Day 19- Seattle and Beyond

Today is our last and final day in Seattle! Yet another city that I could see myself living in, another city I have fallen in love with. As Rebekah and I were talking today we realized that the best thing about this city has been the people, mainly the people we stayed with. These hosts have blessed so many people! They are really just amazing, genuine people who like to have a good time. And because of that all of us surfers have a good time too!

As we headed out this morning it was sad to say goodbye, but good to start another adventure. We have affirmed, yet again, that we will never pack this much stuff for another trip. It really doesn’t help that one of the wheels on my suitcase has stopped working, so half the time I am dragging a 60 pound suitcase down the street! The two of us, our host, and another surfer headed to our host’s office to drop our luggage off. Remember those hills we had to walk up yesterday? The ones that were super steep and long? Well we had to take ALL of our stuff up a few. Luckily we had our sweet couchsurfer friend, and he pulled my suitcase while I pushed. We must have been quite the site going up that hill, because there were some business men staring out the window laughing hysterically at us. Thanks guys, thanks.

Once we did eventually make it there, we dropped the luggage off and headed out for our last day in the city! Today had been kind of cloudy, and as we were walking around looking for a coffee shop, it started to rain! (Imagine that, rain in Seattle?) We go in a coffee shop just in time, and sat doing some work on our computers until it was time to head to our movie. We were going to see Ice Age 4! The movie was ok. There were some hilarious parts where I laughed my head off, and then there quite a few just ok/boring parts. But over all it was a cute movie.

Afterwards we were looking around the mall for lunch, but couldn’t find much. All of us wanted pizza, so we found a cute little place a few blocks away. Mods pizza was awesome, and definitely reasonably priced. I got a Dillion James pizza, which had: sausage, basil, mozzarella, tomato and garlic. Delicious! Once we were done with lunch we had to say goodbye to our newfound friend, which was sad. Then off we went to pick up our luggage! We took a taxi from our host’s house to Union station, which even though it was only half a mile, it was a very long way to walk with a broken 60 pound suitcase!

We are now sitting in the train station waiting for our train which has been delayed at least an hour. It is so hard to believe that I will be home in just one week. I have been gone from my house for 34 days now and it seems like forever! So much has happened in that long, and I have enjoyed every moment of it! But truth be told, I am feeling ready to get back to my home, my family and my other friends. This has been the trip of a lifetime, and I can’t wait to enjoy the next week of it!

 ~Rebekah

Day 17- Seattle

This morning was a fairly early morning, as we had to head out to volunteer at our last food shelter! We had tried to volunteer in every city, but some we were staying in were just too little, or the shelter we had arranged did not work out.

We rode the ferry over once again and then had to walk about 7 blocks. 7 blocks didn’t sound very bad, until we realized that those 7 blocks were up hill. And not just any hill, crazy steep like San Francisco hills! After huffing and puffing our way the last two blocks, we finally made it! (Just a side note- if you ever move to Seattle and have to walk to work, you might just be very tone after your first few months living their. No gym or diet needed!)

The people working at this food shelter were super friendly from the start. They welcomed us in and immediately put us to work bagging pastries. This was kind of funny, because it was like the one job we haven’t done yet. In LA we did the sorting of good food from bad food. Here we took the food that had been sorted and bagged it into individual sizes. In San Diego we handed those bags out to the people! This shelter was definitely my favorite place to bag stuff. They had a very neat system set up, with nice plastic bags and holders, and then the awesome thing ever- a bag taper! You would put the stuff in the bag, give it a twirl, and then insert that twirl into the tape machine, and pull it out. There would be a perfect little piece of tape around the bag! That was just a blast to do, and it made our time bagging seem to fly by. After we had bagged pastries we bagged diapers, which was still fun J Then they wanted us to get out to the customer service for the last half. They had us sit behind tables and help the customers coming through the line. We met quite a few lovely volunteers, and it was just an amazing experience! All too soon we had to say goodbye to our new-found friends, and though it was sad to leave, both Rebekah and I were hungry!

