Well Earned Vacation

After about 4 days of work I joined my brother's vacation time and we cruised around Oregon and camped for several days. Although we originally discussed heading down to Crater Lake, the first day we took our time and after stopping in Estacada at Fearless Brewing for a beer, pulled up to a campsite about an hour away from Portland. We camped in Mt. Hood National Forest at a site right next to the Clackamas River. Below is a picture of the setting 20 yards or so behind our site



After a delicious oatmeal and green tea breakfast, we headed South, stumbling quickly upon Breitenbush Hot Springs. We looked at each other in the car, and without hesitation, followed the signs to enlightenment. After a quick look around and a discussion with the personnel about the 7 natural hot springs pools and steam sauna, the organic vegetarian buffets, and the serene setting, we decided to stay most of the day.

I dont think I can adequately describe this place in words. It was an incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating day. To understand the power that is Breitenbush I suggest you check it out one day.

We found a sweet spot (one of the remaining few) along Detroit Lake, and camped there Thursday and Friday night. The pic is what we walked 30 feet from our campsite to indulge in early morning.



We took an amazing hike Fri in Silver Canyon State Park called The Trail of Ten Falls. And yes, it was as cool as it sounds. Below is just a glimpse of what we saw. I'll wrap it up here so you can end on pictures of beautiful waterfalls. We looped down to Eugene Saturday, checked out their Saturday Market and The University of Oregon, among other things. All of the amazing things we saw and did were within two and a half hours from Portland.







Many more sick pictures in Picassa. Thoroughly edited this time too...I promise

A Few Words On My New Job and Why It Kicks Ass

I have this new job. It's tops. Not only do I get to work with freshman...yea, get 'em while I can still influence their sponge like minds, but the principals (not administration, but beliefs) of this school are right up my alley. Back to those corn based cups I mentioned in the previous post. The superintendent told me they pay more to use those cups "so they can support the people who produce them". There isnt even a plant in this state that can compost them...they get taken up to Seattle. The school is as paper free as possible. Report cards- online, schedules- online, student reports and homework- emailed to the teacher. Have I died and gone to heaven? Even math work is frequently done...on the computer. We focus on global appreciation and value, helping students to recognize their place in the world. Wow, these Oregonians really got some neat ideas. Something must be working because 85% of the graduates of this school go to college. Now, check back with me a little into school to see if the high achieving, conservation crazed white people start to drive me insane. I'm thinking I might just get a little more hippie and eliminate paper from my life.

The end of summer

A sad, yet amazing thing happened today...my vacation was laid to rest. In just one hour, the interview was over and the offer was on the table. Perhaps it was my wit, charm, and intelligence that had the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent sold on my counseling abilities. Perhaps it was the immediate need for a counselor to begin the job- tomorrow. It's good to know I dont have to blame not getting an offer on spilling water all over myself minutes into the interview. It was ok, I changed the topic to the corn based "plastic" cups used in the office. Am I ready to give up my freedom and indecisive lifestyle, hopping from place to place at a moments notice? Not at all. Perhaps this 1/2 time position will do the trick. The perfect balance between making enough to live AND living? Is it possible?!

Today is a day of celebration and mourning. And my brother cant expect me to pay rent on HALF a real salary can he? And it's not even real, I am in education. It's cool...right? I'll keep up with the groceries and we'll call it even.

Victory!

We arrived in Portland 6 days after departing from Maryland. We were both relatively sane and still speaking to one another. Consider it a victory.

Sorry for the hasty wrap up, but this is way overdue. I have held off writing anything else about my vacation (code word for unemployment)in Portland because I wanted to finish the trip write-ups.

Yellowstone

Yellowstone is rad. I mean, just check out these pictures







We caught a glimpse of several animals...although not as many as I hoped. I decided not to post the picture I took of a bison, because, well bison are gross. It's funny that everyone in the park runs and pulls over to take pictures of animals. Now I look at this revolting picture of a bison, next to the picture of the lounging elk and wonder why I needed to snap these photos. I was content with the elk, deer, and bison spotting, still hoping to see a bear when we stopped to use the facilities. It was here that I overheard a British woman sharing the joy of spotting a wolf and THREE bears. THREE bears. All I wanted to see was one. AND a wolf? Please.

