Well, don't expect a nice beach. Galveston has a beach, but its surrounded by commercial ports and it's not very clean." Oh boy, we were super excited to visit the Gulf then, especially after seeing the pristine beaches in California and Cape Cod. Thankfully, Galveston and its beach turned out to be much nicer than promised and we ended up with a pretty interesting day.

11 Year Dateaversary

Today is our 11 year dateaversary (the yearly anniversary of our very first date). I'm almost more giddy about this anniversary than our wedding anniversary. In May we'll have been married for six years, but six years sounds so less serious when compared to eleven...Plus, I like any excuse to celebrate, so celebrating our dating anniversary is one of my most favorite days. I can't believe it's been a whole year since I posted about our 10 year anniversary! I guess time really does fly when you're with someone you adore...and having fun. :o)

On The Road Again

Friday morning we said goodbye to Fayetteville and once again set off on the road. The night before I had a hard time getting to sleep because I was so excited about our departure. I was really looking forward to being on the road again, and the freedom and the possibilities that come with that. We had packed everything up and had gotten the travel trailer and truck all set to go the night before, so when morning rolled around, all we had to do was eat breakfast and do a last detail cleaning of the guest room we’d stayed in. Once we climbed into the truck and were on the road, it felt like we had never paused our travels. How is it possible that we keep switching life styles and it always feels like nothing’s really changed?

Inspiration For The New Year

So how is everyone doing on following through with their New Year's resolutions? Me? Not so good. I didn't really go into the year with specific resolutions, but I did have some general life goals in mind. So far: eating healthy, Check! sticking to a regular running schedule, Fail....Well, in case you've been looking for some motivation on getting in shape this year, look no further than this epic blog.

One Year Without A Job

December 31 was exactly one year since I quit my job. For the last year both Skyler and I have been unemployed or as Skyler likes to call it FUN-employed. Before going on this adventure I used to often wonder what being unemployed would be like. I've been employed to some degree since I was fifteen years old, so it was hard for me to imagine. Would we have gobs of time? Would we get bored? Would we worry about money? Would I worry that we made the right decision? After all, we did quit our lucrative jobs in the middle of a deep recession…most people gave us the “you must be crazy” look when we first told them about our plans. Well, I gave it some though these past few days and I've come to the following conclusions.