We had planned to get Indian today for lunch, and that is just what we did. I found a restaurant using my Iphone, and off we headed. The restaurant was ok. We had their lunch buffet, and though it was good, it definitely wasn’t the best. Kind of average Indian food. We had also planned to get our nails done! I was in desperate need of both a Mani and Pedi, and it felt wonderful to get off our feet for a few hours! Though I ALWAYS go with a French pedicure, I decided to go wild this time and get a bright fun yellow! I love how they turned out even though they are a little bolder then I expected. 

After our little pit stop we went to just walk through Pike Place Market one more time. We stopped at this stand and got the OMG peaches. Let me just tell you, they are amazing. The best peaches you will ever taste in your entire life! We walked through a bit more, but since we had already seen it yesterday we decided to sit on a little park bench overlooking the water and finish our peaces.

We then hopped on the ferry back home, and once arriving, started cooking dinner! I made one of my favorite meals, garlic chicken wraps. It took a little while because all they had for a grill was a stove top that turned into a grill. It was totally awesome, but small. The chicken did cook eventually, and we all chowed down. The chicken was a little dry, and missing some flavor, but everyone loved it! Even the 4 French students came back again and again! (I think one of them had 4 wraps!) I was so glad they were a a hit!

The evening was another wonderfully relaxing evening, with more cookie baking, and this time something very special- Henna tattoo’s! Henna tattoo’s are a temporary tattoo that normally lasts for about 2 weeks. The mom here is amazing at them, and I can’t wait to post a picture of mine. (It will have to wait, as we will be on the train tomorrow and won’t have wi-fi!)

It is late and we have an early day tomorrow, so goodnight!

Day 17- Seattle, here comes the Couchsurfers!

This morning we ended up sleeping in a little later then we had planned, which is just what we needed after staying up until all hours of the night. As the morning progressed we said goodbye to our new friends form Czech Republic and Costa Rica, and 4 of us Couchsurfers decided to head out as a group into Seattle! The hour ferry ride over was just lovely. We all sat together conversing and laughing and talking about our lives, interests, and Couchsurfing in general. I learned so much about many different cultures, and it was only the beginning of the day!

Hello, Seattle!

After we landed in Seattle we headed to Pike Place Market. Now everyone had told me I had to go here, including my sister who was in Seattle just 3 months ago. So off we went, walking and talking and running people over. One of our new Couchsurfer friends was from New York, and is going to school for photography. We hit it off and I enjoyed talking photography stuff with her. As we talked we both mentioned how sometimes we just don’t feel inspired to take photos while on vacation. It is vacation after all. I also said that for me, most of the photos I have the opportunity to shoot are of more touristy things, and that is not really want I want a memory of. And honestly, the few memories of touristy things I do want to preserve, I can capture very easily with my Iphone. So that is just a small explanation to all of you out there who have been wondering why I don’t have many pictures in a lot of these posts. For those of you who followed me while I was in Hawaii in February, I find it much easier (and I am way more inspired) to take photos when I am photographing children. Children were always with me in Hawaii, children are never with me here.

Pike Place Market was just not what I expected. I thought it might be like a huge mall, with overprices tourist traps. Instead, it was a beautiful open air market that was similar to a very large flea-market. There was amazing fresh fruits and vegetables, every kind of noodle you could want (including dark chocolate1) There were also lots of cute little shops. After we had walked through, one of the Couchsurfer’s friends texted her and told her about an amazing place to get Mac and Cheese in Pike Place! We headed there for lunch, and boy was it good! Very rich, but delicious, and filled with cheese they make on-stie!

After that we split up so that there was just 4 of us, and we headed down towards something we wanted to do, but then realized that we wanted ice cream. My sister had recommend a place that was two blocks back, so off we went in the other direction. The ice cream was from Cupcake Royale, and it was just amazing. (Don’t you love my “diet” for the day?) I got the WA salted toffee with fudge swirls. (or something like that.)

