On The Road Again

With an empty house and our hearts full of adventure, Tom and I set out to begin our cross country trek.  After dropping off three cats in two shifts, headed to my dear friend, Kristine's, house to deliver approximately a million condiments.  We then packed our Camry Hybrid to the gills with our worldly belongings and set off.  Well, only as far as our property manager's office.  Leaving endless keys, garage door openers and a parking pass behind we set off with diligence.  Until we got another 25 miles to Oceanside, CA and stopped for lunch.  With renewed spirits and full bellies, we charged onward to glory and the LA/Santa Barbara area.

 Our view from the Fog Catcher Inn

 Tom declared that he liked "slanty trees"

After our mediocre dinner on a very chilly walk.

 Attacked  by squirrels!

 What's up here?

There I am, with some Harbour Seals in the background

Tom and the Pacific

We pressed through the afternoon, though crankiness was setting in and spent the night at the FogCather Inn in Cambria, CA.  (Feel free to review my yelp reviews for more info.  I'm Lynne K)  Right off the 1 and about 30 minutes from Paso Robles, we spent the evening in a quaint hotel with adorable decor and beautiful ocean views.  We had a not-so-special dinner and walked along the very windy shoreline.  In the morning, after sleeping with a fireplace going and not fearing for our cats to singe themselves, we had breakfast and went for a walk.  Tom laughed at me as squirrel-like animals approached me on the boardwalk, thinking that my cup of coffee held treats for them.  Alas, my little friends, I had none.  Still, the interaction made me think that rabies was imminent and gave Tom endless pleasure at the cute little guys.  We began a game of counting the squirrels to see who could spot the most before we reached 2 miles on our walk.  Despite an early lead, I dominated Tom 27-20.  Respectable showing, Keenan, but your lasic is nothing to my new lenses!

We continued our travels with a pit stop in Paso Robles for some wine tasting at Opolo Vineyards and then continued to meander up the coast through the lovely, scenic and somewhat terrifying Route 1.  Along the coast with breathtaking cliffs and black beaches, my white knuckles and hybrid technology was no match for the BMW-from-hell drivers that rode my bumper with delight and disdain.  I gladly surrendered the reigns to Tom for the remainder of the evening and kept him entertained by singing all parts of Les Miserables.  Trust me when I say that I do a mean Jean Valjean.

Through the Redwood Forest into that night, we decided might have been a mistake.  At one point, probably around 9:30 with fog creeping in around us, I casually stated, "Man, it would really suck to have car trouble right about now."  Tom's face went white.  "Why would you EVER say that???  I've been thinking it for half an hour but was keeping that thought to myself!!"  To ease the tension and fear of the battery mysteriously falling out of the trunk at that very moment, I added, "This is also how 'Amityville Horror' begins.  So, as a general rule, let's agree that should a man in a hockey mask with a chainsaw pop out from one of these trees, you'll just run him down and we'll figure out what to do afterwards."  The new rule of the drive was thus born: All masked men yielding chainsaws were to be run over without question, if they came at us in a menacing manner in the dark of night.  It somehow settled my weary husband and I drifted off to sleep.

View from the car on the CA Coast.

Here I am actually driving.  In the Redwood Forest and a picture from the side of the road on the CA-1. 

Writing this now, some days later, I don't recall all of the exact moments in the car, but needless to say, upon telling my mom about them she noted: "I do not miss moving or driving across country.  At all."  I'll let you use that as a guide on our emotional/mental state.

On Thursday, we spent the night at Tom's brother's house in Portland, Oregon.  Joey introduced us to friends, showed us the very rainy side of Portland and took us to the Grilled Cheese Grill: a delightful establishment with grilled cheese like you wouldn't believe.  We dropped off a propane tank and a T-square and trekked northwards towards Seattle.

The ceiling of the Grilled Cheese Grill -- I suspect I'd need to be on something for it to make more sense...

The Rainy view of Portland from above.




Oh Seattle.  What a beautiful place it is.  After sighing countless time along 101 and 1, with "Oh my gosh, how beautiful" ever on my lips, we entered Seattle and the muttering somehow continued.  This part of the Northwest, though full of strangely and eclectically dressed people, also holds such talented artists and delicious food.  I've marveled at the homes, both ornate and rustic, the density of downtown and the presence of trees.  Having lived in Southern California for so many years, the sight of natural greenery never fails to amaze me.  

So lush and full of color, I’ve spent these few, rainy days in awe of how beautiful nature can be.  Sheila, one of Tom’s sisters, took us to Bainbridge Island for the day where we wandered through shops, eavesdropped on fellow ferry passengers (at some points mentally correcting their inaccuracies in their conversations), and took note of horrible parenting skills.  The most significant was during an otherwise delightful lunch and made all of us agree that those children were being raised atrociously.  Mental notes were made and the parenting skills were given a 2 out of 10. 

During our visit, we also met up with my Aunt Pat, my cousin, Paul and his wife, Cara.  On a remarkably sunny day in Seattle, we met up with them for lunch at Lowell’s in Pike’s Place Market and enjoyed some local fare.  We charged through the hoards of people and took a stroll around the waterfront area of downtown.  It was wonderful to see them all and Tom noted how appreciative he was to my Aunt for providing new musical selections.  Apparently someone was getting sick of the mix of Broadway show tunes and whiny, Indi-rock.  Seriously?  My two passions.  Through a little mid-to-late 90’s hits in there and we’ll call it a day. 



Tom and his very tasty crumpet at the Crumpet Shop in Pike's Place Market.  Crumpets = delightful!

 

I could not even get over how gorgeous these flowers were.  They were breathtaking!

Aunt Pat and I and a majestic Otter.

In front of Pike's Market with the remainder of Tom's delightful latte.  Seriously, he mopped the floor with my coffee with this beverage.  What a great husband to surrender it to his wife!!

Tomorrow we hit the road again for a mad dash across the country in 4 days.  Tom thinks it will be a struggle, but I’m convinced that we shall overcome.  Throughout our time in the Pacific Northwest, the Keenans have been wonderful hosts/hostesses and we cannot thank them enough for letting us into their homes.  We’ll miss you both in the upcoming months but look forward to seeing you soon both at home and abroad.

The road rises to meet us tomorrow and we’ll try to keep the winds of the Pacific ever at our back.

Hugs to all,

Lynnie Lou

xoxo