We ended this glorious day in Missoula, MT. It was great revisiting Missoula, a place I spent several days in with my good friend Maya about 5 years ago. I anticipated my arrival in the microbrew heaven that is Portland, with a couple tasty brews from Montana. We then went to sleep before the sun set completely for the second time of the trip.

Westard to Wyoming

Day four was our shortest day. We made it to Cody, Wyoming, about an hour east of Yellowstone. We got there early enough to check into our hotel and walk around town a bit. At dinner we tried to pick out the locals, deciphering between the much too ridiculous hats of the tourists trying to get the most out of their Western experience and the regular everyday hat of a Wyomingite. Purses with pictures of horses were pretty much a dead giveaway.

On the way to Cody we drove by Mt Rushmore. We figured the view from the road was sufficient, and we had a lot of driving to do. I mean, it was cool, but nothing to write home about.

The Black Hills, however, are a different story. It made a short day of 10 hours on the road only feel like 8...perhaps even just 7.

Finally Some Sweet Scenery

Day three brought us to the Badlands! Wohoo! I have to say, besides the elevation sickness I suffered in this steamy place, this day was amazing. We drove through the park, stopping for some photo ops, walks, and climbs.



Anyone who has traveled through this area knows what came next. Signs for Wall Drug extend hundreds of miles from the store, advertising free ice water and 5 cent coffee. Pounding as much water as I could through the badlands it wasnt the free water that caught my attention but the opportunity to use their facilities..and see what all the commotion is about. With items like this, it did not disappoint.



We ended the day in Rapid City South Dakota, and spent the night at a hotel containing "The Largest Indoor Water Park in South Dakota".



I cant forget to mention a quick trip to the Corn Palace. Signs along the road made us think we couldnt miss this place. Boy am I glad we didnt. Anything corn you ever wanted (or didnt) can be seen and purchased here. It was on this detour that we learned our fun fact about South Dakota- They haven an ethanol plant in the state making mid grade gas cheaper than low grade. I had to walk in and ask the clerk what the deal was after staring perplexed at the pump for a couple of minutes.

The Excitement Continues

Day two began with a delicious waffle made from the waffle maker at our complimentary continental breakfast. The highlight of today was a stop for lunch in Madison, WI. Never traveling through these parts I wasn't sure what to expect, but Madison was quite impressive. There are wide activity paths along the water which many people took advantage of. The atmosphere was friendly and the immense bike and foot traffic gave me a good impression of the ideals of the city. We stopped to eat along the water and took a short walk along the path.

Wisconsin is a bit like Kansas in terms of landscape. At least the part we traveled through. Thankfully we hit Madison for a little break, and then checked out LaCrosse. While looking for the visitors center in LaCrosse we encountered RiverFest. (Self explanatory). We spent about 15 minutes there, 10 of which were involved getting directions to Grandad Bluff for a view of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, from some very friendly, detail oriented Wisconsiners. My excitement peaked when they said "make the first left after the big six pack". I knew what that meant...World's Largest Six Pack! I read about this but had no idea we'd drive right by! All I wanted was to head towards it at that moment, but they still had 8 minutes left of direction giving.




I suppose the drive up to the bluff was worth it. I mean, it was kinda cool but not as impressive as I expected. Perhaps the rush from the Six Pack prevented me from fully enjoying the view from the bluff.

We continued driving into Minnesota, stopping in beautiful Albert Lea. We didnt see a whole lot of action, but did indulge in a Wal-Mart visit that Saturday night with some of the locals.

The beginning/boring part of the trip

I'll keep it simple. Day 1 was spent cruising through Maryland, the back roads of Pennsylvania, and the Ohio Turnpike. We stopped in South Bend Indiana for the night. South Bend is incredibly unimpressive, and surprisingly sketchy. We dined at the local Applebees, and followed dinner with a quick trip into Michigan simply so I could add that to the states visited along the trip.