Then we headed back in the other direction, and made our way to something we had heard about called the Underground tour. I was a 75 minute tour that I thought was overpriced, but I certainly learned TONS of information. The basic gist of it was just that in the late 1800’s Seattle was having some flooding problems, so they built the roads up so that everything reached the second stories of buildings. Therefore, there remains to this day, sidewalks and doors that are literally under the streets of Seattle. It was neat to see, but definitely not the best tour.

And this, lady and gentleman, is where I have exciting news! If you have been following Rebekah over at lovingforreal.blogspot.com then you will be pleased to hear that the rest of the day is different on each of our blogs! I ended up going back to our host’s house with two surfers, and Rebekah went to see a few more sights with 2 other surfers.

The ferry ride back was again wonderful, and I really enjoyed getting to know the couple from New York. Once we got back to the house we discovered that there were four more surfers for the night, and they were from France! They had cooked a dinner for us, called Tartiflette, which is basically a brie, potato and bacon dish. It was just wonderful, and I enjoyed every bite!

After that the New York surfers and I headed out for some grocery shopping and enjoyed more wonderful time getting to know each other!

Now I sit here, enjoying Trader Joes’s mints, a cup of Tazo Calm tea, and writing this post. It has been an amazing day, and enjoyed every second!

Before, I go, I want to give you a quick blurb on Couchsurfing. If you have not done it, DO IT. If you have not been able to tell how amazing and wonderful Couchsurfing is from my posts, well, you must not be reading them. I understand that it will not fit every personality type, but I really do think that it fits a lot! You get to meet so many new wonderful people, learn about them, their culture, their lives, their traditions, and also teach them about you and your life! It had presented so many wonderful experiences (and no negative ones!) and I will never for get all the wonderful friends I have made through it. If you get the chance, TRY IT. (Go to www.couchsurfing.com ) for more info.

~Rebekah

Day 16- Oregon to Seattle (Via Portland!)

Today was quite adventurous. The morning started out bright and EARLY at 4:25am. We head from Eugene to Portland on a quick trip, eating breakfast and watching a movie. In Portland we were able to store our bags at Union Station, and so we had about 4 hours to explore Portland!

One of Rebekah’s friends had recommended Voodoo doughnuts and so we headed straight there. I got a doughnut covered in Oreo’s peanut butter and fudge. It was crazy sweet but amazingly delicious. Since we had so little time and didn’t really know what do, I called my sister and she told us to go and take a picture of every coffee shop we saw. We also were looking for fair trade coffee shops and record stores for her. We ended up seeing all of downtown Portland, walking from Coffee shop to record store, and meeting some cool people in between. Portland is like the Austin of the Northwest, and I love it. Their motto is Keep Portland Weird, and it is filled with hippies and hipsters. Though I don’t exactly fit in either category, a lot of them are awesome people J

Next came the train from Portland to Seattle, with another movie and lunch. And maybe a nap or two as we had gotten up at 4am! When we arrived in Seattle, we had to find our way to the ferry, which was a little more difficult then it sounds. Not only did we have to weave our way around horrible construction, but we had to drag all of our luggage, which if you read our LA adventures you know that amount of luggage is not small. So we are dragging our entire homes down the street, and my wheels work wonderfully, but they will occasionally not work, and then when they decide to have a mind of their own, my suitcase runs into people, things and falls over, with the cooler and bag I have on top of it. Then the bread that is in the bag falls out in the middle of the road and I pick it up and carry it across the road while dragging my suitcase with bags falling off.

I think God was using this experience to teach me some meekness (which is much needed on my part!) I really wasn’t that frustrated about the stupid suitcases; I was more frustrated that the things they were doing were making me look stupid. They were making me look like a fool in front of other people. And I hate that. I always want to look put together and I didn’t. And it was ok. I survived.

