Observations from the Dock of the Bay

~I love that you only have to go a few blocks to end up in a different neighborhood and that each neighborhood has its own identity. Hildoug was bombarded all weekend with the question, “Where are we now?” She politely obliged and showed me where we were on the map. I love me some maps!

~Fleet Week = lots of men in uniform. ‘nuff said.

~Berkeley has a pretty campus, but a crappy stadium. Porta-potties? No thanks, I'll hold it.

~People in San Francisco are really friendly. On different bus rides I had one man offer me a cookie, another offer us a beer, and yet another eavesdrop on our conversation and share his wisdom about how they got the lights on the Capitol Building to change colors and his thoughts about vajazzlers.

~There are lots of hidden jems all over the city. Hildoug took me out for an amazing early birthday dinner at the Tonga Room. It felt like a supper club you’d see in an old black and white movie (the presence of a bunch of Marines in dress blues might have helped that a bit too).

~I like drag queens. I kind of think I might be a drag queen trapped in a straight woman’s body.Big hair, over the top make-up, costumes and lots of sparkles? Sign me up!

~The Golden Gate Bridge is truly gorgeous. We were down in the Marina watching the Blue Angels on a super clear day and it was an amazing back drop.

~People have such pride in and love for their city. It's cool to see.

Nobody puts Tobey in the corner!

I love my car and was happy at the prospect of being able to finally park him in a garage. He's experienced his fair share of trauma over his short three years of life; everything from vicious teenagers wielding keys and Arby's ranch dressing, to West Texas hail. Tobey will have to wear his wounds proudly until I'm able to cough up the casheesh necessary to have him repaired.

He treated me well on the half country drive and I like to give back by trying to keep him as clean as possible inside and out. Unfortunately, nature has other plans.

I couldn't park my car in the garage for the first few days I was here because some stuff had to be moved around. Imagine my surprise when I came out one morning to head into town only to see bird poop all over the passenger side mirror. I gave Tobey a quick bath and went on my way thinking it was a fluke thing. Only to have the same thing happen a few days later. Moving him inside became a top priority then.

Hildoug and I were making a quick stopover at home before heading back into town and I got lazy and parked him in the driveway only to come out to this:

I've decided that all birds are the enemy.....

and will be treated accordingly. Ka ka! Ka ka!

Casita del Lago - Olympic Peninsula is open for reservations!

***Spoiler Alert*** If you are planning to come visit me (which would totally be worth a little piggy bank smashing) you might experience a little déjà vu during your trip after reading this post.

Hildoug and I made the most of her time on the North Olympic Peninsula. To get here she got to take a ferry and cross a floating bridge (ooooh, ahhhh). We jumped into PA’s cuisine head first with a trip to Frugals for burgers and shakes (mmmm rootbeer shake). We then headed down to the pier to take in the view while eating. Little did we know that we would also be treated to a performance by “Dancing Hands” (a local drum circle). I blame myself for not having a picture of this awesomeness to share with you. I’ll do better next time I swear. We also drove around looking for the “unipus” (this news story is funny on sooooo many levels).Hildoug also got the full tour of town and I took her out to my favorite contemplation spot, “The Spit”. Besides serving as a high school make-out spot (no, not for me, I was in band, remember?) it also gives you a great view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the downtown area.

We did a little lounging before heading into town to check out The Odyssey bookstore before grabbing a late lunch at Togas Soup House. His crab Panini will seriously make you wanna smack yo mama. We then capped off the afternoon with a little hot tubbin’ in the rain and are about to do a little Jersey Shore Watching. Good times, all around!

No trip to PA is complete without a little West End adventure, which includes a visit to Forks and LaPush for all things Twilight as well as a hike to my favorite waterfall. It was my first visit to La Push and there was the cutest little Quillayute boy working at the gas station we stopped at. I bet those boys are killing it with the ladies these days! I got a kick crossing over the “treaty line” on our way to the water. First beach was pretty, but super windy and rainy. We literally jumped out of the car to take a quick photo before heading back on our way.

My big splurge of the week was an Olympic National Park Annual pass (which paid for itself after our visit to Sol Duc and Hurricane Ridge). We hoofed it up to the Ridge on a pretty overcast day, but luckily we got up high enough to break through the clouds and enjoy a little stroll overlooking some of the mountain range.

Hilary deemed the trip a great mix of lounging and adventure time and I totally agree. She did an amazing job getting up on the Stand Up Paddle Board her first time as I gave the kayak its inaugural cruise. We had one gorgeous day and made the most of it by spending it on the lake.

We also caught a showing of “The Town” at the old theater downtown. The movie was even showing in the upstairs theater, which is by far my favorite. If the super stained carpet could talk, I bet it would also remember me from my middle school viewings of “The Bodyguard” and “Dances with Wolves”. On a sidenote: I liked the Town and was rooting for the “bad guys” the whole time. My love of wounded bad boys doesn’t bode well for long term relationships, I’m just sayin’….

It’s always fun to have people visit and help me be a tourist in my own time (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). While PA leaves a lot to be desired in terms of hot nightlife, I’m constantly amazed at the natural beauty that is literally everywhere you look. If you’re looking to get back to nature, look no further…and give me a call!

**All photos courtesy of Hildoug 'cuz I'm a slacker**

No Tell Motel or the Holiday Inn?

I blame the W Chicago for my affinity for nice hotels. It was by far the nicest hotel I'd ever been in and had the best perks. We were there for Hildoug's birthday in '09 and the W helped her celebrate with comped champagne one night and a free candle the other night. Hildoug and I were also entranced by the super fragrant flowers in the lobby and the fact that they changed out the welcome mats bidding us Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening. How cute is that?