Long Over Due

I am sure you have all been anxiously awaiting details of my cross country trip and updates in life in Portland. I search for jobs incessantly most days, usually take a bike ride and walk around a lot, read, and maybe go to the gym if I am feeling especially energetic.

I had my first job interview in Oregon yesterday and I think I impressed the folks. The one interview I scored and it is with an alternative school for expelled middle and high school students. So I sold all of my working with at-rick youth and severely emotionally disturbed children, refraining to tell them that one of the above caused an injury that I'm still dealing with three years later. I've decided not to take it if they offer it to me, despite my desire to work as a school counselor, and you know, make some freakin money. As much fun as it is to hang out by myself in a new city while most people work, I'm ready.

Last weekend I indulged in the Portland International Beer Festival. Although my favorite beer festival, the Oregon Brewers Festival, starts Thursday, the International Beer fest was surely enjoyable.

I hope to follow this with a series of short posts detailing the trip from Maryland to Oregon. I also plan to post pics from the journey so keep look out

My Favorite Knee Surgery of Them All

Surprise! I just had knee surgery. And it was awesome. Yup, I said awesome referring to surgery. And I am not on pain medication anymore so dont blame that statement on Percocet. Compared to other operations I've had this one kicked ass. I was under for only 30 minutes, over two hours less than my norm. Crutches were unnecessary. I only needed narcotics through the day after surgery. Who knew surgery could be this easy? I should have focused more in the past on destroying cartilage than ligaments. The scars are not as sick as those from previous surgeries; a small price to pay. I dont know all the details about the success of the surgery yet. I do know they found a lot of junk, crap, scar tissue, floaters (whatever you prefer to call it) and there were no visible tears in any ligaments. The latter is a first so consider that I success in itself. They sucked all the bad stuff out leaving me a well traveled, but not too messed up to work with knee. I'll wait till I visit the good doctor before I make comments about my next surfing session and bike ride. Thanks to everyone who's shared a good word or given me a shoulder over the past 6 months or so. I can finally see the light.

Morning Paddle

I went for a paddle the other morning. That’s right…a paddle. Most surfers would have gone surfing, but a paddle is all I'm capable of. This paddle was pretty exciting. Not as exciting as I hoped, but it was the first time I got on a surfboard in almost a year. Any surfer reading this just cringed. Yea, I know. I wish admitting there is nothing I can do about that would make me feel better. Not the case. It was nice to get in the ocean and feel the familiar muscle burn of a good session. Unfortunately that burn came after about two and a half minutes of paddling and zero waves ridden. I am definitely looking forward to a solid knee again, eventually, hopefully in the not too distant future, but this whole ridiculously out of shape thing is going to be the next challenge.

Graduation and Moving Celebration

Yesterday I hosted a BBQ celebrating graduation and my move out West. It was also the perfect time to get people together because my friend Maya who has been in Fiji for the past two years in the Peace Corps was back in the states for a week. We couldnt have asked for better weather. I loaded the backyard with enough games for hours of entertainment.

Check out some of the backyard pics

And We're Back (for now)

Now that I am offically a Master of Education, I have some time to sit down and share the latest happenings in my life. If you have had the joy of communicating with me the past few weeks, I will try to hold your interest as well.

School and my internship finished nicely. I have yet to say goodbye to my fellow Student Services Ladies ("Student Services" is the new, more accepting term for "Guidance Office".) My last day at the school was Friday, but I met them for breakfast this morning, and will see them at a dinner gathering in a couple of weeks. I started understanding middle schoolers near the end. Well, as much as middle schoolers can be understood. I am open to counseling positions in both middle and high school next year.