We rode the ferry (a beautiful hour long ride!) over and our Couchsurfer hosts picked us up. From the moment we met them they were just awesome! We piled their van high with our luggage and off we headed. From the moment we got in the car we talked and laughed and had a fantastic time. And we learned that they have hosted over 100 people in the last 2 months. WOW.

When we arrived at the house we met lots of amazing people. The hosts have 5 kids, and then there is a total of 12 couch surfers staying with them tonight! From all over; A couple from New York, Utah, Cota Rica, Cetch Rebublic, Mexio and more! It has been a blast meeting and spending time with all of them and I can’t wait to hang out with them more.

Let me just attempt to give you a glimpse of the amazing night we have had here.

To start off with about 6 of us cooked dinner together laughing and joking in the kitchen. Then about 20 people ate dinner together wherever they could sit. Then as some people ran to the grocery store, us girls turned on a movie and baked some amazing cookies together! I have learned so much about so many different cultures and people, tonight, I am in heaven! And it feels like one big family! Best night so far!

Sorry for no pictures. It is super late, and we have to get up super early. So maybe tomorrow?

Rebekah

Day 15- Oregon

Our day started out with a little bit of sleeping in and packing up. Last night was our last night at Aunt Darcy and Uncle Mike’s. It was sad to be leaving but we still had a full day ahead!

The first thing on our agenda was to see the redwoods! We headed down to the Redwood national forest which was about 45 minutes away. On the way we stopped to see the Smith river, which was just stunning. We stopped to get drinks at a cute little dinner in the middle of no where, and then we stopped to stick our feet in the river. It was a little cold for this time of year, but still beautiful. There is something so relaxing about the sounds of water running over rocks!

When we got to the Redwoods we got out and walked on a trail for a couple of minutes. I have many memories of coming to the Redwoods as a child. I remember walking through and looking up at these trees, not even being able to comprehend why and how they got so big. This time I had a little more comprehension, but they still amazed me.

After we headed back home and on our way stopped for a “quick” hike to see some natural bridges. We could see them a little bit from above. Rebekah and I were just going to very quickly head down the trail and see them closer. Except we encountered a small problem. The trail split. I thought we should take the one that looked like we were walking through  a jungle, but Rebekah said it was a bad idea and it looked like when they guy in Beauty and the Beast chose the path that led to wolfs. But we went down it anyway, climbing over tree trunks and going through thorny bushes. About 10 minutes later we are at the end of the trail after many interesting experiences. We made it back up, through all of that again, still not great view of the bridges. It was quite the adventure!

We left in the afternoon for Eugene, and it was a lovely road trip. I just love Oregon! The drive was beautiful. We had Thai for dinner, which was excellent! We are now in a hotel and well soon sleep and then wake for a very early train tomorrow morning!

Rebekah

Day 14- Oregon

This morning stated out early with me waking to make some breakfast. Time in the kitchen is like meditation for me. I am alone, I will occasionally turn on music, but most of the time it’s me and the sounds of a whisk or a knife. And I love the thrill of making food, especially good tasting healthy food. After a quick breakfast we headed down to the beach (which is only about 5 minutes from Aunt Darcy’s house!) for surfing lessons. Yesterday when we were at deep crick a lady we met had told us about a 4-h camp that we could join. So at 8am we met about 20 other 4-h students on the beach. We suited up in wet suits, as the water was about 50 degrees. One of the volunteers gave us basic lessons on the sand, then handed us boards and out we went.