I love a good value and bidding for hotels on priceline gives me a little rush when I get a great hotel for a discount. I didn't go the priceline route on my roadtrip, b/c I wanted some more leeway in case my plans changed along the way. Instead, I went with Holiday Inn Express. Free internet and free breakfast? Sign me up! I thought that I'd also made reservations at a HIE in Yakima, but it turned out to be a regular Holiday Inn. At first, I was bummed I wouldn't be getting a free breakfast, but the super nice decor of the hotel (and free wifi) totally made up for it. I realized that I want ammenities for my dollar, but will do with a few less perks for a nicer hotel room. Hotels I hate are the big chains (i.e. conference hotels where I'm forced to stay in order to be able to run up to my room between sessions). They are the worst! Sure, the room is a bit nicer, but they charge you for everything! Give me free wifi or give me death!

What's your bottom line?

Home at Last!

The road-trip ended up being super fun, as were my stops along the way. It was great to get to see places that wouldn’t have normally made my must visit list (Moab & Yakima). I got in Wednesday night and as of Friday mid-day I am already a little lonely and bored. I spent the first day cleaning up the house and making room for my stuff and started the major unloading today, and if you’ll remember I’m in WA, so of course it was raining. The flooded front tile steps and my flip flops were not friends and I ended up falling on my booty twice while loaded down with bags. Needless to say, I’m delaying the rest of my unloading until they dry out, which let’s face it, could be next summer. :] It’s been crazy to see how little stuff I actually brought with me. I don’t think it will be a problem to find a place for everything, which is nice. I’m now in the process of re-claiming the guest room as my own so I’ll be comfortable during my as-of-yet undetermined length of stay at the lake.

Things I like so far:

1) The smell of WA. It’s so distinctive, I know I’m home when I smell it.

2) Waking up to see water out my front window. Heavenly

3) Access to WE, Style, Oxygen, and HBO. Ahhh.

Things I don’t like so far:

1) I realize I could go a long time without talking to anyone unless I come up with some creative ways to meet people (my mom’s in Cali until early October).

2) Accessing the internet from the lake might require a tinfoil hat and some yoga poses.

3) It’s a little weird to see people I knew back in the day without knowing if they remember me and therefore whether or not I should say hello.

4) The temptation to buy comfy/ugly shoes is getting stronger and stronger. I see a pair of Uggs in my future!

Uh Oh! My ox done died and Ma's got dysentery.

In the 11.5 hours I drove today I passed through 4 states (ok, maybe not a feat for East Coasters, but a way bigger deal for us West Coasters). Much of today's drive was also along the Oregon Trail. I really tried to see the road through the eyes of the pioneers who made the harrowing trek across the country (although I wasn't willing to give up my AC or ipod). I can only imagine how happy they would have been as they crested the mountain and saw the lush green banks of this river.

Oh, how things have changed over the years. My joy now comes from things like this (seen at the Arrowhead Truckstop just before Pendleton, OR):

~ I'm settled in for the night in my cushy hotel room in Yakima, WA. I made it into town with enough time to pick up some pizza before tuning into some season premieres. Only one short day of driving left between me and unpacking Tobey! Look out PA, here I come!

Utah: The dance state

As I contemplated how to condense my four days of Utah fun times into one blog post, a them emerged: dance.

Friday~Megan had some professor things to take care of on Friday so we met up for lunch in Provo at Spark. It was a pretty trendy place and they had some cool mocktails. She then gave me a tour of her office and we stopped to say hello to Roy. She also showed me around the student union where my mind was literally blown when we rounded a corner to see a group of kids swing dancing in an attempt to get others to join their club. No one else seemed to find this odd, which I found odd. I snapped this picture of them dancing as other students studied/finished up lunch.

There were also two dance classes going on in the ballroom. Alright, I admit it I was jealous. I leap at any chance to shake my booty. To show my solidarity I bought myself a BYU dance t-shirt.

Later that night Megan and I went to the Salt Lake Temple (and took the requisite self photo) before hitting up Anthropolgie and grabbing dinner at the Gateway. I fell madly in love with this coat (in purple) and will be stalking it until it goes on sale.

Saturday~ Megan also introduced me to Cafe Zupas. Amazing. Wish there were some closer to any of the major cities I visit, but alas, no such luck. Megan took me with her to her brother-in-laws surprise birthday party. We passed this along the way: the spot where Rusty learns to dance!

We then went to a Colors concert (Utah based band that does one reunion show a year) at the Sandy Amphitheatre. A very cool venue and a great concert. We then hit up In-N-Out for a little late night nosh.

Sunday~ Who knew people went to Church at 10 AM? I'm so used to late evening church I was a bit overwhelmed with all the extra downtime in my PJs. We smartly filled it with viewings of The American President and Shall We Dance.

Monday~ Started the day with breakfast and catch-up with Roy (former awesome Tech MFT faculty, still awesome just no longer at Tech). Megan had to put her professor hat on again while I cruised around town hitting up my favorite places: the mall and IKEA. I also drove up Provo Canyon to Sundance Resort. Beautiful scenery, but unfortunately no Robert Redford sighting. Megan and I met up at the end of the day to check out Park City (site of the Sundance Film Festival which I would give my right arm to attend and wouldn't mind hitting the slopes there as well).

We did some shopping at the outlet mall and had dinner in town. Dinner was tasty, but also taught us a lesson. Never ever tell someone you are a therapist. The chef started to talking to us about the food (which was yummy) and when he found out what we did he started peppering us with questions (for like 10 minutes). Questions that people usually sign consent forms and pay money for us to help them figure out the answer that works best for them. Megan did an amazing job of keeping us out of legal trouble by sidestepping his questions without sounding cold or uncaring. Well played Megan, well played.

Thanks for the good times, Megan!