I spent last weekend in Rhode Island and Massachusetts with my friend Amanda. She moved to New Bedford last year for school and I wanted to check out her gigs before I left the coast. We checked out a brewery, the local bars, her school gym, her office, 2 wineries, and another brewery. I flew back late Sunday night on a pretty miserable flight. Thankfully the shaking only lasted about an hour...for what is normally a 45 minute flight. The feeling of the plane catching wind from the bottom would have to be my least favorite part of the flight, although the shaky landing comes in close second.

My knee still troubles me greatly. I visited my orthopedist yesterday and he gave me a shot of cortisone. Evidently if scar tissue is what has been causing all the cracking and shifting of my knee, the cortisone will break it up and fix me. It can take up to 2 weeks to notice a difference, so I follow up with the doc then. If it doesnt fix the issue I am going to get the knee scoped and the problem fixed (fingers crossed...again)So, pretty much I interpret that again as they dont know what the problem is. I wish they would have given me the shot a while ago. The doc wants to be as minimally invasive as possible, but my inability to do almost anything physical the past few months has made me quite miserable at times.

My plan to move to Portland is the same at this point. Surgery may push me back a bit but I hope to leave as close to June 20 as possible.

P-Town

As many of you know I escape the suburban hell that is Columbia, MD whenever possible. I am on Spring Break right now, and spending its duration in Portland, OR, where I shall soon call home. Oh Spring Break. Laugh at me Friday nights during the semester when I crash at 10, or when I leave a party Saturday night as the action starts around 11, so I can be sure my brain is functioning to it's fullest all day Sunday to write a paper. I laugh at you suckers now at work as I bask in the glory of having an entire week off and free of commitments. Free other than the happy hours, concerts, good books, naps, and minor league athletic events. Oh what a pain to check out different bars and restaurants, exploring the eccentric city of Portland.

Delay

I woke up this morning at 5:30 to a notice of a 2 hour delay. Yea, you all remember those. I am sure many of you havent had the glory to experience one in many years, but I can tell you it is just as exciting at 24 as it was at 14. Unfortunately there is no snow to play in, it is simply ice, so I was forced to stay in bed and get more sleep. Even those delays in college had good intentions but most of my friends and I were smart enough not to schedule class before 10 anyway. First thing when I woke up round two was check to make sure the rain isnt canceling school. I figure it is worth a shot.

It's not that I dont like the little middle school buggers I work with. It's that they make me incredibly tired. I live for the kids that come in and share rumors with me. I guess I blocked out all the idiotic ways of early adolescence, but when it's not me experiencing it, it sure is funny.

Quite Possibly More Than You Want to Know

My brother's been trying to convince me to re-start blogging. Mainly it's due to my wit and sometimes creative writing style. Some of it is for my experiences. I blogged a bit when I moved out west a couple of years ago. Then I got settled in San Diego and didnt think there was much worth sharing with the world. Now that I have just returned from another little travel adventure I figure it's time to flatter you all with some of my stories. I'll try to keep them brief and humorous, and include all of the important people and places. Now, let's get started.

I left the east coast December 18th for San Diego, CA. I had a lovely stay on my friend Saul's couch. He lives in North Park, within walking distance to the buses I never rode the entire time I resided there. So I navigated the public transportation system- visited my old stomping ground of Ocean Beach, visited Old Town, even hopped The Coaster up to Carlsbad for lunch with an old surfing pal of mine Clarke. He's busy with his graphic design company,Clarke Design but took time to grab some food and sit in front of the ocean with me.

I saw a lot of people I left behind and it turned out to be the perfect start to a sick vacation.

From San Diego I flew to Portland, OR to stay with my brother. We had a mellow Christmas and a fantastic New Year. My brother hosted a New Years party which proved a success, as shown by him tucking Ben and Ziggy into the air mattresses set up in the basement. We tooled around the city stopping in bars, tea houses, breweries, and arcades. Matt and I hit the coast for a day as well. Pretty much the ideal trip for a late December day in the Pacific Northwest. This trip I had a waterproof jacket AND waterproof shoes. Way better than last time.