I was not sure what to expect the first time I caught a wave. I was just lying on the board, waiting. It came all of a sudden, and it felt like a roller coaster. It was amazing. I continued to surf just laying down on my belly for while. Learning a few things like how to paddle, what waves were good, where to lean on the board. Then the instructor said I could try kneeling/standing up. The first time I tried kneeling, it was hard to get up. My wet suit kept sticking to the surf board. The instructor had said the key to standing up is doing it quickly. So at this point I just tried to catch a wave and get up quickly. After a few tries I got to my knees and was able to stay there for an entire wave, which was pretty encouraging. Next I tried standing, which was so much harder. By the end I had stood up twice, but both times I fell off after standing up for just a few seconds. We had a snack break, and after I was so excited to get back I the water, but the waves were bigger because the tide was coming in, and my arms were very tired. I continued to try to stand up, but I had started getting to far forward on the board. I would catch a wave, but after it pushed me about 5 feet, the tip of the board would go under the water (because I was too far forward) and I would flip of, the board would flip over me, and when I would try to stand up the wave would come over me and push me down. The first time this happened, I will admit I was pretty freaked out. I love the water, but when you are trapped under 50 degree water it feels like an eternity of trying to get up. In reality it might have been all of 5 seconds. Then I would stand up, catch my breath, and head back out to catch another wave. This happened three times before I figured out that I was too far forward. After I adjusted that, I was too far back. It took a few more tries but I finally got my position right again, and I caught a couple waves. At this point I was so tired that I just belly surfed (which is still amazingly awesome!) until it was time to be done. I am so very glad we got the chance to surf! I now absolutely love doing it and cannot WAIT to try again sometime!

After the surfing lesson it was already 12:30 and we headed home to prepare for a few friends that we coming over at 4. I made the potatoes for the cook out and helped set things up. I also got to make a few flower arrangements, which was SO fun. My Aunt Darcy is like a crazy gardener, and has so many beautiful flowers in her garden. I loved how the purple one turned out J We enjoyed my Uncle Mikes ribs for dinner, which are the best I have ever had! Just amazing!

Over all our stay in Oregon has held many adventures, and I am so glad we were able to fit so much into our three day stay!

Day 12- Sacramento to Gold Beach, OR

We don't have wi-fi, so I am writing on my phone. Please excuse typo's This morning started out as the sub rose, and peaked through the curtains in our train seat. I slept really well overnight, even though I did not get quite a full nights sleep. We had breakfast on the train, did our indivial things, and then started a movie together. Once again, the train is such a wonderfully relaxing place. I am looking forward to our two really long trips. They should be so enjoyable. After the train arrived in Eugene around two, my Aunt picked us up. She let me drive, which I so enjoyed. I have become my daddy's daughter. I love just driving long road trips and looking around. This 3 1/2 hour drive was just stunning. Trees and mountains on either side, a river flowing through the valley. Aunt Darcy had a new blues CD which made the trip all the more relaxing! We arrived in Gold Beach, which holds many childhood memories for me, as my mom grew up here, so we have made quite a few trips to visit. She has shown me all around her old stopping grounds, and I am so looking forward to Doing the same with Rebekah!! ~Rebekah

Day 11- Sacramento (and 4th of July!)

Again, I am sorry this is a day late! I have a different excuse this time though... our host home's internet was down, which allowed for a very relaxing evening as I had not computer responsibilities to tend to, but of course I was not able to blog. So here I am, sitting in Panera blogging. But of course I forgot my camer and my iphone cord, so there will be no picture today either. Maybe I will add them to tomorrow's post :)

The morning started out as another relaxing morning, and then Rebekah and I decided to head down to an ice cream shop that I had heard about called Gunther's. We rode the light rail down, and for the first time, saw a not so nice part of Sacramento. Though it still wasn't as bad as parts of LA, it was not the nicest area. We were fine though, and arrived at the ice cream shop after seeing another mile of Sacramento. I got the lemon and the fudge brownie ice cream. The lemon I got according to a recommendation online, and I am so glad I listened to them! It was perfectly smooth and silky. It had a very nice lemon flavor that was distinct, yet not too sour. Rebekah said it tasted like a lemon cookie, and I completely agree! The fudge brownie was not very good. It tasted just like something you would get at the grocery store, and I was very disappointed. Rebekah got the mango which was delicious. Over all we enjoyed it very much, and it was a nice little trip into Sacramento.


After we got back to our host home, we helped set up the party they they were hosting for all the college students we had met the night before. It was a wonderful party! Our hosts have a pool in their back yard so there was eating (of course) swimming, and lots of laughing and chatting. All of the college student's were so welcoming and friendly, and by the end of the night I felt like we had made 20 new friends! I got to play in the pool with 3 little kids for about and hour, one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. When you are around little kids every day (babysitting, nannying, homeschool co-op and church) you don't realize how much you value that time you get to spend with them. But whenever I travel with out children, I start to miss having little kids to pick up and hold and play with so much! Those hours spent in the pool were just what I needed :)


Once I got dark, we got to shoot off fireworks, which was so much fun! (They are leagal in CA!) Although there were some huge and very cool fireworks, plain old sparkalers are my favorite!

It was such a wonderful 4th of July, with many memories and new friends made. The whole night I was marveling at the fact that I was in CA, and it was 4th of July! And also that we had made so many friends in such a short time. I love how being a Christian seems to bind people together. Wonderful to know we can probally make friends where ever we go!

I hope to upload pictures later

~Rebekah

Day 10- Sacramento

This is a day late, I know. But I was kind of super tired last night and fell asleep on my computer. Opps. I was super tired because we had a very full day! It was a wonderful day though. 


We started out in downtown Sacramento, and walked right by a Farmer's Market, so we got some stuff :) We picked up some Cherries, some bread sticks, some home-roasted almonds and a whole-wheat chocolate peanut butter chip cookie! 

We kept walking, and basically walked half the city of Sacramento (the downtown city at least). I love Sacramento! There were so many vintage-looking houses, and I was quite surprised at how very clean the city was. And quiet. As we walked there really weren't many people around (except when we walked by the Capitol, of course!) It was very peaceful and serene, and I loved it! It was also beautiful. There were tons of flowers on every street corner, and everything was so well kept. It's quite the change from SoCal, and I loved it! 

(izze break at Starbucks)

(These are my favorite type of flowers. ~ Hydrangea's )

We then walked to Old Sacramento which people had told us was a must see. And indeed it is! It is lined with cute little shops (about 50% of them being candy stores!) and restaurants. It was a very enjoyable afternoon (filled with lots of candy-too much candy!) One of the candy stores we stopped in let you sample any of their salt water taffy for free! There was about 50 different kinds of salt water taffy- enough said. I got some of the peanut butter and the buttered popcorn. They were amazing!

There was an old school house in OldSac, and it was so fun! I just love things from that time period (Pioneer/Little house on the praire/late 1800's). I kept daydreaming about actually being able to be a school teacher in that type of setting, but at last, I am not sure that will happen :)

After we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant overlooking the water, and then headed back to our amazing host home on the light rail (which again, was very nice and clean. I love you Sacramento!)

This candy apple was delicious. Lots of stuff (like every candy ever made!) but oh so good!


Our host is a youth pastor (and his family) and he invited us to his college group at his church. It was wonderful! The worship was wonderful and the message, very convicting. It was on James 3:1-12, and about our words, which is something I personally struggle with a lot. It was very encouraging though!


Then we headed to Buffalo wild wings for 50cent wings Tuesday! Over all, it was such a wonderful day, and I am so glad to add the memories to our trip!



~Rebekah

i heart faces- Enjoying Life

I interrupt my normal blogging for the i heart faces challenge! I have not done i heart faces in so long, but I saw the theme for this week and couldn't help but enter! I had the hardest time deciding on what photo to enter; there were a few that had better composition, or better lighting, but I finally decided on this photo because I felt it really went a long with the theme. 


We went to Dairy Queen, I let him choose what he wanted, and then let him have at it. He finished every last bit of that cone-and smiled the whole time. This is what I feel childhood is about... letting loose and having fun. Enjoying life.