I left Portland January 3 to meet my old college friend/San Diego roommate/international and domestic traveling partner Amanda at the Denver airport. She arrived several hours before me from New York and we quickly picked up her sister-in-law's Corolla that was left for us that morning. We took off immediately to Park City, Utah...right back to where my connecting flight from Portland left from.

One night in Park City at my cousin's house and she pushed us out the door to Vegas as another snow storm was approaching. We'll see later why this was such a good idea...

We made good time, stopping for the usual reasons and for Amanda to take a run. She's training for a marathon which is great during road trips and when you're far from running condition. This day we stopped in Valley of Fire National Park, about an hour outside of Vegas. The sun was setting and a storm was rolling in during my walk so the pictures didnt turn out too good. It is an amazing place so I still wanted to share a little.


Our friend Susie flew out from San Diego to meet us in Las Vegas where two of my childhood friends live. We had surprisingly comfortable arrangements there (minus blankets), but the sofas and air mattress were pretty cozy. Mike, Jeff, and their roommate Jimmy did a hell of a job entertaining the three of us. Susie, a rookie at the blackjack table came out on top $230. Mike gambled her money well. I saw her doing well so joined the fun. After promptly losing $40 Susie was kind enough to lend me $25, which I thankfully won back, with an additional $75, taking away $35. And I stopped there.

The drive to San Diego the next day wasn't the most enjoyable 6 hours I ever spent in the car, but the memories are priceless.

San Diego round two: A little background info better served at the beginning of this entry is that the whole idea to vagabond around the west came after plane tickets to San Diego were purchased for me to see two doctors, compliments of workers comp. So this time 'round in San Diego is when I planned to see those two doctors. No such luck. Worker's comp blew it once again. They flew me across the country, but couldn't manage to have the ground transportation get me the last 22 miles to the appointment.

So appointment day was a bit stressful, but instead of spending all day with doctors I only spent half a day with them and the other half cruising around Ocean Beach and hanging out on the cliffs (shown below) with Amanda. AND eating a breakfast burrito minus the weird breakfast meats. Again, we met up with old friends and Amanda even had a friend from Martha's Vineyard, currently residing in Santa Barbara, come down and hang for the night. Ponch was gracious enough to let us three women show up late that night to crash at his place.


An early departure from San Diego took us straight through Vegas (minus the stopping at a sketchy casino for a cheap buffet) back to Park City. Amanda was looking forward to skiing fresh Utah powder and I was pretty pumped to sleep in a bed. Betsey and Bob greeted us with open arms and soup on the stove. Amanda got out to the Canyons the following day while my cousin Betsey and I went snowshoeing right by their house, and went into Salt Lake City to see Betsey's mom. A decent storm came in that night leaving many inches of fresh powder on the mountain. It also left a pretty hefty snow bank at the bottom of their driveway that I managed to get the Corolla wedged up against. Amanda thought she could maneuver the vehicle out of its precarious position, but it proved otherwise. The AAA fellow that came to help us looked at the car with a big grin on his face and told me he had a knack for dislodging cars from snowbanks. He was right and I have never seen a AAA employee look so proud. The three non-gimps in the house woke up early to take advantage of the fresh snow while I caught up on some sleeping, reading, and napping, as we decided the night before that the Corolla would remain in the garage until it was time to head back to Colorado.

Amanda drove out of Park City for good reasons. In fact, she drove the whole way back to Ft. Collins. Can't say I blame her. We made it with time to spare for the Patriots game. Amanda's sister-in-law Deb greeted us with a cheese plate, homemade mango salsa, and locally brewed beer. And she grilled. The next morning she made crab souffle...and then I had to leave. My next meal was consumed at the airport as my flight left about 4 hours late. Although the airport staff was a bit hostile, the bar patrons were quite friendly and I chatted for hours with some interesting characters.

Thanks to everyone who provided me with a couch, floor, or bed, a bathroom to use, food to eat, or a good laugh, as well as all the people I met along the way. It was an incredibly comfortable 3 1/2 weeks on the road. I couldn't possibly taint this posting with talk of school and interning so I'll share what's going on with that at a later date.